Houston Astros 2015 Lineup Projections

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Jeff Luhnow and the Houston Astros. If we have learned one thing, it’s that strikeouts will not matter in the 2015 season, as long as each of these new acquisitions stays healthy, and makes loud contact. A couple of weeks back I looked at what the lineup could possibly be for Houston this season, but with so many moves being made I thought it would be fun to look at the Steamer projections for the players that will likely be on the roster come Opening Day.

This is the roster that I pieced together as of right now. There could be some changes, like Matt Dominguez making the team to platoon with Luis Valbuena, but I added Marwin Gonzalez as a utility man to fill that void. Without further ado, here is what the Steamer has projected for the Houston Astros in 2015.

It doesn’t take a fancy projection to guess that Jose Altuve will likely lead the team in batting average, but the next-highest projected average is Jed Lowrie‘s .258, with nearly everyone else in the .230’s or below. Luhnow has added power, and this is the consequence of that.

On the bright side, look at those home run totals! Four players are projected to have 20+ dingers, with Jon Singleton (15) a candidate to join the party as well. How many home runs does this equate to as a team you ask? 185, which averages out to more than one a game. Forget small ball, Houston playing for the long ball. Even I can dig that.

The team’s projected rbi total is 610, while their projected run total is 650. The playing time each player gets throughout the course of the season will dictate if the team’s final tally is above or below this mark. Robbie Grossman was only projected to play in 19 games, so my guess is that the number will end up being higher.

Comparing these numbers with last year’s, the home run tally increases from 163 to 185, which would move them up a spot to 3rd in baseball in that department according to 2014 totals. Their rbi and run totals also get a much-needed shot in the arm over last year, with their rbi rank moving from 21st to 16th, and their runs scored moving from 21st to 15th. This may not seem like much, but an extra 32 runs, which could be made up by Grossman’s replacement in my projected roster, moves the Astros into the top-10.

What do you think of these projections? Who makes your Opening Day roster instead of Grossman?

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