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Houston Astros in Fantasy: Week One Preview

By Eric Huysman

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The offseason, starting today, is officially over. Tonight, the Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals to open the 2015 season. Adam Wainwright versus Jon Lester is an interesting matchup in fantasy terms. With the Houston Astros season officially open starting tomorrow, it is time to preview the Astros 2015 from a fantasy perspective.

Pitching Matchups

Monday April 6 – Dallas Keuchel versus Corey Kluber

  • Kluber (2014): On the road, Kluber went 8-6/ 2.49 ERA/ 136 SO
  • Keuchel (2014): At home, Keuchel went 4 – 5/ 3.04 ERA/ 82 SO

Wednesday April 8 – Scott Feldman versus Carlos Carrasco

  • Carrasco (2014): On the road, Carrasco went 4 – 4/ 2.91 ERA/ 47 SO (93 on the road)
  • Feldman (2014): At home, Feldman went 6 – 5/ 3.69 ERA/ 51 SO

Thursday April 9 – Asher Wojciechowski versus Trevor Bauer

  • Bauer (2014): On the road, Bauer went 1 – 5/ 4.87 ERA/ 56 SO
  • Wojciechowski (2014): Minors

Friday April 10 – Derek Holland versus Collin McHugh

  • McHugh (2014): On the road, McHugh went 4-3/ 1.86 ERA/ 68 SO
  • Holland (2014): At home, Holland went 2-0/ 1.52 ERA/ 14 SO in limited appearances with knee problems in 2014.

Saturday April 11 – Yovani Gallardo versus Roberto Hernandez

  • Roberto Hernandez (2014): On the road, Hernandez went 6 – 3/ 4.37 ERA/ 49 SO
  • Yovani Gallardo (2014): At home, Gallardo went 2 – 7/ 4.39 ERA/ 78 SO with the Brewers.

Sunday April 12 – Colby Lewis versus Dallas Keuchel

  • Dallas Keuchel (2014): On the road, Keuchel went 8 – 4/ 3.04 ERA/ 82 SO
  • Colby Lewis (2014): At Home, Lewis went 3 – 9/ 5.90 ERA/ 68 SO

More from Astros News

Weekly Leagues: Keuchel is a must start two-start pitcher for Week one, while the Rangers have two pitchers going twice pitching twice with Yovani Gallardo And Colby Lews. Keuchel’s first start could be the challenging one for him, not only because of the lineup he is facing, but also the reigning

Cy Young

award winner Corey Kluber.

Start:

Dallas Keuchel

Collin McHugh

Asher Wojciechowski

Sit:

Scott Feldman

Roberto Hernandez

Hitting Matchups

The table below details the Houston Astros hitters versus scheduled pitchers and their stats from the 2014 season, from MLB.com.

Must start:

Jose Altuve is a must start with any matchup, but the pitchers he is facing this week he has had some success against–Indians and Rangers pitchers in 2014–as shown in the table above.

George Springer only faced Colby Lewis in 2014, but he has looked locked in during the offseason.

Evan Gattis accounted for most of the Astros offense recently, so expect him to carry the team early. The slugger will use the “Bear Den” (aka the Crawford Boxes), to boost his home run totals in 2015.

Sit:

Colby Rasmus, considering that he has played in the AL for several seasons now, it is surprising that Rasmus has not faced several of these pitchers.

Sleepers:

Luis Valbuena is in the heart of the Astros lineup, and his bat has backed that up by his spring training stats. His hot hitting should continue into the regular season. He is owned by less than 5% of fantasy owners. Pitchers will have to deal with Jake Marisnick, George Springer, and Jose Altuve and their speed on the basepaths. Follow him closely.

Next: Projecting the Astros Outfield

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