Houston Astros: Who will backup Jason Castro?

Who on the Houston Astros will backup Jason Castro in 2016?

One of the stable parts of this Houston Astros team is their starting catcher Jason Castro. Although there has been quite a bit of a drop-off in his offensive production and lineup appearances, only hitting .211 with a .648 OPS and 11 home runs in 108 games, he has been a stable option behind the plate in his five years in an Astros uniform. Last season, Castro helped lead Astros pitching to a team 3.57 ERA and a .241 batting average against. With a stable defensive option to start behind the plate, there are many directions the Astros can go in to back up Castro.

Next: Option 1: Max Stassi

Option 1: Max Stassi

Max Stassi is the most feasible option for A.J. Hinch to go with come Opening Day. Stassi was drafted in the fourth round by the Oakland A’s in 2009 and was traded to the Astros in February of 2013 in the deal that sent Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez to the A’s for Stassi, Brad Peacock, and Chris Carter. Stassi put on an offensive show in 2013, hitting .277 with 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .863 OPS for Double-A Corpus Christi. At the end of the 2013 season, Stassi got a late season call-up for the Astros. In his three games played, he went 2-7 and drove in a runner. He became the starting catcher at Triple-A Oklahoma City the next season and his bat declined. For the past two seasons in Triple-A OKC/Fresno, Stassi hasn’t hit over .250 and has had an OPS below .700.

Stassi has increased his games played at the major league level in the past two seasons with 13 games played in 2014 and 20 games played this past season. In his major league career thus far, Stassi has hit .357 with a home run and 7 RBIs. As the favorite to win the backup job out of Spring Training, Stassi is not proving himself so far. In 6 games, he has gone 2-16 with four strikeouts. So, with the instability in his bat, Stassi may not have the job locked up. However, with the most major league experience among the current catcher candidates for this job, Stassi has the advantage.

Next: Option 2: Tyler Heineman

Option 2: Tyler Heineman

The Astros drafted Tyler Heineman in the eighth round of the 2012 draft and immediately made an offensive statement. In his first full year in the organization with Single-A Lancaster, Heineman hit .286 with 13 home runs with 71 RBIs and an OPS of .837. Heineman is not your prototypical catcher offensively. He has only hit four home runs in his two seasons split between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno.

However, his career batting average in the minors sits at .288 and seems to hit the gaps well, with 32 doubles in his last two seasons. He hasn’t had many opportunities to prove himself in Spring Training, going 0-6 in 4 games so far. When he develops, Heineman seems like a slap hitter that would hit well either at the top of the lineup in the one or two spot or late in the lineup to set the table for the big bats coming up. It may not be this year, but when Heineman makes the majors, he will be a table setter for this potent offense.

Next: Option 3: Roberto Pena