Houston Astros: Bold Predictions Based On Spring Training

With Opening Day only Two Weeks Away, Here are some Bold Predictions for your Houston Astros

This might sound a bit crazy, but I’ve had a busy month of March with school and Spring Break travel, so I’m going to make three bold predictions for the Astros based on one Spring Training game that I had the fortune of attending in Jupiter, Florida on March 12. Bare with me here, as I think you’ll like my predictions.

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The game that I attended featured the Astros and the Cardinals in an essential split-squad game for both teams. The Cardinals were in an actual split-squad that afternoon while the Astros did not want to send their star players all the way down to Jupiter for just one game. I expected a boring afternoon game where Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright would dominate, but that was not the result.

The Astros lost 4-3, but there were a lot of role players who shined in defeat. I won’t mention him in my bold predictions, so I’ll go ahead and give Danny Worth credit for hitting a solo home run and RBI double off Wainwright, providing offense for the Astros when no one else could.

While sluggers like Carlos Correa, Carlos Gomez, Colby Rasmus, Jose Altuve, and George Springer did not make the trip, some players impressed me. Ok, enough of the introduction, let’s get to it.

Next: Bold Prediction #1: Mike Fiers Will Make American League All-Star Roster

Mike Fiers Will Have a Breakout Season in 2016, Becoming the Astros’ #2 Starter and Earning a Spot on the American League All-Star Roster.

While many Astros fans have turned their focus to Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers to anchor the rotation for years to come, Mike Fiers has slowly progressed during his time in Houston. We paid attention to Fiers one night last season in August, and he pitched a No-No against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This season, more production is on the way.

When he began his MLB career in 2012, Fiers was a valuable pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. Throughout his time in Milwaukee, he showed flashes of greatness marked by periods of inconsistency and setbacks due to injury. After starting a full season’s worth of games in 2012, Fiers sat out all of 2013 after breaking his pitching arm on a line drive.

Since then, Fiers has put together stretches of solid performances both in Milwaukee and in Houston but has not been able to stretch out this quality starts for a full season. His potential showed through his 2.14 ERA in 2014 with the Brewers and his no-hitter for the Astros in August of 2015, but for some reason, he has not been able to stay consistently in a rotation.

In 2016, Fiers has put up great Spring Training numbers and cemented himself in the Astros starting rotation. He has now had a full offseason and spring training to work with Astros pitching coach Brent Strom, and looks as sharp as ever headed into the regular season. With Lance McCullers now starting the season on the disabled list, it looks as if Fiers could move himself up into the top half of the Astros’ starting rotation to begin the season.

In the Spring Training game that I got to watch live and in person, Fiers pitched three perfect innings against a Cardinals lineup that included Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Tommy Pham, and Matt Adams. In those three innings, Fiers struck out four and possessed a superb command of his pitches. He worked through the Cardinals’ order quickly, wasting no pitches and fooling some of the minor league hitters in the lineup.

If Fiers can maintain his numbers and momentum that he has put together in the spring, he will take advantage of the great opportunity in front of him. With Dallas Keuchel as the ace of the staff, Fiers will be the unexpected pitcher to complete the 1-2 punch for the Astros in 2016. In fact, Fiers will use his impeccable command and looping curveball to propel him to the All-Star Game in San Diego.

Next: Bold Prediction #2: Pat Neshek Will Be Most Dominant Astros Reliever

While Astros Fans Will Focus on Ken Giles, Pat Neshek Will Quietly Become the Astros’ Most Dominant Pitcher in the Bullpen in 2016.

The Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles closer controversy will be the main story for the Astros bullpen in 2016, but other plot lines have developed in Spring Training thus far. Some examples of these story lines are the lack of left-handed pitchers, who slots in the long relief role, and if any prospects make the cut.

But, Pat Neshek has certainly made some headlines this spring as well. Starting with an interesting press conference on Day 1 of Astros camp, Neshek made headlines with a bone growth that was removed from his foot in the offseason. Not the prettiest way to start the year, but baseball is a grown man’s game.

After all the medical talk was finished, Neshek went to work in Kissimmee. Through five appearances so far, Neshek has a 1.93 ERA, six strikeouts, and a 1.29 WHIP. Two out of his five appearances have been perfect innings (no walks, hits, or runs), and four of his five appearances have been scoreless outings.

Based on his spring results, I would expect Neshek to be the main pitcher in the 8th inning for the Astros, perhaps even taking over the closer role if Gregerson or Giles struggle for an extended period. Neshek claimed that his foot injury bothered him throughout 2015, which would explain his struggles towards the end of the season.

Neshek started the 2015 season pitching very well, collapsed in September, and was mostly unavailable in the postseason. Although he got a couple of playoff appearances, Neshek just was not the same after the All-Star Game. His 5.06 ERA and .315/.371/.539 slash line allowed after the all-star break is a sign that something definitely was not right.

In 2016, I expect Neshek to put this gross injury behind him and perform consistently well for the whole season. He’s too valuable, as a veteran reliever, to disappear as a relief option in September and October. As long as Giles and Gregerson duke it out for the closing spot, I expect Neshek and Tony Sipp to be solid veteran presences in the Astros clubhouse and on the mound.

If everything goes well health-wise, Neshek will lead the American League in holds while lowering his ERA from 3.62 in 2015 to around 2.00 in 2016. He has been even better than this before, so I’m predicting Neshek to have his first stellar season with the Astros this season.

Next: Bold Prediction #3: Preston Tucker Will Establish Himself as Astros DH