Houston Astros: My Projected Opening Day 25-Man Roster

Catcher

1. Starter: Jason Castro
2. Back-up: Tyler Heineman (or catcher outside the organization)

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While the Astros have some good options at catcher in the minors, Castro is the only one with major league experience after Max Stassi got injured creating an opening at backup catcher. Castro is coming off a down season and is in his final year of team control entering the 2016 season.

The Astros will lean on Castro to do most of the catching, but of the potential candidates right now, it has to be the more all-around player in Heineman. Roberto Pena is more of a defensive catcher, but both catchers did hit 13 home runs in their one season at High-A Lancaster.

There is a more likely option, which the Astros could trade Dan Straily and a prospect for a backup catcher such as Bryan Holaday or A.J. Jimenez. Straily is out of options and would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. He has zero shot to make this team, the only reason he started yesterday and pitched four no-hit innings was to showcase him. Both Holaday and Jimenez are batting over .400 this spring so that offensive power behind Castro would be welcome.

Next: Infield

Infield

First Base

3. Starter: Tyler White

4. Backup: Matt Duffy

Second Base

5. Starter: Jose Altuve

6. Backup: Marwin Gonzalez

Shortstop

7. Starter:  Carlos Correa

Backup: Marwin Gonzalez

Third Base

8: Starter: Luis Valbuena

Backup: Matt Duffy

The biggest surprise here is that A.J. Reed and Jon Singleton are not on the team at this point.  We figured that Reed would not make the opening day roster to help save team control by waiting till the Super-two deadline in June.

Singleton was supposed to be the guys at first base, but he has not been able to sustain a decent batting average this spring or over his major league career. He has had two games this spring with a homer and a double, but it would be like Chris Carter part two. I am not sure what will become of Singleton, but he has yet to earn the role.

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• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
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White, on the other hand, has shown the ability to work a walk and get on base with solid hit more often than not. We have been impressed with how he has handled himself this spring and earned the job. He may not stay at first base forever, and most feel like Reed is the better fielder, he will be in the lineup somewhere.

The middle two, Altuve and Correa, I think they are pretty good and will go to All-Star games together for many years. Backing up at every infield position will be Gonzalez, who is the super utility guy that Luhnow wanted when he signed Jed Lowrie in 2015. Gonzalez will get some turns at first and third mostly, with the All-Star duo up the middle not needing too many days off.

Third base, for now, belongs to Valbuena as he offers defense and power. Duffy will back him up and also play some first base from time to time. Duffy has opened some eyes with his hot start but has cooled off a little. But he offers the flexibility to play both first and third like Valbuena, so that could come in handy.

Next: Designated Hitter and Outfield

Designated Hitter and Outfield

Designated Hitter

9: Preston Tucker

Outfielders

Right Field

10.) Starter: George Springer

Backup: Jake Marisnick

Center Field

11.) Starter: Carlos Gomez

12.) Backup: Jake Marisnick

Left field

13.) Starter: Colby Rasmus

Backup: Tucker

This is the most obvious section of this post, and the Astros are locked into one of the best outfields in baseball. They have four center fielders playing regularly all over the outfield. Springer is the best of the group, and he still has not played a full season with injuries in his first two seasons. All Astros fans are eager to see what he can do in a full season, and the team will succeed when he is in the lineup more often.

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• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Gomez is the real unknown, will he be the All-Star from before 2015 or the player that struggled last season? The ability is still there, and he will be playing for a contract for 2017 and beyond. If he can tap into the player, he was in his All-Star years, and this team could go all the way with the talent on this team. Rasmus finally felt welcomed and comfortable with a team during the stretch run, which in turn led to his success in the playoffs. This spring has shown that the Astros cleanup hitter could drive in plenty of runs this year.

Rasmus finally felt welcomed and comfortable with a team during the stretch run, which in turn led to his success in the playoffs. This spring has shown that the Astros cleanup hitter could drive in plenty of runs this year.

Marisnick will make a big impact on the 2016 Astros, but he and Tucker are auditioning for the 2017 Astros outfield. Both of them have shown promise but need to become more consistent overall. Speaking of Tucker, he will get the first shot at the DH position, at least until Gattis returns. Tucker’s play will help decide whether he stays on the team when Gattis returns.

Next: Starting Pitchers

Starting Pitchers

14. Dallas Keuchel

15. Collin McHugh

16. Mike Fiers

17. Doug Fister

18. Scott Feldman

The rotation could have been decimated by the loss of Lance McCullers for an unknown amount of time, but with the addition of Fister to the other four return pitchers who had success in 2015. Keuchel is the leader of the rotation that every team wants, and I think he won some big award last year. Unlike some pitchers, he doesn’t rely on throwing the ball hard, which makes him more durable on the mound.

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McHugh was a breakout pitcher like Keuchel in 2013, he digressed a little last year ERA-wise, but pitching in front of a better lineup gave him 19 wins in 2015. He may not be the household name that Keuchel is, but can hold his own and could be the ace if the beard was not here. The Astros started McHugh as the fourth pitcher last year, and they moved him up to the second pitcher behind Keuchel.

There was talk that Fiers was going to be the long guy in the bullpen before McCullers shoulder soreness, but he is the third pitcher in this rotation. Fiers was considered a throw in the Gomez trade with the Brewers, but he proved he was more than that by firing a no-hitter versus the Dodgers last year.

Fister was a reclamation project for the Astros after coming off an off year where he was removed from the rotation with the Washington Nationals. He was on top of his game in 2014, but falling off last year has led him to sign a one-year deal with the Stros. He has shown flashes of brilliance this spring, but he has struggled later in his starts. He has incentives worked into his contract for innings pitched, so look for him to rebound.

Feldman is Reid Ryan’s pick to click in 2016. Ryan said that part of the reason why the Astros bullpen struggled so much towards the end of the season was from overuse because the starters outside of McHugh and Keuchel were going deep into games, so Hinch had to go to the pen too much. He said they missed Feldman in the rotation last year more than people think because he is able to eat up innings and give you a chance to win.  When McCullers is ready to return, one of the last three will move out of the rotation. The first month will determine who will mo

The first month will determine who will most likely move out of the rotation.

Next: The Bullpen

Bullpen

19. Closer: Ken Giles

20. Setup: Luke Gregerson

21. Tony Sipp

22. Will Harris

23. Pat Neshek

24. Josh Fields

25. Wandy Rodriguez

The bullpen should be one of the Astros strengths this season, bolstered by 100 miles Giles at the back of the bullpen. The Astros gave up a lot to get Giles, so don’t expect him not to be the closer, despite what A.J. Hinch has said to the media. Gregerson has been hampered by an injury this spring, but he has pitched a few innings in minor league games.

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• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Should Gregerson not be ready, I see James Hoyt making the team in the bullpen following a strong performance this spring. According to Drellich, Gregerson is supposed to make his Grapefruit League debut this weekend. All reports are that his stuff is good, let’s get that horse in there, the team is that much better with both Giles and Gregerson.

Neshek should have a bounce back season after pitching with foot pain with a weird bone that was in his foot. I’m sure that affected his delivery more than he would admit with his herky-jerky style of pitching. Should he revert back to the 2014 version and with the emergence of Sipp and Harris last season, the 3-4-5 guys should be dominant.

Fields is often the forgotten guy in the bullpen, but he would be an eighth inning guy on other teams. He must work on his control and not allowing the walks and singles prior to giving up the big hits. The Astros took a flier on former pitcher Rodriguez, as I wrote yesterday here: Houston Astros Release Neal Cotts, Wandy a Lock for Team? The depth in the minors is also strong, and these are not the 2013 Astros anymore.

Next: Houston Astros: SI Was Wrong, Now Projects 2016 for World Series

While there may not be any shockers here, the next few days will be interesting to follow with the backup catcher. If the Astros see a better option in the market for a backup catcher, they will take it knowing that they are an injury away from having one of Pena or Heineman as the starter.