Astros Fantasy: 2019 fantasy baseball player projections

Houston’s infield is stacked with players in the rankings, anywhere from a few ranked up there with the elite, to a couple of players pretty far down in the draft order.

Alex Bregman  2B/SS

Bregman comes in as the highest ranking Astro at #12 overall and #4 for both the second base and shortstop positions. Being able to place Bregman in either of the two infield positions on a roster is a huge plus for a player of his caliber. His average draft position (ADP) among the five most popular leagues is 12.4, ranking as high as 7th in the CBS leagues.

His slash line is projected to be .285/.512/.881 (AVG/OBP/OPS) with 26 HRs, 96 runs, and 91 RBIs. He is expected to hit 42 doubles and collect 11 stolen bases. These numbers are slightly lower than last season’s accomplishments. Bregman’s performance has improved each year of his three-year career. At 24 years old, who’s to say his numbers won’t climb again in 2019, so these projected stats may even be little low.

Jose Altuve  3B

Altuve ranks just a few spots behind Bregman at #15 overall and is the top ranking second baseman. His ADP is 13.8, just a couple of draft picks behind Bregman. In three of the five most popular leagues, Altuve’s average draft is 12th, going at the end of the first round in 12 team leagues.

FantasyPro projects Altuve to hit .319/.379/.865 while knocking in 76 runs, scoring 95 and stealing 22 bases. They are forecasting him to hit 19 HRs and a total of 58 extra base hits. These numbers are on par with last season, but well below his performance of 2016 and his 2017 MVP season. Altuve was bothered with a knee injury most of the second half of last season and has had surgery since. I’d expect his performance to be back up next season, closer to his MVP season.

Carlos Correa  SS

Correa ranks 7th among shortstops and 42nd overall with an ADP of 40.4, making him a mid to late fourth round draft in most leagues. FantasyPro has him batting a slash line of .268/.350/.811 with 24 HRs and 57 extra base hits. He’s projected to accumulate 93 RBIs and 84 runs. Those numbers seem to be in the middle of his best season in 2017 and his worst season experienced last year.

Tyler White  1B / Yuli Gurriel  1B/3B / Aledmys Diaz  SS/3B

White and Gurriel will most likely be sharing 1B and DH duties. Gurriel has the upside of also qualifying for the 3B position in league rosters. Diaz currently qualifies in the SS and 3B positions. Gurriel and White came in ranked right next to each other at 194 and 195 overall respectively. Even though their rankings are at that level, Gurriel is drafted on average in the 18th round and White in the 21st round. Diaz didn’t rank in the top 350 players and ranked 50th among shortstops.