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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.
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.
The Astros had three outfielders make the grade, two veterans and one prospect, out of the eight outfielders on the current 40 man roster.
Springer’s overall ranking was 41st, one spot above Carlos Correa, and ranked 18th in the outfielder position. He also came in at 7th among the names listed as designated hitters. Springer had an ADP of 51.6, averaging a 4th round pick up.
His slash line is projected at .269/.346/.811 with 27 HRs and 57 total extra base hits. He’s expected to knock in 77 runs and score 103 while stealing seven bases. That performance is pretty much equal to his numbers last season and his five-year career average.
Brantley ranked 98th overall and 34th out of the 80 outfielders listed. His ADP of 112 has him averaging around a 9th round draft pick. But the difference in his ADP among the five leagues was a large, ranging from 81 to 130.
His slash line forecast is .295/.352/.804 with 49 extra base hits including 16 HRs. Brantley is projected to score 78 runs, collect 73 RBIs and steal a dozen bases. That’s not far off of his career average and what he produced last season.
Tucker made the list coming in at 274 in the rankings of the top 350. He failed to make the top 80 outfielders. His ADP was 238 but averaged anywhere from 164 to 341 in the different league sites. However, the average was a 19th round draft pick. His projection is a .260/.324/.772 slash line with nine HRs, 33 runs and 31 RBIs. These stats were based on 221 plate appearances and that is the big unknown right now in a crowded outfield, but Tucker may get quite a few appearances as the DH.
Seven pitchers made the top 350, four starters and three relievers. The position designated for each player is based on last years appearances. A pitcher that was a reliever in 2018 will still be shown as a relief pitcher, even if that player moves to the starting rotation and vice versa. Once that pitcher gets a designated number of the appearances in the second pitching role, that player will have both SP and RP designations.
Verlander is the highest ranked pitcher from the Houston roster listed as the 24th overall player in the league and ranked as the 5th best pitcher. Surprisingly though, he has averaged out so far as the seventh pitcher drafted with an ADP of 26.8, a high third-round pick.
FantasyPro has projected Verlander to earn 16 wins on the season with an ERA of 3.15 and a 1.05 WHIP. They are calling for him to strike out 250 batters in 203.3 innings with one complete game. These numbers are slightly below last year’s performance along with his career averages. I see no reason why he doesn’t duplicate last year’s performance, in any case, you know you can’t go wrong with him on your team.
Gerrit Cole SP
Cole isn’t far behind Verlander at 28th overall and one spot back as the 6th best pitcher. He is also one position behind Verlander with an ADP of 29. Cole’s projected stats consist of 15 wins, 243 Ks, an ERA of 3.34 and a 1.15 WHIP. Again very similar to Verlander and reliable top-notch pick.
Josh James SP / Forrest Whitley SP
Spring Training will tell a lot as to where and when these two prospects end up on the roster. But in any case, James and Whitley made the top 350 players ranked 228 and 326 overall respectively. James is ranked 59th out of the 100 starting pitchers and Whitley just made it in at 90. James has been picked in the 18th round on average with an ADP of 217 and Whitley approximately the 20th round with a 242.2 ADP.
James is predicted to win 10 games with a 3.91 ERA and striking out 156 batters. They projected Whitley to garner 5 wins while striking out 78 and having a 4.20 ERA in the process. Although I will add, not yet knowing the extent of either pitcher’s role in the upcoming season, you can take these predictions with a grain of salt.
Collin McHugh SP/RP
McHugh’s situation is kind of tricky. He is currently listed as a relief pitcher, even though it’s expected that he’ll start the season as a starter. As stated above, once he gets a few starts under his belt, he’ll have both designations. His rankings and projections by FantasyPro are as a relief pitcher and really don’t have much merit as a starter.
He is ranked at 271 overall and 34th on the list of relief pitchers. His ADP is 268 averaging a 22nd round pick. But when looking at his stats between 2014-16 when he was a regular starter for the Astros, he might be worth a look. Especially his 2015 season when he was 19-7 with a 3.89 ERA and 171 strikeouts.
Osuna is ranked pretty high among relief pitchers rated as the 6th best and a 104 overall ranking. He’s been averaging a 7th round pick with an 88.8 ADP. He’s expected to be the Astros primary closer and is projected to earn 37 saves and 65 Ks in 60 innings of work with a 2.90 ERA. A valuable closer to have on any fantasy team.
Brad Peacock RP
Peacock barely makes the list ranking 334 overall and rated at 50 as a relief pitcher. Although there is talk that he may be in competition this spring for the 5th spot in the starting rotation. His ADP is 358 bringing him in as an average 29th round pick in leagues with extended rosters.
His projections show him getting credited for 13 holds and no saves with an ERA of 3.74. Not really numbers that would be of value to many fantasy teams. Worth keeping an eye on through Spring Training though, to see where he winds up.
Chirinos was ranked 16th out of 50 catchers and just made it on the list at 339 overall. Even though he came in at 339 in the rankings, he is the 14th catcher picked on average and has an ADP of 283.2. His projected slash line is .226/.305/.734 with 17 HRs on the year. Not great averages, but enough power to be considered as a secondary or back-up catcher in most leagues.
Next. Breaking down the Astros’ 2019 PECOTA projections. dark
As you can see there are plenty of Astros to add to your fantasy team come draft time. A word of advice, don’t pick with your heart and try not to stack up too many players from one team, I know that can be hard to do. Good luck with your fantasy teams and enjoy the season!