Looking forward to the Astros lineup of 2020!

With the signing of Gerrit Cole to the Yankees, the deal of the decade, are the Yankees really favored over the Astros to win the WS in 2020?

Yes, the Astros have sustained a seemingly huge blow to the rotation. Yes, the offseason has been eerily quiet from the Astros as far as free agent pickups or trades are concerned. Yes, there is quite an absence of rumors involving the Astros. And yes, analysts are suggesting that the Astros have fallen in the ranks of contention.

Maybe this lack of activity has to do with the luxury tax concerns. Maybe it has to do with the Astros-gate scandal. Maybe it is just the usual M.O. we’re used to seeing from the front office. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that not enough credit is being given to the players that remain, today, Houston Astros.

While we may be a lot different, especially in our pitching staff, we’re definitely not out.

And even though rosters are not completely set, let’s analyze our position-to-position standings based on 2019 stats comparing each position player we are fairly certain to return for 2020 with the current known lineup of the Yankees.

Overall Team Stats:

The 2019 Houston Astros had the best lineup in the MLB with a batting average of .274, a slugging percentage of .495, an on-base percentage of .352, and an OPS of .848. The 2019 Astros led the league in walks and had the fewest number of strikeouts of any team in the MLB.

With the bulk of our lineup returning in 2020, there is no reason why we should not be at the top of these rankings again. Just out of curiosity, though, let’s have a look.