In this three-part series, we’ll exam the Steamer projections from FanGraphs for the Houston Astros in the 2022 season. First up, we’ll go through the lineup and and bench players, follow that up with the starting rotation and finish with the bullpen.
I’ve added commentary where I felt it was warranted and provided reasoning when I thought the projections were too high or too low.
The 2022 Steamer projections for the Astros’ batters:
Jose Altuve: .282/.352/.469, 26 HR, 79 RBI, 127 wRC+
Projections for Jose Altuve show a slight increase in batting average, about the same OBP, but a drop in slugging, down from .489, with 5 less home runs than 2021. That’s not a crazy prediction, but it should be noted Altuve did have 31 home runs the last two full seasons (2019 and 2021), but the 31 in 2019 came in 500 at bats and the 31 in 2021 came in 601 at bats. The projected wRC+ is only three points lower than 2021’s.