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2 Houston Astros Playing Their Way Off the Opening Day Roster and 1 Playing His Way On
The Houston Astros are 10-9 entering Wednesday's game against the 9-13 New York Mets. The defending champions have dealt with a plethora of injuries to some of its key contributors including Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley and Lance McCullers Jr.
On the flip side of that, there are multiple parts of the everyday lineup that are struggling to get going at the plate including Martin Maldonado (.077 average) and Alex Bregman (.242 average).
Shifting over to the mound, Astros pitchers, who formed the game's best pitching staff last season, have mostly continued their dominance. However, pitchers like Jose Urquidy (6.75 ERA), Hunter Brown (5.00 ERA) and Shawn Dubin (15.00 ERA) have struggled mightily in the early goings of Spring Training.
Let's take a closer look at the Astros roster and come up with two players who are playing their way off of the Opening Day roster and one who is performing well enough to warrant a spot on the roster.
2 Astros playing their way off the Opening Day roster and 1 playing on
Mauricio Dubon is playing his way off of the Opening Day roster
The Mauricio Dubon slander is beginning to sound like a broken record at this point, but frankly, it is more than warranted. He is a weak hitter who hasn't performed well enough to guarantee a spot on the Opening Day roster.
As we inch closer and closer to the season opener, he'll need a hot streak at the plate to help his chances.
Acquired last year from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a backup catcher, Dubon, 28, had a dreadful 56 OPS+ in 83 games for the Astros last year, meaning he was 44 percent below league-average with the bat. For a team with back-to-back championships in their sights, this is simply not going to cut it.
Sure, teams in contention don't need every single player on their active roster to be playing like All-Stars, but Dubon is simply not doing enough to stick around. He can bounce all over the diamond but with others on the 40-man roster like Joe Perez and David Hensley, you start to wonder where exactly Dubon fits.
So far in Spring Training, the Honduras native has appeared in 14 games for the Astros, going five-for-32 (.156 batting average) with just one extra-base hit and six strikeouts. Dubon likely will make the club in light of the Altuve injury, but with other utility players performing well behind him, it won't be a surprise if he's finally DFA'd once Jose returns from injury.
Brandon Bielak is playing his way off of the Opening Day roster
It wasn't so long ago that Brandon Bielak seemed like a future middle-of-the-rotation starter for the Astros. He broke into the league in 2020 with a 12 game (six start) showing, but he did not impress, posting a 6.75 ERA in 32 innings while allowing 11 hits per nine innings.
Then 2021 rolled around and he got what has been the longest look in the majors to date for him. He made 28 appearances (two starts), going 3-4 with a 4.50 ERA, 4.07 FIP and 96 ERA+. He brought his hits per nine innings down nearly three full hits, struck out more batters than he had the year before and did exceptionally well at limiting home runs.
Last year, there just never seemed to be a legitimate spot for him on the active roster. With the starting rotation reaching all-time-great status, he wasn't going to cut it there, and the bullpen excelled as well.
While he made it into just five games out of the bullpen last year for the big league club, it was his 88 innings in Triple-A that kept him on the radar of the front office. He made 23 appearances (14 starts) with a 3.15 ERA for Sugar Land.
The 26-year-old survived the first few rounds of roster cuts and remains in big league camp with the Astros. However, he is doing everything right if his goal is to be demoted to Triple-A.
In four spring outings (two starts), Bielak has a 5.25 ERA, surrendering eight hits and seven earned runs in just 12 innings of work. On top of that, his control has gone completely out the window, as he has walked seven batters in that time as well.
Again, the Astros are a club aiming for greatness once again. Someone who is pitching like Bielak is right now just does not have a spot on the roster.
Outfield prospect Justin Dirden is playing his way onto the Opening Day roster
The injury to incumbent left fielder Michael Brantley blew the door wide open for someone like Justin Dirden to swoop in and steal a spot on the Opening Day roster.
With Brantley sidelined for the foreseeable future after undergoing shoulder surgery, Dirden, 25, is in line to capitalize on the opportunity.
Dirden has made 14 spring appearances for the club so far, and has looked very impressive. He is seven-for-21 (.333 average) with two doubles, two home runs, 3 RBI and a stolen base, making at least one appearance at all three outfield positions as well. His ability to bounce all over the outfield and fill holes as needed will be extremely valuable for the Astros.
Currently ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the system per MLB.com, Dirden played 124 games last season split between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a whopping 40 doubles alongside five triples and 24 home runs with a .302 batting average. He also drove in 101 runs and even stole 12 bases for good measure.
FanGraphs' Roster Resource projects the Opening Day outfield to be Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Kyle Tucker from left to right, with Dirden on the bench, but he should get plenty of playing time thanks to his ability to play all three spots on the grass at an above-average rate.