The World Baseball Classic is over (sorry Team USA), so now we are onto the business of regular Major League Baseball. Spring Training has one week left before the games count and this is the time for teams like the Houston Astros to figure out who will make the Opening Day 26-man roster.
The starters for this team are pretty well set at this point, but there are critical bullpen and bench spots remaining. Here are our final predictions.
STARTERS (9)
Yainer Diaz (C)
Christian Walker (1B)
Jose Altuve (2B)
Carlos Correa (SS)
Isaac Paredes (3B)
Joey Loperfido (LF)
Jake Meyers (CF)
Cam Smith (RF)
Yordan Alvarez (DH)
Jeremy Peña remains sidelined with the broken finger he got representing Puerto Rico in the WBC, but his progress has been good. Don’t expect him to miss more than a week or two before returning to the lineup. For now, Loperfido and Smith are locked into the corner outfield spots and Paredes gets to start at third with Peña out.
BENCH LOCKS (3)
Nick Allen (UTIL)
Christian Vasquez (C)
Allen will take over the spot vacated by Maruicio Dubon when they were traded for one another this offseason. He can play all over the infield. Vasquez, who just joined the team (again) a week ago, feels like the odds-on choice to make the back up catcher spot simply because of his proven track record as a veteran big leaguer.
ON THE BUBBLE
Zach Cole (OF), Brice Matthews (2B/OF), Taylor Trammel (OF), Zach Dezenzo (OF), Cesar Salazar (OF)
Matthews is likely to make the Opening Day roster, no only because of his solid play this spring, but because he can play both center infield spots and centerfield in a pinch. He will likely be back at Sugar Land when Peña returns. The final bench spot will probably come down to Cole vs. Trammel. The Astros remain very high on Cole’s upside though he strikes out a lot. Trammel, who has been solid all spring, may not get the gig simply because the team would have to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate him. Salazar, who has been in the Astros system for quite some time, seems like he could be headed for the waiver wire despite being beloved among the pitching staff for how he manages games. At 30 and with a very weak bat, the Astros are likely seeking better options there.
STARTING ROTATION (6)
Hunter Brown
Tatsuya Imai
Mike Burrows
Cristian Javier
Lance McCullers, Jr.
Spencer Arrighetti
The Astros should enter the season with a six-man rotation. This is common to start the season as pitchers ramp up their pitch counts, but the Astros have an extra incentive given they play 21 of their first 22 days of the season. Don’t be surprised if players from the minors like Jason Alexander, A.J. Blubaugh, Brandon Walter and others get some spot starts or piggyback starts throughout the season as the team tries to protect pitchers from injury. With the depth Dana Brown has assembled in the pitching staff this offseason, it won’t be tough finding solid arms and Sugar Land should have a ridiculous rotation in Triple A.
BULLPEN (7)
Bryan Abreu
Bryan King
Steven Okert
Bennett Sousa
Roddery Muñoz
Ryan Weiss
Enyel De Los Santos
While Josh Hader slowly gets back into shape (he could miss the first month of the season), Abreu will hold down the closer role. That’s good news for him in a free agency year. King, Okert, Sousa and De Los Santos return as leverage arms in the bullpen. After a shaky start to the spring, Muñoz has been excellent. As a Rule 5 draftee, he must remain on the 26-man roster all year or be sent back to Cincinnati, so unless he falls off a cliff, he’ll occupy one spot. At this point, the final spot in the bullpen will either be Kai Wei-Tang or Ryan Weiss. Our money right now is on Weiss, but both will get time in the majors, probably both as part-time starters and relief arms.