In one yet another shocking moment of an already wild offseason for the Houston Astros, it was announced that Cam Smith, the youngster who has never played above Double A and was a key component of the Kyle Tucker trade, will not only be on the Opening Day roster, but he will start in right field taking Tucker’s place. Not only will all three of those trade pieces (Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wisneski) be on the roster, but all three will start — Wisneski will be the fifth starter in the rotation. Zach Dezenzo will also make the roster and likely play a number of spots in the outfield and infield.
It caps one of the craziest winters in Astros history and launches them into a brand new era of Houston baseball. Ahead of the first series against the Mets starting Thursday, let’s take a look at five things to watch early in the season.
Right Field
The fact that Smith is starting is absolutely wild considering he has only played games in that position THIS SPRING never mind his lack of time in the minors. But the Astros are extremely high on him and Chas McCormick, the presumptive starter, has struggled mightily in Spring Training. Expect to see Smith, McCormick and Dezenzo get time in right field. McCormick will likely be their swing reserve in the outfield because he can play all three spots. It’s a massive change and one very few saw coming even a week ago.
Second Base
With Jose Altuve now firmly entrenched in left field (speaking of wild), Mauricio Dubon’s is your starting second baseman and his defensive presence alone should improve the infield. Brendan Rodgers, a former Gold Glover got the final spot on the roster Tuesday. The major question will be who will handle utility duties now that Dubon is an everyday second baseman. That will probably fall to a number of different guys including Dezenzo, who can play first and third in addition to outfield. But don’t be surprised if Dubie gets reps at a few different spots as well. This team is going to rely heavily on the diversity of its best players.
Jeremy Peña
The Astros shortstop has torn through the spring and looks poised to have the best season of his career. He spent much of 2024 re-tooling his approach at the plate and his swing. The results were more walks and a generally better approach, but with less power. He hopes to put it all together this season to reproduce the power of his rookie season with a more disciplined approach. His ascension would be a huge boost for the team.
The back half of the bullpen
The combo of Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu should be one of the best eight-nine inning duos in baseball. What comes next is anyone’s guess. At the moment, the seventh inning will likely fall to Tayler Scott, who had a breakout season last year before getting injured. Within just a few weeks, we should see both Kaleb Ort and Forrest Whitley, but initially the Rafael Montero, who has looked fantastic this spring, and Scott will be the go-to guys. Bryan King is the designated lefty along with veteran Stephen Okert and young righty Luis Contreras will fill things out. Ryan Gusto got the last spot in the pen, but he will mostly be used in long relief or as a piggyback option early in the season when starters aren’t fully stretched out.
Hunter Brown
By all accounts, Brown is on the cusp of ace status. After a horrible start in 2024, he rebounded with what was ultimately the best season of his young career. Control has been the biggest issue for him, but he seemed to tame that by the end of 2024. If he can harness what he was doing in his last 15 starts plus the postseason, he could eclipse Framber Valdez as the Astros best starting pitcher and make a bid for a Cy Young Award. He’s that good.
