Key Additions:
Aaron Boone
Jason Michaels
Mike Hampton
Key Losses:
Mark Loretta
LaTroy Hawkins
Randy Wolf
Hitting:
1. Kazuo Matsui 2B
2. Hunter Pence RF
3. Lance Berkman 1B
4. Carlos Lee LF
5. Miguel Tejada SS
6. Geoff Blum 3B
7. Michael Bourn CF
8. Humberto Quintero C
Their hitting is very tricky to figure out. Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and Tejada are all amazing, but their offense never seems to be explosive. Also, no one has a clue on whether Tejada is going to be his normal self this year after the whole lying about steroids thing. Matsui has and always will be a major disappointment. He will trick people into showing signs of promise than kill them by sucking for a month straight. Even though Bourne has a terrible average, the Astros should make him the lead off. His speed is unquestioned and I have more faith in him than Matsui.
Pitching:
1. Roy Oswalt RH
2. Wandy Rodriguez LH
3. Mike Hampton LH
4. Brian Moehler RH
5. Brandon Backe RH
Closer Jose Valverde RH
Oh boy. Roy Oswalt has to be traded this year. When Mike hampton is your third pitcher you know your team is in trouble. I'm not buying into Wandy Rodriguez and Jose Valverde is an adventure every time he touches the ball. The Astro's have worse pitching than the Dodgers.
Prospects:
Jason Castro C
Three catchers were in the top ten picks of the 2008 draft, and Castro was one of them. Now, why the Astros took another catcher, especially one as close to MLB-ready as Stanford graduate Castro is a bit of a head-scratcher, since they already have the very talented J. R. Towles under lock and key. But with first base looking like an opening in the near future, there should be somewhere to play both.\
Felipe Paulino RHP
A converted outfielder, Paulino threw 112 innings of Double-A ball in 2007 (3.69 ERA, 110 Ks : 49 BBs) before his cup of coffee tryout in Houston. Other than a gem of a two-hit performance against the eliminated Braves on September 30th, though, he failed to dazzle, which means he'll be back in AA next season.
Overview:
For some reason I have always hated the Astros. I would imagine this is the Astros rebuilding year. I also expect Tejada, Oswalt and Lee will all be moved. With such a horrendous pitching staff I don't see this team winning more than 61 games. That is why I have them with a record of 61 -101.
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