2020 Houston Astros Preview – MLB Preview & Prediction
The Astros may have some good luck running with them this season, which could really help the Astros out. The Astros, though, may still have to deal with the potential suspension of some players and from all reports their manager all stemming from the sign stealing scandal. One thing that Houston does have going for them is the fact that the team has been very good on providing the proper support to their starters and have built a fairly good bench depth that has ended up playing well enough to get the roster.
Houston Astros Starters
When it comes to the starting pitching the Astros do have a fairly good depth at the position and definitely has a good amount of experience. The problem that the Astros may have is the fact that their starters are getting older and with some of them have a lot of innings on their arms. The ace for the Astros is projected to be Justin Verlander. After Verlander in the pitching depth chart is Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Urquidy, and Josh James. Verlander is the projected ace and last season he started 34 games with 223 innings pitched. Verlander struck out 300 batters while posting a 21-6 record and a 2.58 ERA.
Houston Astros Relievers
The relievers for Houston have done really well in the past and in some years the Astros have had some good players. Those players for the Astros have definitely been able to build upon the greatness that the bullpen has helped to build up in the past. For the Astros the team is bringing in Ryan Pressly, Joe Smith, Chris Devenski, Brad Peacock, Bryan Abreu. The closer for the Astros is projected to be Roberto Osuna. When it comes to closing out the games Osuna last year pitched in 66 games for Houston with 65 innings pitched. He struck out 73 batters with a 4-3 record and 38 saves with 6 blown saves and a 2.63 ERA.
Houston Astros Catchers
When it comes to catching the games for the Astros the team is relying on Martin Maldonado to start the game and Dustin Garneau will be the backup. Maldonado really moved around on the year last season with 3 different teams, the Royals, the Cubs, and then the Astros. Combined Maldonado ended up playing in 105 games and hit at a clip of .213 while getting 12 homers and 27 runners brought home. When it comes to playing against the runners Maldonado ended up throwing out 25.6% of the runners.
Houston Astros Corners
The corners for the Astros are looking really good. The Astros have Yuli Gurriel starting at first and Alex Bregman at third. Aledmys Diaz backs up Gurriel and Abraham Toro backs up at third base. Gurriel last year played in 144 games and hit at a clip of .298 on the year while driving 31 balls over the wall and bringing home 104 runners. For his part Bregman ended up playing in 156 games of the year and hit at a clip of .296 with 41 homers and 112 RBIs on the season.
Houston Astros Middle Infield
With the middle infield the team is shaped up nicely with the return of Jose Altuve at second and Carlos Correa at short. Diaz does back up at second, but Bregman is the backup at short stop. On the year last year Altuve played in 124 games for the Astros while hitting at a clip of .298 with 31 homers and 74 RBIs. Correa for his part last season played in 75 games while hitting at a clip of .279 with 21 homers and 59 runners brought home.
Houston Astros Outfield
The one position the Astros may have question marks at would be the outfield. The outfield for the Astos has Michael Brantley starting in left, George Springer slated to start in center and in right field the Astros are looking to have Josh Reddick starting. The backup is the issue as it is fairly shallow with Yordan Alvarez in left and Kyle Tucker in center and right. Last year was the first year in an Astros uniform for Brantley and he played in 148 games while hitting at a clip of .311 with 22 homers and 90 runners brought home. George Springer is a Houston mainstay and last year had 122 games played while hitting at a clip of .292 with 39 homers and 96 runners brought home. Last year Josh Reddick played in 141 games for the Astros. He did manage to hit at a clip of .275 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs.
Houston Astros Designated Hitter
Yordan Alvarez is the projected designated hitter for the Astros, if he can stay healthy. If not the backup for Alvarez s Kyle Tucker. Alvarez is still a young player for the designated hitter spot at 22 years old. Last year he played in 87 games for the Astros. Alvarez ended up hitting at a clip of .313 on the year and drove 27 balls over the fence and brought home 78 runs.
Houston Astros Prediction
The Astros are one team that could really play great on the year, but the Astros may have the issues with suspensions and other issues that could creep up. The main issue outside of the potential suspensions would be the outfield depth which is severely lacking. If the Astros do have a lot of injuries in the outfield then the team could be sunk for the year. What else does not help the Astros is the pitching staff is aging, but still on top of their game, but the injury and fatigue factor may creep in. Look for those factors to not really impact the Astros this year as they come out on top in the AL West.
