[TheNumber35]

Onward to Spring! Maybe this can be our year (doubtful, but you never know.)


I had to start out with the good thus far, as we've played 3 games this Spring and JD hit that mammoth HR off former Astro and current Blue Jay Wandy Rodriguez. It was a 3R HR that led to a Houston win against the Suzuki led Jays.

Onto the construction of the team, which is honestly not as wide open as last year. The only competition to watch is the bullpen. Since most of our young arms and position players are around another half year away from contributing in the rotation, the bullpen is the place to watch for movers and shakers. Not to mention our pitching staff and lineup are both pretty set this year, with our rotation looking like this:


Bud Norris
JA Happ
Kyle Weiland
Jordan Lyles
Lucas Harrell

We didn’t want to resign Happ, but apparently someone really wanted him…as he was inked anyways. And since we really can’t drop a 3 year contract into free agency without some ramifications on our budget, we’ll stick with him for now. Hopefully someone will want him later in the year or something. I would have loved to give Cosart or Folty a shot up here this season, but with the contract of Happ, I can’t do that in good conscious.

Our starting 8 looks like this:
C: Castro
1B: Hessman
2B: Altuve
3B: Johnson
SS: Gonzalez
LF: Martinez
CF: Maxwell
RF: Bogey

Really no surprises here either, but considering Singleton, Springer, and Correa are both at least a year away, we needed some veteran help at 1st, center, and short. Enter Hessman and Gonzalez. Hessman performed well down the stretch for us, we so wanted to give him another shot, and Gonzalez is a proven threat in a lineup that brings the glove as well. Both guys are going to be keys to the offense this year and make up 2/5 of our infield. Maxwell speaks for himself in Center. After taking the job from Schafer, he hit 19 dingers and played solid defense all year long. So of course he retains his job for now.

The bullpen is a bit shakier than everywhere else as of right now:
LR: Wilton Lopez/Anthony Bass/Craig Stammen
MR: Wesley Wright
MR: David Carpenter/Juan Abreu
MR: Rhiner Cruz
MR: Hector Noesi/Anthony Bass/Craig Stammen
SU: Fernando Rodriguez
SU: Kevin Jepsen
CP: Sergio Escalona

All these roles are subject to change, except Escalona as the closer because of his stellar 2012 campaign. Whoever pitches the best will be in the key roles and situations this season, as it should be on any club.

As for our bench, it looks like this as of right now:
LF Travis Buck
SS Ryan Theriot
C Johnny Monell
CF Jordan Schafer

A five man bench is something I’d like to have but with our rotation’s struggles last season, it’s safer to carry 13 pitchers and 12 position players for now. Schafer gives us speed and defense off the bench, Theriot is our utility guy since he can play pretty much every position except catcher. Monell is our backup catcher, he was acquired in the Brandon Lyon trade last season and looks to make an impact as a backup. And Buck gives us a guy who can spell Bogey or JD in the corner OF spots, as well as a solid pinch hitting option.