How Houston Astros stack up with probable roster, positional strategies for postseason success

POSTSEASON OUTLOOK

How Houston Astros stack up with probable roster, positional strategies for postseason success
The Astros have some big decisions to make.Composite Getty Image.

The MLB postseason is right around the corner, and one of the most popular discussions about the Astros has to be (or at least was) Justin Verlander's role moving forward.

It appears Houston GM Dana Brown plans on reevaluating Verlander's status after the first playoff series.

Which is quite a position reversal compared to his last comments about JV when he broke out the “back of the baseball card” nonsense on the club's flagship station on September 11. Better late than never, I suppose.

With that said, it appears the Astros will role with Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Yusei Kikuchi. Which seems like the right choice at the moment.

But now the Astros have another x-factor to navigate. If Yordan Alvarez is able to play with his sprained knee in the postseason, it's hard to imagine he would be playing in left field.

With him locked in at DH, Yainer Diaz will have to either catch or play first base. The same goes for Victor Caratini if he's in the starting lineup. Which also means that games in which both Caratini and Diaz play, Jon Singleton will be on the bench.

We'll likely see a platoon at first between Caratini and Singleton when Diaz is behind the dish. Mauricio Dubon could also factor in.

Which leads us to the outfield. Kyle Tucker is a no-brainer to play right field, and we'll likely see a platoon in left between Jason Heyward and Dubon.

One would assume Jake Meyers gets the nod to play center field due to his excellent play on defense, but you never know. As Chandler Rome noted in his article for The Athletic this week, Meyers has the 4th-worst OPS (.540) in baseball since the All-Star break.

Dubon is starting in center on Tuesday night. Make of that what you will. Could be nothing, or could be something.

We could also see Chas McCormick play some center or left field should he return healthy from his hand/finger injury.

Plus, how many pitchers and position players should the Astros carry in the Wild Card round? Should they keep more hitters so they can pinch hit for guys like Meyers should they find themselves down in a big game?

Don't miss the video above for the full discussion!

*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Astros beat the Cubs, 2-0. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and Framber Valdez tossed six shutout innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Sunday.

Altuve’s 13th home run of the season broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning. It was his first extra base hit in 34 at bats and the Astros' only extra base hit of the game.

Valdez (9-4) struck out six while allowing five hits and two walks.

Only one man reached third base against him. He exited with two on and nobody out in the seventh, but Bryan Abreu replaced him and retired Michael Busch, Vidal Bruján and Ian Happ to work out of trouble.

Abreu pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning. He struck out four of the six men he faced.

Josh Hader retired the side in order in the ninth inning to convert on his franchise record 23rd straight save opportunity to start the season.

Jameson Taillon (7-6) matched zeroes with Valdez until Altuve’s home run on his 107th and final pitch of his outing. He struck out four while giving up five hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings.

The bullpen trio of Ryan Brasier, Ryan Pressly and Brad Keller held the Astros to two hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Key Moment

Altuve’s fifth inning, two-run homer to break the scoreless tie.

Key Stat

The Astros are unbeaten in their last 11 series, dating back to May 22, going 9-0-2 in that span.

Up Next

The Cubs open a three-game series against the Guardians on Tuesday with LHP Matthew Boyd (7-3 2.65 ERA) against RHP Gavin Williams (5-3 3.68 ERA).

The Astros open a three-game series at the Rockies on Tuesday with LHP Colton Gordon (3-1 3.98 ERA) against RHP Chase Dollander (2-8 6.06 EA).

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