How Houston Astros stack up with probable roster, positional strategies for postseason success
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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 Houston Astros clinched their fourth straight AL West title with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, overcoming a terrible start to reach the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year.
“That’s our goal every year we get to spring training is to win the division,” new manager Joe Espada said. “That’s where everything starts. And their commitment and their purpose is behind everything we do … and that’s something that we take very seriously here.”
The Astros are the first team to win the AL West in four straight seasons since Oakland won five times in a row from 1971-75. It’s the first time they’ve won four consecutive division titles, after winning three in a row on two previous occasions (1997-99 and 2017-19).
Houston limped out to a 7-19 record and trailed Seattle by a season-high 10 games on June 18. But the Astros won their next seven to start a 13-2 stretch as they improved to 46-42 by July 5.
They moved past the Mariners into first place in mid-August and cruised home to their latest division crown by going 79-53 after that awful 26-game stretch.
The Astros overcame numerous injuries to return to the postseason in their first year under Espada, who was hired as a first-time manager after Dusty Baker’s retirement.
Houston’s rotation was decimated by injuries early, with José Urquidy and Cristian Javier both undergoing Tommy John surgery in June, and Framber Valdez missing most of April with elbow inflammation.
The injuries forced the Astros to insert Ronel Blanco and rookie Spencer Arrighetti into the rotation. Blanco threw a no-hitter in his season debut and is second on the team with 12 wins and a 2.88 ERA. Arrighetti has made 28 starts and was selected AL rookie of the month for August after going 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA.
But their problems weren’t limited to pitching. Houston was left scrambling to find an answer at first base after releasing veteran José Abreu with $30.8 million remaining on his contract after he hit .124 through June 13. The lineup went almost three months without Kyle Tucker after the All-Star right fielder fractured his right shin on a foul ball June 3.
Yet the Astros found a way to overcome those obstacles and get back to the playoffs again, as they aim for a third World Series championship after winning in 2017 and 2022.
Houston, which has reached seven consecutive AL Championship Series, captured two other pennants during that stretch before losing World Series matchups with Washington in 2019 and Atlanta in 2021.
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