The Houston Astros announced their ALDS roster on Tuesday morning, and for the most part, this is what most Astros fans expected. The big question was how many pitchers the team would carry, and how that would impact the amount of position players that would make the cut.

The Astros have decided to roll with 12 pitchers and 14 position players. By doing this, they have the luxury of Jake Meyers, David Hensley, and Mauricio Dubon all making the roster. While these aren't exactly the players that first come to mind when you think of the Astros, they have however looked more serviceable at the plate than Trey Mancini. As much as fans love Mancini, he hasn't hit over .200 since joining the club. If Mancini's struggles continue in the postseason, the Astros have other options.

Jake Meyers has played well since rejoining the team, and he could be used as a pinch runner if the team goes with McCormick in center field as expected. David Hensley has an OPS of 1.027 this year in limited action, and he can play all the infield positions and some outfield. The only worry with Dubon making the roster is that he will be used to play center field during Justin Verlander's starts. But Dusty Baker told the media recently, the team may look to add more offense to the lineup in the postseason, and that's why McCormick made the start in center for Verlander's last start. Baker wanted McCormick to get a feel for how the ball comes off the bat with JV on the hill.

Who didn't make the cut?

Relief pitchers Phil Maton (3.84 ERA) and Will Smith (3.97 ERA) are not on the ALDS roster. Both pitchers have struggled as of late, and despite those struggles, it is a bit surprising that manager Dusty Baker left both pitchers off the roster. Both relievers have been used to match up against left-handed hitters. Maton is right-handed, but was used a ton by Dusty against left-handed hitters last postseason. Many believed Baker would have kept at least one of these guys for that role.

Instead, the Astros decided to keep two starting pitchers (Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia) in their place. I certainly understand why Dusty trusts Urquidy and Garcia more, but I am surprised an old school manager like Baker would go into the ALDS with no lefty specialist coming out of the bullpen. Of course, with the recent rule changes, lefty specialists aren't as valuable as they once were. Baseball is evolving, that's for sure. Just wait until next year, when we see even more dramatic changes to the rules.

Editor's note: Phil Maton's injury may have impacted his spot on the roster.

Up next: The Astros face the Mariners on Tuesday afternoon at 2:37 PM for Game 1 of the ALDS.

Looking ahead: We finally have confirmation. Dusty Baker announced on Tuesday that Framber Valdez will pitch Game 2 with Lance McCullers getting the ball in Game 3.