How these surprising Houston Astros projections point to a bizarre path forward

FUTURE SHOCK

It's been an exciting offseason in MLB so far, with Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers, and Juan Soto being traded to the New York Yankees.

But for Houston Astros fans, there hasn't been much to get excited about with the team limiting their spending. Astros fans are also preparing for the departure of Alex Bregman after the season, and rumors of trade talks about Framber Valdez have been swirling over the last week or so.

While we don't expect Valdez to be moved, there are reports about money being an issue for the club, which has many wondering if their championship window is closing quickly.

Baseball America put together some projections for what the Astros roster could look like several years from now.

So let's get right to it. Here's what the Astros 2027 roster could look like, according to Baseball America:

Projected 2027 Lineup
Catcher: Yainer Diaz (28)
First Base: Zach Dezenzo (27)
Second Base: Jose Altuve (37)
Third Base: Brice Matthews (25)
Shortstop: Jeremy Peña (29)
Left Field: Luis Baez (23)
Center Field: Jacob Melton (26)
Right Field: Kyle Tucker (30)
Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez (30)
No. 1 Starter: Cristian Javier (30)
No. 2 Starter: Hunter Brown (28)
No. 3 Starter: Spencer Arrighetti (27)
No. 4 Starter: Alonzo Tredwell (25)
No. 5 Starter: Andrew Taylor (25)
Closer: Bryan Abreu (30)

What are the biggest surprises?

We have to start with Kyle Tucker. It's hard to find anyone that thinks the Astros are going to meet his contract demands. However, when looking at the roster, they're not spending money on much else. So, who knows, if they approach the roster in this fashion, maybe Tucker could still be on the team.

It may not be a surprise, but this roster doesn't include Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, or Lance McCullers. And Cristian Javier would be in the last year of his deal in 2027. The Astros are putting a lot of faith in their development of pitchers with these projections.

Is the championship window still open with this lineup?

Probably not, unless several of these prospects reach the ceiling of their potential. Plus, it's not like Jim Crane to roll with a middle of the road roster like this.

But there is a lot of potential with many of these prospects. Players like Luis Baez and Brice Matthews are only in A ball, so it's hard to know what they'll be capable of in 2027.

Finally, if money issues continue to be an issue for Houston, do we expect Jim Crane to still own the team in 2027?

Be sure to watch the video above as we discuss the upside for these prospects, the teams' outlook moving forward, and much more.

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Jalen Green helped the Rockets even the series! Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Jalen Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-94 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.

The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.

Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.

His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.

Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.

Game 2 is Saturday night at Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors and become the 11th player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career playoff points with 4,017.

Houston led by 20 with about 10 minutes left before the Warriors used a 9-0 run, with two 3s from Quinten Post, run to get within 11. Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green at the end of that run after he flailed an arm into his face.

The Rockets then used an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by a step-back 3 from Green, to extend the lead to 99-80 with 5 ½ minutes remaining. Draymond Green received a technical foul in that stretch for arguing with officials and Eason received one for throwing a towel in an “unsportsmanlike manner.”

The loss of Butler, acquired from Miami in a February trade, was a huge blow to the Warriors after he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the series opener. On top of Butler’s injury, the Warriors were also hampered by Brandin Podziemski’s stomach ailment.

He missed most of the first half dealing with the problem and was scoreless in 14 minutes after scoring 14 points in Game 1.

Final Thoughts

Vanessa Richardson was joined by Sengun after the big win!

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