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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Yordan Alvarez is back! Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros open a three-game set Tuesday night against the struggling Colorado Rockies, with Hunter Brown set to take the mound at Daikin Park.

Houston (72-59) enters the matchup atop the AL West despite dropping six of its last 10 games, during which the offense has sputtered to a .204 average and the pitching staff has been tagged for a 5.69 ERA. The Astros will look to steady things at home, where they’ve gone 38-27 this season, and lean on Brown, who has been one of their most consistent arms. The right-hander owns a 10-5 record, a 2.36 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 2025.

Colorado (37-94) comes in losers of four straight and carrying the worst road record in baseball at 16-49. The Rockies have struggled mightily to contain the long ball, going 17-77 in games when allowing at least one home run. Starter Tanner Gordon (4-5, 7.11 ERA) will try to buck that trend in just his 10th appearance of the season.

Yordan Alvarez will make his long-awaited return to the lineup Tuesday, starting in left field for the opener against Colorado. It will be his first game action since May 2 after being sidelined with a hand injury.

Jose Altuve continues to lead the Astros’ offense with 22 home runs and a .456 slugging percentage, while Carlos Correa has been one of Houston’s most reliable bats of late, collecting 13 hits in his last 39 at-bats. On the Rockies’ side, Hunter Goodman has piled up 52 extra-base hits this season, and Brenton Doyle enters the series swinging a hot bat with 15 hits and 11 RBIs over his past 10 games.

The matchup is the fourth meeting between the two clubs this year, with Houston heavily favored to pick up another win as it looks to build momentum in the stretch run.

Betting odds

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -341, Rockies +270; over/under is 8 runs

Roster moves

RHP Shawn Dubin has been claimed by the Orioles.

Starting lineup

What stands out? With Yordan back in the lineup, manager Joe Espada has decided to deploy him in the cleanup spot, leaving the Top 3 of Pena, Correa, and Altuve (DH) unchanged.

A surprising twist

However, Alvarez playing left field is not something we were expecting.

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

With Yordan hitting fourth, Christian Waker slides back to the five spot, followed by Jesus Sanchez (RF), Victor Caratini (C), Mauricio Dubon (2B), and Jacob Melton (CF).

Interesting to see Yainer Diaz with the night off. He was hit in the wrist by a pitch from Craig Kimbrel on Sunday. Perhaps he needed an extra day to recover.

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*ChatGPT assisted.

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