2015 Astros Regular Season Thread

Opening night Line up predictions.

Altuve 2B .333 7 HR 68 RBI

Lowrie SS .260 4 HR 50 RBI

Springer RF .278 38 HR 117 RBI

Gattis DH .260 30 HR 100 RBI

Carter 1B .220 27 HR 80 RBI

Rasmus LF .242 22 HR 70 RBI

Valbuena 3B .254 18 HR 67 RBI

Marisnick CF .270 8 HR 57 RBI

Castro C .240 15 HR 60 RBI

Rotation

Dallas Keuchel 3.89 ERA 15-9

Scott Feldman 4.28 ERA 10-10

Brett Oberholtzer 4.55 ERA 9-13

Asher Wojo 3.88 ERA 2-3

Collin McHugh 3.88 13-10

Hernandez 5.23 ERA 7-13

Final Record 82-80 Runs Scored: 815 Runs Against: 825

I think the Astros are going to lose a lot of 12-2 games but they will win their fair share of 9-8 or 10-5 games. This team will score runs but not consistently as they have very few OBP guys and a ton of Power guys. In other words they are going to score five runs with four homers and fifteen strikeouts, or one run on no homers and fifteen strikeouts. They also don't have the starting pitching yet to stay in low scoring pitching duels but they do have the bullpen to keep games close late. Expect the bullpen to get worse as the season goes on as I feel they are going to get a lot of work early and tire out towards the end of the season. I fully expect this team to be the surprise of the AL at the All-Star break, maybe even being ten games above .500 but like I stated before they will fade at the end of the year with bullpen issues. If Dallas, Scott, or Collin go down in the beginning of the year it will be a disaster for the starting five. If either Geregerson or Neshek go down in the pen, once again it will be a disaster. This will be a fun team to watch because of their power potential.

Opening night Line up predictions.

 

Altuve 2B .333 7 HR 68 RBI

Lowrie SS .260 4 HR 50 RBI

Springer RF .278 38 HR 117 RBI

Gattis DH .260 30 HR 100 RBI

Carter 1B .220 27 HR 80 RBI

Rasmus LF .242 22 HR 70 RBI

Valbuena 3B .254 18 HR 67 RBI

Marisnick CF .270 8 HR 57 RBI

Castro C .240 15 HR 60 RBI

 

Rotation

 

Dallas Keuchel 3.89 ERA 15-9

Scott Feldman 4.28 ERA 10-10

Brett Oberholtzer 4.55 ERA 9-13

Asher Wojo 3.88 ERA 2-3

Collin McHugh 3.88 13-10

Hernandez 5.23 ERA 7-13

 

Final Record 82-80 Runs Scored: 815 Runs Against: 825

 

I think the Astros are going to lose a lot of 12-2 games but they will win their fair share of 9-8 or 10-5 games. This team will score runs but not consistently as they have very few OBP guys and a ton of Power guys. In other words they are going to score five runs with four homers and fifteen strikeouts, or one run on no homers and fifteen strikeouts. They also don't have the starting pitching yet to stay in low scoring pitching duels but they do have the bullpen to keep games close late. Expect the bullpen to get worse as the season goes on as I feel they are going to get a lot of work early and tire out towards the end of the season. I fully expect this team to be the surprise of the AL at the All-Star break, maybe even being ten games above .500 but like I stated before they will fade at the end of the year with bullpen issues. If Dallas, Scott, or Collin go down in the beginning of the year it will be a disaster for the starting five. If either Geregerson or Neshek go down in the pen, once again it will be a disaster. This will be a fun team to watch because of their power potential.

I think the Astros have a lot more power but with guys like Altuve, Lowrie and Springer at the top of the lineup and Rasmus and Marisnick at the bottom they are fully able to play small ball. The Stros were basically in the same boat last year and there were too many games where it seemed Houston was waiting for a long ball to bail them out of a deficit. What you're not taking into account is a pretty strong pitching staff. The starters performed well for the most part all season and I haven't seem evidence that they will be any less effective this spring. With more consistent hitting and hopefully fewer strike outs the starters should enjoy more run support. The ace in the hole is the bullpen. Houston let go of some cash to upgrade the pen and instead of a distinct liability the Astros have turned it into a team strength. Will Houston improve 19 games the way they did last season? Who knows but one thing for sure is they will take the field every single day against any opponent with a reasonable expectation of a win.

I've said it before and I will say it again, if you call that pitching staff "pretty strong" then I would hate to see what you call weak! That is not a "pretty strong" staff in the least. Dallas is a good number three and a some what passable number two, and if Collin can can repeat he is a number three as well. To be a number one or two you have to be dominate and neither pitcher, no matter their numbers, is dominate. Feldman is a very good number four and a passable number three. Hernandez is a five as well as Brett. Asher I think can be a good number four. We have seen such bad pitching that we think if a guy has a ERA in the high three's he is a freaking ace. Is the rotation bad? No. Is it strong" Hell no. It is the rotation of a .500 club.

As for playing small ball, Altuve is a .320+ hitter that has a OBP around .340, Lowrie's highest OBP was .344 in 2013, Springers was .336 last season, Rasmus has a career high .313 OBP, and Marisnik had a career .264 OBP. Where do you see guys that can get on base at a good clip? And then you need to take into account that if the top three guys can get on base at a decent clip, .350+ OBP, Gattis, Carter, and Rasmus would actually have to make contact to drive them in. All three K at a very high rate. This club is literally in the same position as last year. The big exception is that they added a lot more power so they will score more runs, but it is going to take that power to drive the runs in. There will be very little walk, bunt over, and RBI single for this team. It will be Base hit, K, K, Bomb. This team is also going to ground into a ton of double plays. One thing I know for absolute sure, the Astros are going to set the MLB record for K's in a season yet again. Count on it. This team will be all or nothing and it will be fun and frustrating to watch.

I've said it before and I will say it again, if you call that pitching staff "pretty strong" then I would hate to see what you call weak! That is not a "pretty strong" staff in the least. Dallas is a good number three and a some what passable number two, and if Collin can can repeat he is a number three as well. To be a number one or two you have to be dominate and neither pitcher, no matter their numbers, is dominate. Feldman is a very good number four and a passable number three. Hernandez is a five as well as Brett. Asher I think can be a good number four. We have seen such bad pitching that we think if a guy has a ERA in the high three's he is a freaking ace. Is the rotation bad? No. Is it strong" Hell no. It is the rotation of a .500 club.

 

As for playing small ball, Altuve is a .320+ hitter that has a OBP around .340, Lowrie's highest OBP was .344 in 2013, Springers was .336 last season, Rasmus has a career high .313 OBP, and Marisnik had a career .264 OBP. Where do you see guys that can get on base at a good clip? And then you need to take into account that if the top three guys can get on base at a decent clip, .350+ OBP, Gattis, Carter, and Rasmus would actually have to make contact to drive them in. All three K at a very high rate. This club is literally in the same position as last year. The big exception is that they added a lot more power so they will score more runs, but it is going to take that power to drive the runs in. There will be very little walk, bunt over, and RBI single for this team. It will be Base hit, K, K, Bomb. This team is also going to ground into a ton of double plays. One thing I know for absolute sure, the Astros are going to set the MLB record for K's in a season yet again. Count on it. This team will be all or nothing and it will be fun and frustrating to watch.

Wow, Big T, oh ye of little faith. As for Altuve's OBP, your right about him. After all, how can you dispute the fact he was the AL batting champ as well as the AL leader in stolen bases. Lowrie's 2013 was in the cavernous Oakland A's stadium and as you pointed out in another thread when I bitched about resigning him that 2014 was a down year partly due to that same cavernous outfield. The power alleys are made for a line drive hitter like Lowrie and he's a good base runner and a good situational hitter. Hitting between Altuve and Springer should mean he will see a lot of good pitches. Springer was a rookie in 2014 who didn't even begin the season on the big club. He showed lots of promise and with a full healthy season we may see the power and the speed he brings to the base paths. Gattis has battled injuries and he has shown the ability to hit for average and power. Gattis made his MLB debut in 2013 for god's sake. Make no mistake, he's in Houston for his power but there's no reason the Astros can't work with a guy to cut down on K's. Chris Carter was coached up and he had a real nice 2nd half of 2014. I can't argue with Rasmus but he's another power guy who is working off a one year deal meaning Houston loses nothing if he doesn't hit. You notice Robbie Grossman has been pretty hot. Grossman is a base hitter with some power and Marisnick is another young guy who actually is a base hitter. A .281 OBP can be improved upon and he's done well in spring training. He's another guy who just made his big league debut in 2013.

Now don't get me started on the pitching staff. Are you basing you opinion on ERA or W/L record or some combination of the two. I showed in a thread before spring training that these pitchers are better than their W/L records would indicate. Your opinion of what a No 1 or 2 guy is doesn't account for the fact there have been plenty of No 1's and 2's who didn't dominate. What about Greg Maddux? Ave fastball and good curve. What made Maddux great was control. Maddux didn't dominate he just went out every 4th day and got batters out. Keuchel had the most complete games in the bigs, 5. He also lost one of those because the bullpen blew it after the game went extra innings. Keuchel was 7th in ERA in the AL and he pitched 200 innings. That's No 1 type numbers in my book. Now before you go and say I'm crazy to compare Keuchel with Maddux I'm not saying Keuchel is as good as Maddux was they are just similar type of pitchers. To be in Maddux' league Keuchel will have to do what he did in 2014 for about 10 years. Feldman was a little inconsistent but he was respectable to be considered a No 2. He pitched 180 innings and his 3.74 ERA is certainly respectable. Actually, I think Feldman was the No 3 man in the rotation. The real No 2 was McHugh. He came to Houston in May and still made 25 starts. What he did was end up with the 2nd most wins as starter and the lowest ERA on the team with a 2.73 and a miniscule WHIP of 1.02 both Keuchel and McHugh could have been 18 game winners in 2014 except they rarely got any run support and when they did have a lead the bullpen gave it away. Wojo could certainly be much more than a No 3 or 4 but he's got to prove it when it counts. I'm good with Hernandez as a 5. But if he falters and Wojo doesn't then when Obie is healthy Hernandez is the odd man out. The Astros didn't give him squat they couldn't afford to lose. Obie needs to develop consistency and he's a 4 anyway but all your rotation can't be 1's. I really think you undersell this staff. A lot depends on if 2014 was a fluke but from what I saw and heard in the spring the staff could be in worse hands.

I really think this team can win 85 games if breakout seasons by Altuve, Springer, Keuchel, Carter, McHugh are the same or hopefully better and new comers Lowrie, Gattis and Rasmus perform better than M Gonzalez, Dominguez and Singleton and Jason Castros gets back to his 2013 self. That's a lot of if's but 5 days from opening day everyone is going to the World Series but I am genuinely excited to see the Astros play this year. We all will be able to watch them after 2 years of not watching them. Thank you Root Sports Network.

First, how can you call me "ye of little faith," when I have the Astros finishing above .500 and ten games above at the All-Star Break?!?! Lol

Jose Atuve, .341 Average .377 OBP 36 BB on 707 plate appearances. Most guys with a average of .341 would have an OBP around .400. The issue with Jed Lowrie, and yes I liked this pick up as it does give the Astros a good two hole hitter, is that his best year was 2013 BA .290, OBP .344, 45 2B and he did that in Oakland. So as much as I defended him and as much as you are defending him now we can't say he had bad numbers because he played in Oakland. He put up All-Star numbers in that monstrosity that they call a ballpark. Springer put up great numbers last year. But, Springer has always been a high K guy. He doesn't know how to cut back his swing when he has two strikes as shown by his .184 average with runners in scoring position. But, that is also what makes him great the fact that he never shortens it up and just lets it fly no matter the situation. But we heap all of this praise on him, and yes he did a great job last year as a rookie, but if I just put .231 BA .336 OBP, 20HR, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3/1 K/BB Ratio and asked you to name the Astros player it belonged to you would not say George Springer. Why? Because that really isn't that impressive of a stats line. I think the guy is going to be great this season and for several seasons after but lets remember that he is young and he will be asked to carry the majority of the offensive load with less than a full season under his belt. Kriss Karter, yes I spelled it with a K, had a lower OBP last season than the season before and only increased his BA by .004, and increased his RBI's by only 6. Think about that.....Breakout season right? Grossman won't sniff the field unless Marisnick just stinks it up at the beginning of the season. All I am saying with this is that the Astros won't be playing small ball. Not bashing the Astros players in any way, I am just pointing out their limitations and their strengths. Limitations, hitting for high average and reaching base. Strengths, hitting lots and lots of home runs. This team has come a loooonnnnggggg way from last season on this side of the ball.

As for the rotation there are guys that have "it" and guys that have "IT". Keuchel has "it". He isn't special, he isn't going to blow you away, hitters are not going to come away saying WOW that guy is great. In fact, if I remember right, and I do, at least three teams talked about how mad they were that they weren't able to hit him when his stuff isn't that great. This caused quite the stir among us Astros fans and there was discussion on this board about it as well as the official Astros boards. No one ever said that about Maddux. Here is a better comparison, Woody Williams. Good pitcher, good stuff, lots of wins, work horse, never dominate when it came to K's, and eliminating 2007 when he pitched for the Stros in that terrible season, he had a career 1.223 WHIP. Woody was never better than a number two on an average team never more than a number three on a good team. As for McHugh, he has to do it again over a full season. If he does that then I will consider him to be a number two. Sorry, I don't think he can. Call me cynical if you wish and I hope to hell he proves me wrong. Feldman is a solid, proven MLB veteran who can get major league hitters out. Once again, not going to dominate but he will get outs and give quality innings. Obie is still pretty young and I am willing to give him this year to find consistency. I am low on this rotation for the simple fact the Feldman is the only one that can show that he can consistently get MLB hitters out. The rest of the rotation still has to prove that. I hope they make me eat my words.

Here is a fun article on how all MLB teams will be able to capture the WS Pennant this season. It seems pretty legit to me!

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2015/04/01/115680786

Dude, was it a glorious night of baseball or what? The weather was perfect. The atmosphere was amazing and the game did not disappoint. It was priceless! Before I left for the game I was checking out the Bleacher Report and it gave a ranking of the pitching matchups for opening day. The Kluber-Keuchel matchup was ranked the 10th best of the day. For may money, after a quick look around at the box scores and it turned out to be the best of the day.

Kluber went 7.1 innings and threw 102 pitches. Keuchel went 7 innings and threw 103 pitches. Kluber had a no-no working into the 6th inning with 2 outs until Jose Altuve singled to center followed by a seeing eye single that scored Altuve, who had stolen 2nd base on the first pitch after his hit. Everyone in the Juice Box knew Altuve was going to steal 2nd including Kluber and his catcher but they weren't even close to stopping him. Back to the Kluber-Keuchel tale of the tape. Kluber and Keuchel both only gave up 3 hits on their night. Kluber walked 2 and struck out 7 while Keuchel had 3 and 4. Both men benefited from really good defense but none more than by Keuchel himself. He fielded his position as well as he pitched especially on a swinging bunt by DH Ryan Raburn in the 7th. Keuchel had gotten into a jam in the inning by allowing back to back singles to Carlos Santana (who's got the coolest name in the bigs) and Yan Gomes. I thought that would be it for Keuchel on the night but after AJ Hinch went to the mound for a quick chat Keuchel settled down but it was his play on Raburn's bunt that impressed. The ball barely made the grass past the home plate cutout and it looked like the bases would be loaded with just the one out Keuchel recorded after Hinch's visit to the mound by striking out Brandon Moss. But Keuchel was off the mound like a rocket and beating Jason Castro to the ball he wheeled and fired a fastball, his hardest throw of the night, to get Raburn just as he was about to step on the 1st base bag. Keuchel showed why he earned himself a Gold Glove award last season right then and there. The Astros threatened with a couple of long balls, one by George Springer in the 1st and another by Chris Carter in the 5th. Both hits went to right-center field with former Astro Michael Bourn making a nice catch on a long run from his center field spot on Springer's hit while right fielder Brandon Moss. Keuchel avoided giving up a double in the top of the 6th on a sharply hit liner by Michael Brantley to left field that Colby Rasmus caught over his shoulder at the wall. Rasmus, after a quiet spring, had a good game. Besides flashing some leather he did okay at the plate. He went 1 for 2 with a walk and his hit in the 8th moved Jed Lowrie from 1st to third setting up an insurance run which Jake Marisnick provided by flying out to right scoring Lowrie. No long ball histrionics for Houston last night, they won playing small ball. (I told you, Big T. I'll bet you laughed when I did) Great night last night. Great game and I sure hope it's a sign of things to come for the Astros. Good for Dallas Keuchel who had too little run support and too little help from the bullpen last year. Tonight he got both with Altuve and company providing the runs and Tony Sipp and Luke Gregerson closing the door on the Indians night. Sweet.

There's a new eatery in the ballpark called Street Eats and they only have 3 food items on the menu but at least one of them rocks. It sure epitomizes the Texas experience. It called Curley Fried Brisket and it is sooooooo good. First you take a wad of curly fries and cover them up with Nolan Ryan beef brisket shredded to perfection. Cover that with hot melted cheese, sprinkle in some feta cheese and top with a mound of pico de gallo and green onions. It looks awesome and tastes better. My son and I both agreed it was the best ever. Beats the hell out of a plain ol' burger or a dog.

Slowest flyover in history by 3 vintage planes from the Texas Air Force. 3 WWII vintage planes, two fighters and a cargo plane. Still pretty cool.

Craig Biggio threw out the first pitch to his successor Jose Altuve. It was interesting to note Biggio is noticeably taller than the defending batting champ. Great photo op of the two men together and it was sure great to hear the crowd chant Biggio, Biggio, Biggio again. It won't be the last time this season that happens.

There was a lady who sang God Bless America in the seventh inning stretch who sang it like a funeral pall. I have never heard it sang that slowly before. She sang it well but I'm sure Woody Guthrie turned over and thought, I never wrote that song to be sung that slow!

Over 43K in the stadium. Great crowd. The only downside was leaving the place.

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I don't even have a TV. These are a couple of site that I use for streaming. Just make sure you have AdBlock which you should already have anyways. I have never received any sort of virus or any of that. I don't own a TV because I can get anything you can on my computer and more without having to pay a huge cable bill.

The Astros are back in action tonight from the Juice Box with last year's No 1 starter filling the 2 spot this season Scott Feldman going against Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco probably, no - would have been, the Indians No 1 this season if not for Cory Kluber's amazing Cy Young winning season in 2014. Last year Carrasco was 8-7 in 40 appearances including 14 starts with an ERA of 2.55. Opposing hitters only mustered a .209 BA against Carrasco last season. Feldman had an 8-12 record in 2014 with an ERA of 3.74 with 29 starts and 29 appearances. If Feldman is on this could turn into another pitcher's duel similar to Monday night's gem between Kluber and Dallas Keuchel. If Feldman is a little off, which he was from time to time last season, it could be a long night for the home team. It is important to note the fact that Feldman was a full time starter last year and for his career while Carrasco was mainly a reliever last year. To be fair Carrasco has been a starter all but last year but we'll look for any advantage we can, right?

I would certainly be nice if the sticks got going early tonight after just managing 3 hits on Monday. Given how well Kluber pitched it was encouraging that the Astros as a team only struck out 7 times for the game.

Game time is 7:10 PM on Root Sports Network for those who get it and Big T's web sites for those who don't. Last year I did 1/2 inning by 1/2 inning updates right here on BRI on opening day and I might do the same tonight if I have time. It would be nice to see Houston keep the momentum going and really get off to a hot start this year.

Top of 1st Feldman pitching, 4 up 3 down with 2 Ks an F8. With 2 out Jason Kipnis singled to center.

Bottom of 1st Carrasco pitching, Altuve flies out to center. Springer and Valbuena both K'd.

Top of 2nd, Moss K (1 out), Gomes 6-3 (2 out), Murphy singled to right, Chisenhall K (3 out)

Bottom of 2nd, Gattis K (1 out), Carter 5-3 (2 out), Castro BB, Rasmus F8 (3 out)

Top of 3rd, Aviles 4-3 (1 out), Bourn attempted bunt 2-3 (2 out), Ramirez F8 (3 out)

Bottom 3rd, Marisnick 3 unassisted (1 out),K Altuve F6 (2 out), Springer K (3 out)

Top of 4th, Kipnis F8 (1 out), Santana home run to right field, Moss 6-3 (2 out), Gomes 6-3 (3 out). Score Cleveland 1 Houston 0.

Bottom of 4th, Valbuena K (1 out), Gattis K (2 out), Carter F8 (3 out). Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Top of 5th, Murphy F9 (1 out), Chisenhall 1-3 (2 out), Aviles singled to right, Bourn K (3 out). Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Bottom of 5th, Castro singles to left, Lowrie FC-Castro out at 2B (1 out), Lowrie steals 2nd, Rasmus K (2 out), Marisnick 5-3 (3 out). Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Top of 6th, Ramirez 3U (1 out), Kipnis singles to left, Santana F5 -- Kipnis held on 1st (2 out), Moss 3U (3 out). Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Bottom of 6th, Altuve 6-3 (1 out), Springer doubles to center, Valbuena K (2 out), Gattis K (3 out). Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Seventh Inning

Top of 7th - Murphy 3-1 (1 out), Gomes K (2 out), Feldman out, Joe Thatcher in to pitch, Chisenhall K (3 out). Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Final line for Feldman - 6.2 innings pitched/ 5 hits / 1 run (earned) / 0 walks / 5 K's / 1 HR / 103 pitches

Bottom of 7th - Carter K (1 out), Carlos Carrasco out, Nick Hagadone in to pitch, Castro BB, Lowrie sharp ground ball to 3rd infield single, Pitching change Hagadone out, LHP Marc Rzpczyniski in to pitch, Rasmus 6-4-3 DP (2nd and 3rd out) Cleveland 1 Houston 0

Final Line for Carrasco - 6.1 innings / 0 runs / 3 hits / 1 walk / 10 K's / 88 pitches

Final line for Hagadone - 2 batters faced no outs recorded / 0 runs / 1 hit / 1 walk

Eighth Inning

Top of 8th - Pitching change - Pat Neshak replaced Joe Thatcher, Aviles home run to left field, Bourn singled to right field, Ramirez sac bunt 2-3 - Bourn to 2nd (1 out), Kipnis F5 - Bourn stays at 2B (2 out), Santana K (3 out). Cleveland 2 Houston 0

Final line for Joe Thatcher - .1 inning / 0 runs / 0 hits / 0 walks / 1 K

Bottom of 8th - Pitching change Rzepczniski out, RHP Bryan Shaw to pitch, Robbie Grossman PH for Marisnick K (1 out), Altuve F7 (2 out), Springer BB, Valbuena L1 (3 out). Cleveland 2 Houston 0

Final Line for Rzepczniski - .2 innings / 0 runs, hits, walks, K's