30 Clubs in 30 Days: No. 25 Houston Astros

The Houston Astros were the last team to get a win in the 2010 season. Heading into 2011 the team is much younger than it was last year, and a full on youth movement has begun. During the second half of last season when the Astros jettisoned Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman these young guys were playing everyday and won quite a few more games than most thought. However, this team’s still not good enough to make a serious run in 2011 and although they’ll be fun to watch, they’re still No. 25 on the countdown.

No. 25 Houston Astros

Projected Rotation

1. Brett Meyers-RHP
2. Wandy Rodriguez-LHP
3. J.A. Happ-LHP
4. Bud Norris-RHP
5. Nelson Figueroa-RHP or Ryan Rowland-Smith-LHP

Projected Bullpen

1. Brandon Lyon-RHP
2. Wilton Lopez-RHP
3. Fernando Abad-LHP
4. Mark Melancon-RHP
5. Alberto Arias-RHP
6. Aneury Rodriguez-RHP

Projected Lineup

1. CF Michael Bourn
2. SS Clint Barmes
3. RF Hunter Pence
4. LF Carlos Lee
5. 3B Chris Johnson
6. 1B Brett Wallace
7. 2B Bill Hall
8. C Jason Castro

Analysis

The Astros will be one of baseball’s youngest teams on opening day and are looking to rebound after a tough 2010. The success of the Astros will hinge on the success of a couple different pieces. The first piece is center fielder and leadoff man Michael Bourn. Bourn stole 52 bases last season and hit .265, Bourn hasn’t quite been able to put it together as a hitter but he’s progressively improved each season of his career so look for Bourn to have a breakout year in 2011.

Houston’s highest paid talent is slugger Carlos Lee who hit a whopping .246 last season. Lee did manage 24 bombs and 89 RBI in 157 games and should be able to duplicate that in 2011. Lee has one role and one role only, to knock it out of the park and if he can do that the Astros lineup will be surprisingly balanced.

The rest of the Astros lineup is made up of capable bats including Hunter Pence and Chris Johnson, Clint Barmes used to be a hard-hitting shortstop but the chances of him recapturing that are slim to none. The addition of Bill Hall provides some stability at 2^nd base and a decent bat at the bottom of the order.

During the Astros successful 2^nd half stretch Brandon Lyon was a good closer for the club. He’ll start the season in that role in 2011 and figures to have another good season. Lyon was with three teams in three years so returning to Astros for his second year should benefit him and could easily end up with 30 saves.

After Lyon virtually none of the Astros payroll is going to the bullpen and things could drastically change from a roster standpoint between now and opening day. It’s a group of young guys that like the rest of the team should be fun to watch.

The starting rotation had a head start to life after Oswalt when the ace was dealt before the trade deadline last season. While no one has the star power that Oswalt possessed each starter in the Astros rotation is full of potential.

Brett Myers will be the proverbial ace, coming off a season with 14 victories and an ERA of 3.14 with 180 strikeouts. Rodriguez will be the number two and has been a solid starter during his career with the Astros. Both Happ and Norris showed plenty of potential once they were finally given the chance last season and look to be decent starters in 2011.

This team is definitely headed in the right direction but is a few years away from taking the next step. The Astros will finish ahead of the Pirates in the NL Central but other than that there won’t be much more to write home about in 2011.