Lyon: The likely closer
(c) Houston Astros
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As spring training awaits, the Astros are excited about a new beginning with new manager Brad Mills and a fresh start with a .500 record. For a team coming off a 74-win season, there are not many position battles to watch this spring.
Let's start at catcher where Humberto Quintero and J.R. Towles will likely break camp with the parent club. They just have to avoid the disastrous hitting the whole catching contingent suffered last spring, forcing the front office to sign Ivan Rodriguez out of necessity. If both survive, I don't think either will be the starter in the traditional sense and that the two backstops will split time as the season opens.
The two wild cards are former first-rounder Jason Castro, who likely begins the year at AAA Round Rock unless he simply outperforms the other candidates in camp. The other is veteran Kevin Cash who was signed as a non-roster invitee. Cash exists mostly so the Astros have someone else to call up if they don't think the time is right for Castro. While many Astro fans expect Castro to be brought up soon, I think the front office would rather let him get a full year in Round Rock under his belt before taking the plunge.
The starting infield and outfield are largely set with new shortstop Tommy Manzella being the only one who could lose their job before Opening Day. But there's really no serious competition in camp at shortstop. Geoff Blum and Jeff Keppinger will get work throughout the infield but neither is an everyday shortstop. Oswaldo Navarro could be a fallback option but he hasn't played in the majors since 2006. The rest of the lineup is set, barring injury.
The backup outfield spots are likely to go to Jason Michaels and Cory Sullivan with Jason Bourgeois and Yordany Ramirez having an outside shot of taking a spot.
The starting rotation is set with three pitchers - Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers, but the other two spots will have four challengers and the front office would love to see Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino win those jobs. Brian Moehler, Wesley Wright and Yorman Bazardo are the fallback options.
Any or all of them could also wind up in a crowded bullpen competing with Jeff Fulchino, Chris Sampson, Alberto Arias, Tim Byrdak, Sammy Gervacio and the likely closer/set-up combo of righthanders Matt Lindstrom and Brandon Lyon who came over in the off-season. Depending on whether Mills carries 11 pitchers or 12 could determine who gets the last place on the roster. The last spot is apt to be either a third catcher, a seventh infielder or a seventh reliever.
Manzella aside, the front office rarely prefers rookies over veterans so don't expect any untested kids to rise onto the 25-man roster without any big league pedigree, even if the prospect plays better this spring than the veteran. It seems to be the Astro way to stick with the known quantity until they prove that they can't do the job and even a little longer than that in some cases. So you can probably write down 30 names now and have the 25-man Opening Day roster contained within it.
- Bob Hulsey
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