2013 Houston Astros - Tentative

[Rockies]

I don't have early zips like some folks, and I have no idea how positional projections will go, so there might be some changes. But I think this is generally the team I am going to field as we head to the AL West.

Field:
1b - Ike Davis
2b - Howie Kendrick/Kolten Wong
SS - Jimmy Rollins
3b - Josh Donaldson/Jose Lopez/Matt Davidson
C - Hank Conger/Rob Brantly
LF - Tyler Moore
CF - Starling Marte/Franklin Gutierrez
RF - Ryan Ludwick

DH depends on fielding projections. I could see Ludwick or Moore in the DH spot, possibly Conger.

Looking for continued steps forward from my younger guys.. with a little luck, Brantly, Wong, and Davidson will have favorable projections.

Pitching Rotation in no particular order:

Andy Pettitte
Kyle Lohse
Tom Milone
Justin Masterson
Henderson Alvarez

Young guys who are anchored at the top by 2 long time vets, both of which had remarkable seasons. Pitching should be pretty solid until you get to the back end where both Masterson and Alvarez struggled - but I'm more than willing to be patient with these young arms.

On the bubble:
Scott Feldman
Anthony Bass
Phil Humber

In the pen:

Jordan Walden - CL
Jose Veras
Tanner Scheppers
Vincent Padilla
Nick Masset
Cristhian Martinez
Kelvin Herrera
Rafeal Dolis
Louis Coleman
Craig Breslow - lhp
Jerry Blevins - lhp
Duane Below - lhp

The pen should again be fairly strong. Some shut down arms(Walden, Herrera) at the end, the three lefties, the killer B's in Breslow, Blevins, and Below should be tough as nails on lefties. Coleman, Veras, and possibly Masset to bridge the gap. Very solid, if unspectacular bunch to shorten games.

The bench is going to be a weak point, as it was last year. I've got some good defensive players, but not much in the way of hitting. Catricala and Presley had down years and J. Moore was hurt all year with a hip injury.

So yeah.. I still have a lot of work to do with this franchise, but I really like where I sit compared to when I took it over. I have a good mix of vets and youth thats starting to emerge. The farm is a little thin, but I'm sure I will like it much more with the influx of talent from the draft. This years draft is a bit weak overall, which is why I was happy to get Kolten Wong from Nick and consider him my 1st overall.