Houston Astros Season 2017: Three Things To Watch Out For
The Hopeful Bright Spots
Dallas Keuchel, McCullers, Charlie Morton and Mike Fiers will fill the rest of the starting rotation.
It remains to be seen how these guys will perform but I’m hopeful that they’ll perform well.
All of them are recovering from season-ending injuries but it’s seems that they’re on right on track to be production beasts.
Morton, who signed a two-year, $14 million deal in the off season with the Astros, had a good March with a 1.04 ERA, allowing 10 hits, two earned runs, 17 strikeouts and a 0.92 WHIP through 17.1 innings pitched.
Let’s hope health remains strong for all three of these guys because we’re going to need them.
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Left field remains a mystery but it’s assumed that Aoki will see most of the time there with Carlos Beltran — also acquired in the off season for a one-year, $16 million deal — relieving him when he needs a night off.
Beltran still has it — he put up a slash line of .333/.368/.722 with a 1.091 OPS and seven hits in eight games (18 at-bats) this past March.
He also had two home runs.
Evan Gattis will continue in his backup catcher/utility man/DH role, building off of last season where he continued to make plays to get on base.
He had 32 home runs and 19 doubles in a reserve role in 2016 so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t stay the course and improve upon what he’s done so far despite having a not-so-great Spring Training.