Houston Astros: Assessing the Roster for the ALDS
The Houston Astros have all of their players set for the first round of the postseason. Time to take a look at who made the cut for the ALDS and who didn’t.
Round 1 of the ALDS between the Cleveland Indians and our Houston Astros takes place tonight. Already, we knew towards the beginning of the week that Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Dallas Keuchel will be the first three starting pitchers.
Now, AJ Hinch has announced the remaining spots left to be filled for the position players and the remaining bullpen of pitchers. Here is the breakdown, courtesy of Brian McTaggart of MLB.com:
Astros ALDS roster:
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) October 4, 2018
Catchers: Maldonado, McCann.
IF: Gurriel, Altuve, Correa, Bregman, Gonzalez.
OF: Springer, Reddick, Marisnick, Kemp, Straw.
DH: White, Gattis
SP: Verlander, Cole, Keuchel, Morton.
RP: Osuna, Pressly, Sipp, James, McCullers, McHugh, Harris.
Admittedly, many of these selections were to be expected. However, some do come as a slight surprise. Namely, the players that had to be left off. Jeff Luhnow did touch on this during the team’s pep rally the other day.
Hot. Top 10 moments of the 2018 season. light
"“There’s going to be players that aren’t going to be on the roster for the 1st round that will probably make onto the 2nd round if we’re able to make it. There’s going to be players that deserve to be on the playoff roster that are left off.”"
All that said, let’s take a deeper look into which soldiers from the Houston Astros will see battle first.