Houston Astros Starting Lineup 2/18/19 Astros Lineup

103-59, 1st in AL West

red-x Projected Proj

at BOS

11:39 pm GMT, 10/21

Updated: 4:05 am GMT, 10/20

Houston didn’t need to do too much to their lineup, as they have one of the best young cores in baseball. However, they did add Michael Brantley to round out a very good outfield with George Springer and Josh Reddick. They did lose Brian McCann, but replaced him with Robinson Chirinos who has plenty of power to sit in the back half of the lineup and rake in some RBI. Alex Bregman has become one of the best third basemen in baseball, and will hit second again behind George Springer and in front of Jose Altuve. Carlos Correa was banged up last season, and it showed in his overall stats. If Correa can get back to where he was in 2017, the cleanup spot will suit him well. Yuli Gurriel and Tyler White are excellent fill-in options, and while they are going to miss Marwin Gonzalez, this is once again a top lineup in baseball.

Updated: 4:05 am GMT, 10/20

Starting Lineup

J. Verlander , (R), SP

1. A. Bregman , (R), 3B

2. G. Springer , (R), RF

3. J. Altuve , (R), DH

4. C. Correa , (R), SS

5. Y. Gurriel , (R), 1B

6. M. Gonzalez , (S), 2B

7. T. Kemp , (L), LF

8. M. Maldonado , (R), C

9. J. Marisnick , (R), CF

Pos	Pitcher
SP	Justin Verlander J. Verlander (R)

Pos	Pitcher	Rating	GS	Record	IP	Batters Faced	Hits	Runs	ER	HR Allowed	BB	SO	K%	BB%	WHIP	BABIP	Salary	Projection
SP	Justin Verlander J. Verlander (R)	92	34	16-9	214	833	156	63	60	28	37	290	0.32%	0.05%	0.90	0.274	$	29.14

Pos	Hitter
3B	Alex Bregman A. Bregman (R)
RF	George Springer G. Springer (R)
DH	Jose Altuve J. Altuve (R)
SS	Carlos Correa C. Correa (R)
1B	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel (R)
2B	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez (S)
LF	Tony Kemp T. Kemp (L)
C	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado (R)
CF	Jake Marisnick J. Marisnick (R)

Pos	Hitter	Rating	Order	G	PA	Hits	1B	2B	3B	HR	RBI	Runs	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	Salary	Projection
3B	Alex Bregman A. Bregman (R)	90	1	157	705	170	87	51	1	31	103	105	10	4	0.286	0.394	0.53	0.926	$8500	11.22
RF	George Springer G. Springer (R)	93	2	141	616	144	96	26	0	22	71	102	6	4	0.265	0.346	0.43	0.78	$8000	10.31
DH	Jose Altuve J. Altuve (R)	92	3	137	596	169	125	29	2	13	61	84	17	4	0.316	0.386	0.45	0.837	$8000	10.97
SS	Carlos Correa C. Correa (R)	92	4	111	468	96	60	20	1	15	65	60	3	0	0.239	0.323	0.41	0.728	$7000	0
1B	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel (R)	83	5	136	573	156	109	33	1	13	85	70	5	1	0.291	0.323	0.43	0.751	$6000	9.19
2B	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez (S)	77	6	145	547	121	77	25	3	16	68	61	2	3	0.247	0.324	0.41	0.733	$7000	10.11
LF	Tony Kemp T. Kemp (L)	77	7	97	291	67	46	15	0	6	30	37	9	4	0.263	0.351	0.39	0.743	$4500	0
C	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado (R)	68	8	119	402	84	56	18	1	9	44	39	0	1	0.225	0.276	0.35	0.627	$4000	7.57
CF	Jake Marisnick J. Marisnick (R)	66	9	103	233	45	26	8	1	10	28	34	6	2	0.211	0.275	0.40	0.674	$4000	8.35

Most Common Astros Lineups

5 Games
1. George Springer
2. Alex Bregman
3. Jose Altuve
4. Carlos Correa
5. Yuli Gurriel
6. Evan Gattis
7. Marwin Gonzalez
8. Max Stassi
9. Jake Marisnick

3 Games
1. Alex Bregman
2. Jose Altuve
3. Carlos Correa
4. Tyler White
5. Marwin Gonzalez
6. Yuli Gurriel
7. Josh Reddick
8. Martin Maldonado
9. Tony Kemp

3 Games
1. George Springer
2. Jose Altuve
3. Carlos Correa
4. Yuli Gurriel
5. Alex Bregman
6. Marwin Gonzalez
7. Evan Gattis
8. Brian McCann
9. Jake Marisnick

3 Games
1. George Springer
2. Alex Bregman
3. Jose Altuve
4. Carlos Correa
5. Josh Reddick
6. Marwin Gonzalez
7. Evan Gattis
8. Brian McCann
9. Derek Fisher

2 Games
1. George Springer
2. Jose Altuve
3. Alex Bregman
4. Yuli Gurriel
5. Marwin Gonzalez
6. Josh Reddick
7. Carlos Correa
8. Brian McCann
9. Tony Kemp

2 Games
1. George Springer
2. Jose Altuve
3. Alex Bregman
4. Yuli Gurriel
5. Tyler White
6. Marwin Gonzalez
7. Carlos Correa
8. Martin Maldonado
9. Josh Reddick

2018 Recent Astros Lineups

Game	Score	Starting Pitcher	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10/19 vs BOS	L 1-4	Justin Verlander J. Verlander (R), 6 IP, 4 SO, 4 ER, L	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Tony Kemp T. Kemp	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado	Jake Marisnick J. Marisnick
10/18 vs BOS	L 6-8	Charlie Morton C. Morton (R), 2.1 IP, 2 SO, 3 ER, ND	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Josh Reddick J. Reddick	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado	Tony Kemp T. Kemp
10/16 vs BOS	L 2-8	Dallas Keuchel D. Keuchel (L), 5 IP, 0 SO, 2 ER, ND	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Josh Reddick J. Reddick	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Brian McCann B. McCann	Tony Kemp T. Kemp
10/14 @ BOS	L 5-7	Gerrit Cole G. Cole (R), 6 IP, 5 SO, 4 ER, L	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Tyler White T. White	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado	Josh Reddick J. Reddick
10/14 @ BOS	W 7-2	Justin Verlander J. Verlander (R), 6 IP, 6 SO, 2 ER, W	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Tyler White T. White	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado	Josh Reddick J. Reddick
10/8 @ CLE	W 11-3	Dallas Keuchel D. Keuchel (L), 5 IP, 2 SO, 2 ER, ND	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Josh Reddick J. Reddick	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Brian McCann B. McCann	Tony Kemp T. Kemp
10/6 vs CLE	W 3-1	Gerrit Cole G. Cole (R), 7 IP, 12 SO, 1 ER, W	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Tyler White T. White	Josh Reddick J. Reddick	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado
10/5 vs CLE	W 7-2	Justin Verlander J. Verlander (R), 5.1 IP, 7 SO, 2 ER, W	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Carlos Correa C. Correa	Tyler White T. White	Josh Reddick J. Reddick	Martin Maldonado M. Maldonado
9/30 @ BAL	L 0-4	Charlie Morton C. Morton (R), 3 IP, 4 SO, 0 ER, ND	George Springer G. Springer	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Marwin Gonzalez M. Gonzalez	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Evan Gattis E. Gattis	Josh Reddick J. Reddick	Max Stassi M. Stassi	Tony Kemp T. Kemp
9/29 @ BAL	W 5-2	Dallas Keuchel D. Keuchel (L), 3 IP, 2 SO, 1 ER, ND	Jose Altuve J. Altuve	Myles Straw M. Straw	Alex Bregman A. Bregman	Yuli Gurriel Y. Gurriel	Tyler White T. White	Evan Gattis E. Gattis	Brian McCann B. McCann	Jake Marisnick J. Marisnick	Kyle Tucker K. Tucker

2019 Houston Astros Pitching Analysis

Houston had one of the most dangerous rotations in baseball last year, but 2019 will be a little bit different given some changes. The Astros finished with the best ERA in baseball last season, and it started at the top with Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Both threw over 200 innings last season, and had over 250 strikeouts with a sub three ERA. Verlander has crushed in Houston, and this is certainly a team where arms go to change for the better. His strikeouts have been up since moving from Detroit, and Cole took a massive step forward in his career. He was already above average in Pittsburgh, but the strikeouts have really lifted him into the next level of arms. Cole had 276 strikeouts last season, and year two is going to be interesting because of recency bias. Verlander and Cole are both projected for well over 200 strikeouts again. What is changing in Houston is the names following after Cole and Verlander. Charlie Morton is now in Tampa Bay, Lance McCullers is going to miss the 2019 season, while Dallas Keuchel is a free agent unlikely to return to Houston.

Joshua James is a 25-year-old right-hander who was a late round draft pick that thrived in the minors last season. He earned a few starts with Houston, and looked very impressive. James averaged about 97 mph on his fastball, and had a very good changeup to go with it. We have a limited sample size on James right now, but projections have him pitching over 100 innings this season. Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock are likely going to be re-joining the rotation, and they were in the bullpen last season. Peacock was another name who turned around his career in Houston. In 2017 he made 21 starts, going 13-2 with a 3.00 ERA. Peacock has hit career highs in each of the last three seasons, continuously raising it. Peacock won’t have over a 35% strikeout rate this year if he isn’t pitching out of the bullpen, but is a quality arm at the backend of a rotation. McHugh pitched out of the pen last season, with a 1.99 ERA and 33.2% strikeout rate. Even falling back to half that production with his career would be huge for a fourth or fifth starter on Houston.