kargus, I just realized if the Astros can pull off this dream scenario of signing Max Scherzer, they'd have three of the top 10 ERA leaders in the American League from 2014: Collin McHugh (2.73 ERA over 25 starts), Dallas Keuchel (2.93 ERA over 29 starts) and Max Scherzer (3.15 ERA over 33 starts). We'd also have two of the better reliever ERAs from 2014: Luke Gregerson (2.12 ERA over 72 appearances) and Pat Neshek (1.87 ERA over 71 appearances).

Obviously 2015 would become a new year and stats don't carry over from the previous year.
But wow, some of that pitching potential could become a real strength for the 2015 season.

Not the end of the world if we fail to sign Max Scherzer but he could really accelerate the rebuilding process. Just like signing two good relievers were very much needed. The Astros had the worst bullpen in baseball for the past three years.

I'm not stressing: Sports Illustrated predicted the Astros to become World Series champions in 2017.
They could make a little noise in 2015 by signing a legitimate ace at the top of the starting rotation.
If you have three reliable starters who can produce top 10 league-leading ERAs it gives you a good chance.

The difference this year compared to the last few years is they'd also have late-inning relievers who can protect a lead. Since 2012 the Astros have blown the most save opportunities in all of baseball. That's combined in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The AL West is so stacked I don't know how fast the Astros can contend. But strong pitching all around would certainly help.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Jan 16 2015 04:19am

Colin McHugh makes no sense! He came out of nowhere with that slider. It would be nice to see the Stros spend some money though, get that pay roll closer to the median.

I have him in like the 30th round in keeper league, you think he's legit?

Who knows, there's no risk keeping him that late though. His peripherals looked good from last year, with .25x babip, 3.11 FIP and xfip, normal GB rates for him, normal lob% for the league, and a lowered hr/fb. If you regressed to the mean and value him as a 3.7 era pitcher in the 30th round? That's a steal.

The Astros have a power-hitting lineup that is going to strike out a lot but hit a lot of home runs.
Some question marks in the starting rotation but they improved their bullpen this past off-season.

They could have used a front-line starting pitcher and veteran to anchor their inexperienced rotation but they still spent a lot of money this past off-season. I'm thinking this 2015 Astros team could go 80-82 this year and flirt with a .500 record all season long. #Believe

Best case scenario: Flirst with a .500 record. Still another year or two away from becoming a serious playoff contender if things go well. Worst case scenario: Last season's 70-92 record was a fluke and they go back to being a 111-loss team again.

I would dare to say that this team will be something fun to watch very soon. Maybe it starts tonight.

Astros should be very fun to watch for all the prospects. If things go right for them, you might even get to experience a little playoff fight.

I sure hope you're right. I'm taking it one game at a time. It's going to be a long season.
Because of how tough the American League West is I have to remain cautiously optimistic.

Manager A.J. Hinch just announced the Astros starting lineup for tonight's first game.

1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B
2. George Springer (R) RF
3. Luis Valbuena (L) 3B
4. Evan Gattis (R) DH
5. Chris Carter (R) 1B
6. Jason Castro (L) C
7. Jed Lowrie (S) SS
8. Colby Rasmus (L) LF
9. Jake Marisnick (R) CF

I'm intrigued by some of the power potential this year's team has. Just please stay healthy.

I want to see some of these young guys, besides Jose Altuve, becoming all-stars. George Springer is probably the most developed towards doing that. Jake Marisnick was once considered a five-tool top prospect. He's still only 24 years old but hitting ninth in an American League lineup is sort of underwhelming for a guy who was once deemed something special.

He did show some pop at the end of last year after the Astros acquired him from the Miami Marlins.



Maybe Jake Marisnick will set the world on fire this year (late bloomer) and prove all of those scouts right.
The one thing Marisnick did do extremely well last season was flash around some serious leather in the outfield.

The fact I'm kind of excited about the guy hitting ninth in our opening day lineup concerns me. LOL

solid start to the season, a nice W vs a Cy Young winner who had a no no deep into the 6th inning

Hopefully Scott Feldman tosses a gem tonight and the Astros make it a 2-0 start. Both teams are due to erupt offensively though. It could be a high-scoring game. At least I hope the Astros score more than two runs off an RBI single and sacrifice fly. I'm just glad they defeated last year's so-called AL Cy Young award winner, Corey Kluber.

He wasn't the so-called Cy Young winner, he WAS the cy young winner.