Chris Carter was one of my fave players last year. Lowrie is no good, I like the trade for the Astros.

Per Astros.com: "21-year-old Max Stassi ranked as A's top catching prospect by Jonathan Mayo & John Sickels. A's 4th-round selection in 2009. The 21-year-old Stassi, who was originally selected by Oakland in the fourth round of the 2009 June Draft, hit .268 with 15 HR and 45 RBI in 84 games at Single A Stockton in 2012 en route to being named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star.

Stassi, who was in Major League Spring Training camp as a non-roster invitee in 2012, has been listed as the A’s top catching prospect by Jonathan Mayo (mlb.com), John Sickels (Baseball Prospect Book) and others. In 2010, he was named as the Best Defensive Catcher in the A’s organization by Baseball America."

That was the one position the Astros were weak at in the minors: Catcher

We're also thin at pitching. I expect us to use our first overall pick in this June's draft on a pitcher.

We have a lot of good prospects in the outfield (George Springer, Ariel Ovando and Domingo Santana ) and infield, which I mentioned in my last post.

that makes the deal look better then. I knew they were weak at catcher, they mentioned it a few times during Astros broadcasts that I would watch, lol. You starting to gear up for ST? I can't wait

Yes. We play the Phillies on February 23 to open up spring training. For me spring training is just as exciting as the regular season because we'll get a chance to see more of the young players. It's not like we're going to be that good in 2013 anyways. Houston will be competitive in the AL West by 2015 or 2016.

We may land the first overall pick in the draft for a third straight year. That will only help improve our farm system, which went from dead last in baseball not too long ago, to top 5 in all of baseball right now. We'll have the best farm system in baseball before long if we keep drafting number one overall and selecting high in the early rounds.

I'm completely okay with the A's trading for "win now" players.

Lowrie will only help Oakland if he stays healthy. The man has a glass body bro. Boston fans warned me before he came to Houston and they were so right.

We couldn't even field the ball last year. LOL

All-star second baseman Jose Altuve fields some grounders early in the morning.

New-look Astros open spring training

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - New manager, new league, a roster full of new faces and even new uniforms. The smell of fresh paint, new carpeting in the clubhouse and sharp new uniforms hanging neatly in lockers were all reminders these are not your grandfather's Astros. In fact, they're pretty far removed from the 2012 Astros.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Osceola County Stadium on Monday morning to shake hands, take physicals and get in a light workout, the Astros cranked up their first Spring Training as an American League club.

"I'm extremely anxious," manager Bo Porter said Monday morning. "You spend your whole offseason waiting for this day to come, and now that it's here, obviously there's a lot of anticipating of getting with the guys, and you can see the excitement in their eyes. We're just ready to get on the field and get started."

The Houston Astros have changed about as much as a baseball team can change in the aftermath of the two worst seasons in franchise history. Whether they can start winning more games after back-to-back 100-loss seasons is now the big question.

The clubhouse at Osceola County Stadium will be full of new faces. Of the 61 players on the team's Spring Training roster, only 22 were in Major League camp with Houston a year ago. Right-hander Philip Humber is one of 39 new faces to camp this year after spending last year with the White Sox.

"It's that time of year when you've done everything you need to do to prepare for Spring Training and a new season, and you start getting that itch that it's time to start putting everything you've done in the offseason to work," Humber said. "I'm excited to be here, excited to meet all these new faces and just get started playing baseball."



Javier Bracamonte, Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Altuve return from batting cages as Astros open up their 2013 Spring Training Camp on Monday.



Astros new manager Bo Porter tosses some pitches during batting practice.

Those rainbow jerseys are amazing. With the orange hats. I wish they wore those every game.



The Astros held their first formal team workout on Tuesday.



33-year-old veteran Rick Ankiel takes batting practice and believes he can start in right field for the Astros in 2013.

Astros’ Rick Ankiel, Erik Bedard, Jose Veras arrive in Kissimmee

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Tuesday morning has been filled with spring-training debuts for the Astros.

On the same day pitchers and catchers will hold their first official workout, starter Erik Bedard, reliever Jose Veras and veteran outfielder Rick Ankiel arrived in camp.

Bedard acknowledged he doesn’t know anyone on the Astros and is competing for a major-league spot or he’ll move on. Veras wouldn’t commit to being the club’s closer, saying he’ll simply do what he’s always done in his career and let the Astros make a decision. Ankiel arrived in Kissimmee after working out at the St. Louis Cardinals’ complex in Jupiter, Fla., saying he’s in excellent shape and looking forward to restarting his career again.

Bedard was in talks with Toronto, among other teams, before joining the Astros. Ankiel intentionally chose the Astros over Cincinnati and San Francisco because of the everyday playing time and right-field opportunity his new club presents.

“For me, I’m a competitor. I think we all are. But I want to go out there and certainly here this seemed like it was the best opportunity for me to get out there and do that day-in and day-out,” Ankiel said. “So we’re going to see how it plays out and I’m excited.”