Lefty Sean Manaea should open for the Mets, but against Montas & Senga, they may have Alvarez in left and DH Singleton.
Manea is probably the Mets opening day starter, barring injury. He's left handed, so the lineup should be good and straight forward. Altuve LF ( home & Framber starting) Paredes 3b Yordan DH Walker 1b Diaz C McCormick RF Pena SS Meyers CF Dubon 2B In game 2, I assume Brown is starting and RH for the Mets. Move Chas to CF and replace Meyers w/ Gamel playing RF. Dezenzo could replace Dubon as well but where? Altuve 2b, Paredes 3b, Dezenzo LF? Paredes 2b, Dezenzo 3b, Altuve LF? Dezenzo 2b, Paredes 3b, Altuve LF? The last 2 are unlikely, I think.
My only problem with Dezenzo in RF is that someone has to show him where RF is RF is not a position one can learn on the fly in the MLB; mistakes are too costly ... runners on second versus first.
I'm more worried about runners being on 1st versus being out and in the dugout. If somebody has potential defensive issues I want them near the ball less not more.
Montas has been shut down indefinitely with a high grade lat strain. So, it's Manaea and Senga with the #3 being Blackburn, Canning or Megill. The Astros have data on all these guys. Based on the Astros history of starting out slow offensively they will do the complete opposite and start hot because that's the way it works.
For his career, Chas has rated worse than Meyers in CF, but still way above average. Mostly, Chas has not made many mistakes while playing CF and his reaction to balls off the bat was very quick. While Chas's most famous defensive play involved a wall, Chas may be an inverse Reddick. Most of his bad plays involve him slowing up/misjudging how close he is to a wall. This problem is magnified in Daikin Park in LF and is less of an issue in CF. Chas did look slower last year so I'm not sure he would be as good as he was in CF going forward.
To start the year I'll go Dezenzo (not listed) as the regular LF I think Melton and Cam Smith make their debut at some point Blubaugh will have to pitch whether he is ready or not, we have extremely little SP depth
I think (hope) it's Dezenzo in LF I like Dubon a lot as a utility guy playing 3-4 times a week. As an everyday player he is just not someone who moves the needle. If Dezenzo (or Whitcomb or Melton or later on Smith) can be a regular in the OF with Dubon spelling guys at multiple positions, we are probably having a really good year
Other than Smith, I think Matthews is the most talented. He shows any juice in triple A, he will be called up because Brown likes to move kids up fast to get the experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6142412/2025/02/17/houston-astros-jose-altuve-position-swap/ “Spring training will tell us a lot about it,” Altuve said of his ability to handle left field. “Later on, I can give you a better answer, but from now on, I just want to prepare, get ready everywhere I play and focus to be 100 percent and be ready for the season.” Altuve avoided putting a number on playing any games in left field, saying it depends “on what they request.” Asked if he had a preference of where he plays, Altuve said he does not. “I want to play. I want to be in the lineup. I want to help this team win, keep hitting doubles and triples and homers for this team,” Altuve said. “It doesn’t really matter where I play. I’m going to try to do my best.” Altuve said the Astros approached him after last season with the idea of moving to the outfield. He did not reveal the team’s rationale other than to say “they just thought I could play a good left field.” “I’m trying not to make this a big deal or a focus,” said Altuve, who spoke for nearly 10 minutes inside Houston’s clubhouse. “I think that’s the main thing, I want to get rid of this left field conversation, try to answer every question possible and just move on and start preparing for what we all care about, which is preparing for the season and start winning.”
Not sure about positions, but I expect these 9 guys to play a lot in some configuration. I expect Caratini to play a lot as well. I expect someone out of Melton, Dezenzo , Cam Smith to help out, but I'm expecting it to be in the 1-2WAR range per 600 PAs. I'd love for one of them to beome a savior, but I'm expecting one of them to hit well enough that this board will want them to play over a vastly better defensive player. I'm not sure if the defensive player will be better or not, but this board (most of it anyway) will definitely think not.
I don't disagree he is the most talented, but of the group that could play this year, he is also the one that could likely benefit the most from more time on the farm
I'm optimistic and have faith that we're due some better luck concerning injuries. Excited for some of the guys to get opportunities and hope we can at least stay competitive overall.
I will have a tough time getting excited for the team with this lineup. An outfield of Dubon, Myers, McCormick against RH is awful. It is way too much to ask for 2 of those guys to be good offensively and the most likely outcome is that they are all awful. We need a trade for a platoon option against RH and then hope one of our prospects shows up. McCormick really is my only hope of those 3. Need a trade and I mean right away.
I thought Altuve played way too much last year (in the field, and in general for somebody 35). Granted if Dubon wasn’t already filling other positions based on injury (or other struggles), he’d have been able to spell him some more.
I am hoping 1 of Chas and Jake can have a big year. Obviously both would be better but I just don’t see that. Really hoping they don’t both tank.
On the face of things, it doesn't appear that the Astros have a lineup that will scare many other teams. Hope I am wrong.
They haven't been a playoff team for 2 years now. I expected the return for Tucker would be able to push them into the next era, but leaving it late in the game and getting such a weak return is devestating.
