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Why The Houston Astros Have The Brightest Future In Major League Baseball

Carlos Correa was the 1st overall pick in the 2012 Amateur Draft for the Houston Astros. He came up in early June and proceeded to win the American League Rookie Of The Year Award with a 3 Slash of .279/.345/.512 with 22 HRs (led all shortstops in the MLB) and 22 Doubles in just 99 Games. This type of production will change the complexion of the team for the next 6 years. He is just going to be 21 for all of next season – and he looks exactly like a young Alex Rodriguez. In his 1st postseason action, Correa smacked 2 HRs in that pivotal game 4 of the ALDS for Houston, staking them to a 6 – 2 lead before the Bullpen gave up the game.
Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) Follow @Dynasty_Digest
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The Houston Astros had some very rough years from 2011 to 2013 (162-324 record).
While this was a tough time for the Major League Organization, their Minor League affiliates were thriving. Luckily for the Astros, a lot of their young talent has made their way through the minors and has finally landed in the big leagues.
This youth movement has helped the team drastically. Many baseball experts and fans didn’t predict the Astros to compete in 2015, but they proved them wrong.
In 2015, they made the playoffs for the first time since 2005. They accomplished this feat while having the 6th youngest roster in Major League Baseball (Average age of 26.7 years old).
If the Astros were this successful with a roster with so little Major League experience, then can you imagine what they will do once their talent matures throughout the next few seasons?
Houston Astros State Of The Union For 2016

The Houston Astros were the worst team in the Major Leagues from 2011 – 2013, where they topped the 100 Loss barrier for each of those seasons, underwent an ownership change, and also moved from the tough NL Central to the AL West. Last year the Astros finally turned the corner with the 2nd Wild Card Spot, won that game in New York and took the KC Royals to the brink of elimination before they lost. They are young, have a core nucleus of team controllable superstars and exceptional depth that they can use for upgrades. It is a great time to be a ‘Stros fan.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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The Houston Astros are set to contend for the foreseeable future. A 6 year stretch in which they revamped their entire Minor League System – and kept payroll down to grab top Draft Picks finally reeled in the teams 1st playoff spot in a decade in 2016.
After taking a 6 – 2 lead in Game 4 of the ALDS series against the Royals with 2 – 1 lead the Bullpen coughed up the margin – with the club also losing the next game to the eventual World Series winner.
It was a tough lesson to learn in the postseason – but it may be the 1st of many appearances in October in the near future.
The #1 task of acquiring a lock down Closer has been addressed in the recent trade for Ken Giles. Yes it cost them Brett Oberholtzer, former #1 overall Draft Pick Mark Appel, and a few other prospects, but it also sets up the nucleus core for 4 – 5 more years.
The clubs offense featured 11 guys with double digit Homers in the lineup, and 2 others that fell just a dinger shy of the clip. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – September 2, 2014
Bo Porter was fired as manager of the Astros. Now I am not sure if it was the right move for the team, but there is no way the team’s losing ways could have been a surprise to Bo or anyone else.
It is a stuck in traffic episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
The Phillies no hit pitchers, Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon, along with Denard Span, Phil Hughes, Miguel Cabrera, Dilson Herrera and Nick Hundley all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball?
The Astros Are Having A Decent Winter

The Astros had a collection of players that only equaled a little over the league minimum for the entire roster. This year, the club has filled some holes, and will spend more on 3 Free Agent acquisition’s, than what the team payroll was in 2013. The club picks #1 in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft yet again, so saving money for future years is a smart practice. Houston is easily the lowest payroll team in the AL West, with the Angels hovering around the Luxury Tax Threshold, the Rangers spending in the $140 MIL range, the Mariners pole vaulting up the team salaries chart – by signing Cano, while still employing “King” Felix Hernandez. The Athletics are even nearing the $70 MIL mark, still about $25 – $30 MIL more than the Astros projected budget.
By Lee White (Astros Correspondent) Follow @Lee_White73
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The Houston Astros came into the offseason with bolstering the bullpen in mind. They have done just that, but still have work to do. Early during the offseason, the Astros signed Peter Moylan to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.
Just before the Winter Meetings, they added Chad Qualls, who will make a nice addition to the back end of the bullpen.
During the Winter Meetings, they traded their first round pick in the Rule 5 draft for Anthony Bass from the San Diego Padres, who could pitch out of the pen or the rotation.
Monday the 16th, the Astros signed Matt Albers. If you’re keeping tabs, that’s the second reliever from the 2007 the Astros have signed this offseason.
Matt Albers Ejected
2 And A Hook Podcast #11: Its All About – How Many Altuves? The ALL – Star Game + Reds Chat
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A picture put up during a Houston Astros broadcast – helped the movement immensely – photo courtesy of howmanyaltuves.com
‘2 And A Hook’ is an expression from Baseball: ‘Throw the guy 2 Fast balls and then a Hook’ (AKA Curve Ball, Wiggly one, Chair etc..)
By James Acevedo – Host (Podcast Veteran ) Follow @yankeeman1973
Guests On The Show:
Today, my brother Daniel joined me for the show.
We talked to MLB XM Home Plate Radio Host Mike Ferrin (16 Minute Mark and a 22 Minute Segment) Follow @mikeferrinsxm I asked him about the origin in which he and Morgan Ensberg started this ‘phenomenon’ – and their reaction to how it has blown into a huge fanbase for the guy – based on one night that it was all started by the former Astros player Enberg, Ferrin and CO.

Jose Altuve is the shortest man in the MLB at approximately 5 FT 5, but he does not get cheated at the plate with his heavy swings. His big heart and hustle have inspired his own measurement. Go and check out @howmanyaltuves or http://www.howmanyaltuves.com for all of your Home Run (or any measurement for that matter) needs.
Next up was Astros County Writer and http://www.howmanyaltuves.com owner Bryan Trostel (41 Minute Mark and a 18 Minutes Segment) Follow @howmanyaltuves or Follow @The_Batguy We talked about how he joined the ‘Jose Altuve’ Phenomenon, created a twitter account and website surrounding it, and how it has thrived and blossomed over the last 14 months. We even learned the metric conversion for an ‘ALTUVE’. Read the rest of this entry
Triple Play Podcast Ep #12 – Interview With MLB Fancave Dweller Aaron Roberts, Astros Chat + Lids
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By The Big Ticket Show ( AKA Triple Play Podcast on http://www.mlbreports.com) Follow @bigticketshow
Guests in this Podcast – Thomas Aaron Roberts (25 Minute Mark and a 17 Min Segment) (Former MLB Reports Dodgers Correspondent and 1 of 7 MLB FanCave Dwellers left in New York) Follow @bertsball
Richard Perez (www.strosbros.mlblogs.com and 1 of our 3 Astros Correspondents from there – (4 Minutes in and a 20 Minute Segment) Follow @yokorick
Guys (Frank and Carmen) from the @mydopehatgame (44 Minutes In and a 10 Minute Segment) Follow @mydopehatgame
To Keep Reading and Listen to this Podcast click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY or scroll past the Triple Play Logo
The Astros 2013 Draft Day Decision
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Reid Ryan will be at the helm for his 1st ever draft as Team President for the Astros on June 6th. The team is picking 1st overall – and will most likely pick 1st or 2nd in next years Amateur Draft as well in 2014. This 2013 Draft Day Decision should be priority #1 with the management right now. Ryan was named Team President of the franchise only a few weeks ago.
By Jordan Gluck (Draft Correspondent) Follow @JGluck777
The Houston Astros select first overall in the draft for the second consecutive year but have a big decision to make and that is the strategy they use. First let’s go through who the key people in the front office are.
Reid Ryan – Team President
Jeff Luhnow: GM- Upenn
David Stearns: Assistant GM- Harvard
Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens – special assistants
Sig Mejdal- director of decision sciences (best title name in baseball)
Mike Elias: director of amateur scouting
Kevin Goldstein: director of pro scouting
Paul Ricciarini: scout
David Post: national cross checker
Before I talk about the Astros potential strategies I think it is worth mentioning that Craig Biggio‘ s son Cavan Biggio is in this draft and that is something to watch for although he will not go first overall.
Stros Bros Podcast – Talking About Postolos Out As CEO + President

This was from a few days ago before the club announced the hiring of new President Reid Ryan. Look for a new article tomorrow. Until then, listen to the PODCAST.
Richard and Lee are joined by Jared Webb of Farmstros, discussing prospects, the draft, and the exit of Astros CEO/President George Postolos . click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY for more details or scroll down. Read the rest of this entry
Is Jeff Luhnow Preparing To Make Trades?
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General Manager Jeff Luhnow has stockpiled a lot of talent in the Minor Leagues in the last few months – and is looking to acquire a helluva lot more. With the club having lost 6 games in a row since the opener, this could get ugly real quick – with every meaningful player being traded away. This is Jim Crane’s mandate. The Astros full game plan is to be as bad as they can be in the next few years – in order to Draft as high as possible. We have had great chats at the strosbros.mlblogs.com Podcasts, plus Sully’s Daily Baseball Podcasts here at the Reports has also covered the topic.
By Lee White (Astros Correspondent)
Is Jeff Luhnow back at it with his magical trades? Is Paul Clemens coming up to the Major League level? No one knows anything at this point. Okay, before we at the ‘Stros Bros begin any speculation, lets give a little back story.
Other than the Opening Night victory, plus last nights 3 – 0 loss to the Mariners, in which they had 2 perfect Innings, the Houston Astros have been atrocious. Especially the bullpen.
Okay, on Sunday the bullpen was also alright, having given up 1 run in 4.2 Innings, but even the sun shines on a dog’s hind end every now and again. But, of course the Astros bullpen is bad. That was a given headed into the season, but with this bad bullpen, it seems as if some moves are on the horizon.
WEBN Interview with Luhnow:
The Astros Miss Out On Reid Brignac
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Brignac is known as more of a defensive specialist than anything. He has a Career 3 Slash Line of .227/.268/.586. The Shortstop/Second Baseman has to be extremely elated to be heading to hitter – friendly Coors Field. He is Arbitration Eligible in 2014.
By Lee White (Astros Correspondent) Follow @Lee_White73
Since the Astros traded Jed Lowrie about a week ago, the Houston Astros have been looking at acquiring another shortstop. Reid Brignac, Rays shortstop, was on the Astros radar.
The Colorado Rockies acquired Infielder Reid Brignac from the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Brignac bounced around between Triple-A and the Rays last season. He hit .095 in 16 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. The 27-year-old Brignac was a Second-Round Pick by the Rays in the Amateur Draft of 2004.
Reid Brignac Highlights: Mature Lyrics So Parental Guidance is advised:
Luhnow Spins His Trade Magic Again For The Astros In: Get Carter
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Lowrie had a stellar 1st half, cracking 14 HRs and 36 RBI, while holding a 3 Slash Line of .253/.343/.803. He slumped to a .200/.273/.606 in a 2nd half slump after being hurt in July. He is 28 Years Old and under team control for the A’s only through the 2014 season.
By Richard Perez (Astros Correspondent): Follow @yokorick
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the Astros have traded Shortstop Jed Lowrie and Pitcher Fernando Rodriguez to the Oakland A’s for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock, and Minor leaguer Max Stassi. Astros mastermind General Manager Jeff Luhnow worked out another amazing trade, getting anybody to agree to take Fernando Rodriguez all on its own is a miracle, but getting more than what he’s worth is astounding.
He’s worked nothing but pure trade magic during his first full calendar year with the club, dumping off Dan Carpenter, Brandon Lyon, AND Carlos Lee over the course of last season. Not to mention plenty other players he traded as well, yielding a number a top prospects, making the Astros’ farm system go from worst to first.
Jed Lowrie Highlights – Mature Lyrics so Parental Guidance is advised:
Roger Clemens: Close To Returning To Houston
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Roger Clemens won 7 Cy Young Awards with his Career Record of 354-188 (.658). A lot of MLB people thought that the Astros would bring Clemens in to spark attendance at Minute Maid Park this season.
By Lee White (Astros Correspondent) Follow @Lee_White73
The Houston Astros have made many changes this off season. From uniform changes all the way to the broadcast booth. The Astros are close to yet another change. Many thought Roger Clemens would return to Houston as a pitcher. That didn’t happen. It doesn’t look like it will happen either. However, the Houston Astros are close to a deal with Clemens to return as a Minor League Pitcher’s mentor.
Roger Clemens Pitching with the Sugar Land Skeeters Aug.25/2012
Top-5 Worst MLB Teams of 2012 plus a Preview of the 2013 Amateur Draft
Wednesday October 3rd, 2012
Sam Evans: With the 2012 season winding down, a lot of MLB teams can’t wait for the season to end. Houston, Chicago, Colorado, Minnesota, and Cleveland have been the five worst teams in baseball this season. While their seasons have all been disappointing and hard to watch, these teams will possess the most valuable picks in the 2013 Amateur draft. Here’s a look at how these teams have struggled and where they are projected to pick in the draft.
5. Cleveland Indians 68-93:
Baseball in Cleveland took a huge step back in 2012. Coming off of an 80-82 season, Cleveland was let down by an underperforming pitching staff. With Detroit and Chicago leading the AL Central, Cleveland was out of the pennant race for the better part of the year. The stretch that did them in was the month of August, in which Cleveland was 5-24.
Ubaldo Jimenez was one of the best starting pitchers in baseball just two years ago. Now, the Indians will be lucky if they can manage to get the performances of a #4 starter out of him. There have been many areas in which he has been less dominant than before but they all trace back to that his previous velocity and nasty stuff just aren’t there anymore. Perhaps the problems with Ubaldo have to do with his age and the toll that throwing so many innings when he was younger took. Either way, by relying on Ubaldo Jimenez and his 5.40 ERA this season, the Indians weren’t putting themselves in a better place to contend. Read the rest of this entry
Just How Bad Are The Houston Astros?
Wednesday September 12th, 2012
Sam Evans: The 2012 Houston Astros are breaking records every day. If you have followed baseball at all these last two years, you know that these aren’t records that are normally associated with winning baseball teams. At their current pace, this year’s Houston team is on pace to lose at least 111 games. What Jeff Luhnow and others are doing to turn around the losing in Houston looks great, but it doesn’t hide the fact that the product the Astros are putting out on the field is historically bad.
Since 1962, only one team (the 2003 Detroit Tigers) has lost more than 108 games in a single-season. The 2003 Detroit Tigers were pretty awful, but it’s not like they were bereft of talent. That team featured a young Jeremy Bonderman in the rotation and Fernando Rodney pitched out of the bullpen. That Tigers team also had Dmitri Young, Carlos Pena, Omar Infante, Andres Torres, and Cody Ross. Looking at the current Astros’ roster, I don’t see anywhere close to that level of talent. Read the rest of this entry
My Top Six Worst MLB Teams in 2012
Sunday January 8th, 2012
Sam Evans: It’s no fun to be a fan of a losing team. Every game seems longer and it hurts to look around and see fans of the other teams loving every moment. There’s always supposed to be next year, but that kind of talk just hurts the players and coaches as much as it does the fans. Let’s look at my bottom five teams in 2012: based on the major league roster and talent in the system that could make an impact in the upcoming season.
25. Seattle Mariners: As a Mariners fan, this one hurts. It’s been eleven years since the Mariners made the playoffs. A city blessed with a beautiful new ballpark, Seattle hasn’t had much of chance to cheer on many winners in recent times.
Since he was hired in 2008, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has transformed the Mariners farm system into one of the best in the game. The problem is that the major league club is still struggling, and fans are losing interest. The Mariners are like New Year’s resolutions. They’re so promising at first, but after two weeks, most people just give up.
So far this offseason, the Mariners have been rumored to be actively pursuing Prince Fielder. The argument for Prince Fielder is that his contract would be worth the risk for the team given all of the fans he would draw… not to mention, the M’s need for a middle of the order slugger. However, other fans feel that Fielder is overpriced and point to the fact that if the Mariners signed Prince, they would be only the fourth team with two players making over $20M in 2012.
The Mariners do have some young promising players. Justin Smoak, a former top 10 BA prospect, will finally be healthy heading into the new year. Also, the M’s have a trio of young pitchers in the minors that are all top 100 prospects. James Paxton and Danny Hultzen could possibly see time in the rotation this year. Furthermore, last time I checked Felix Hernandez was still a Mariner, and he’s signed through 2014.
26. New York Mets: The Mets have always been second to the Yankees in New York in terms of popularity, but there’s never been this much of a difference. The Mets have been silent this offseason, except for a swap of outfielders with the Giants, and bringing in some bullpen help. The Mets do have Zack Wheeler (acquired in the Carlos Beltran trade) and Matt Harvey (2010 1st rounder) on the way, but neither will make a huge impact in ’12.
Jason Bay has struggled ever since receiving his enormous contract two years ago. In 2009, Bay hit 36 homers for the Red Sox. In 2010 and 2011, Bay had only eighteen homers. Part of the decline in numbers is the park factor that Citi Field has on hitters (which is due to change with the new park dimensions in 2012). It should be noted though that Bay hasn’t hit a home run to right field since June 28, 2010.
This year, the Mets should get Johan Santana back. I wrote about Johan in November here. If he is healthy this year, hopefully the Mets can get something out of Santana, who is due $24M in 2012.
The Mets future will be based on how they spend their money and how they control their prospects. If the Mets hadn’t pushed Jenrry Mejia, chances are he wouldn’t have gotten injured. If the Mets hadn’t signed the Jason Bay and Johan Santana contracts, then they would have had the money to go after Prince Fielder this offseason (in theory). New York has a long ways to go to compete with the other N.L. East teams, and they’re going to need to make smart long-term decisions to get there.
27. San Diego Padres: The Padres acquired Carlos Quentin and Yonder Alonso this offseason in an attempt to boost their offense. They ended up trading away Mat Latos and Anthony Rizzo, and losing Heath Bell and Aaron Harang to free agency.
Carlos Quentin is really going to struggle in Petco Park, and Alonso is going to have his share of issues developing into a power hitter with his new team. The fact is that the Padres will never have a terrible pitching staff due to the spacious Petco Park effect. But their rotation is actually as bad as it has been in some years. I also am a supporter of Will Venable, and I think the Padres would be making a mistake if they traded him.
San Diego plays in a division where it’s not impossible that they could make a nice run and make the playoffs. But I would be surprised.
28. Oakland Athletics: Led by GM Billy Beane, the Athletics have been extremely active this offseason. They’ve shipped away their best pitchers and let their best hitter leave in free agency. The A’s have had a good offseason, thanks to all the new talent that they’ve imported into their farm system.
2012 is not going to be the year of resurgence for the A’s. 2013, maybe, but right now the Angels and Rangers are just too good. The A’s strength is probably their middle infield which will feature Jemile Weeks and Cliff Pennington. If Chris Carter can show some power in the majors, then he will do just fine at DH.
With acquisitions such as Derek Norris, Jarrod Parker, and A.J. Cole, Billy Beane has shown he’s not afraid to trade his best major league players in order to obtain talent that won’t be ready for a year or two.
29. Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles were a promising team heading into 2011. The “Fighting Showalter’s” had a late run in 2010, and Buck Showalter seemed to be really getting through to the players. Unfortunately, 2011 didn’t go as expected for the Orioles. They finished 69-93 and solidified their reputation as the worst baseball team in the A.L East, if not the whole American League.
The 2011 Orioles will forever go down in baseball history not for their season, but for their last game against the Red Sox on September 28, 2011. The Orioles were down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth on the last day of the season. Going into the game, the Red Sox were 77-0 on the season when leading after the eighth inning. The Orioles came back to win, and they will forever be remembered for their contributions to one of the best days in baseball history.
2012 can be a successful year for the Orioles if they discover an ace… and if Adam Jones improves his game to the next level. It’s not going to be easy, but if everything falls into place, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette could lead the Orioles out of the A.L. East basement in the next coming years.
30. Houston Astros: Moving into the 2011 season, the Astros were projected by pretty much everyone in baseball to be the worst team in baseball. Well, at least they didn’t let anyone down. The Astros finished 56-106, which was the worst record in all of baseball.
I traveled to Houston this summer and I expected to find an uninterested Astros fanbase. I was surprised to see countless devoted fans who truly cared about their team. Astros fans are out there and they will start coming back to Minute Maid Park when the team starts winning.
Sorry Houston fans, but 2012 isn’t going to be much fun for you. Chances are that you will return to the basement of the N.L. Central and lose over one hundred games. Nevertheless, there is hope. Jose Altuve is turning into a nice young second basemen who can hit for average . Jordan Lyles can be a #3 starter, and Jarred Cosart could finally reach the bigs in 2012.
Another piece of the silver lining is Houston’s new General Manager Jeff Luhnow, who is involved in sabermetrics and helped build the Cardinals who won the 2011 World Series. Luhnow was in the Cardinals scouting department since 2003 and helped produce major league talent from the draft. He also has been a General Manager for Petstore.com, and has an M.B.A from Northwestern. His first move was trading for Jed Lowrie. On the surface this seems like a solid deal, whereby he attained a young talented infielder for his new organization. In my opinion, this is going to look like an amazing hire in four years time.
So even if 2012 is rough, Astros fans can start looking towards the future. It might take a couple of seasons, but it won’t be long before the Astros are packing Minute Maid Park everyday. Ironically, the road to the respectability for the worst team in the majors won’t happen until they move to the A.L. West. With the Rangers and Angels waiting in their new division, the journey towards success for the Astros will get that much tougher in 2013.
**Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter***
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