Biggest Offseason Additions
Dexter Fowler: Fowler is coming off one of his “worst” seasons since making his Major League debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2008, but that’s not exactly a bad thing based on his stats.
In 2013 he hit 12 home runs, brought in 42 runs, tallied 109 hits and maintained a .263 average in 119 games. When you look at his offensive stats all around you’ll find that he was pretty much on par with the other four seasons in which he played at least 125 games.
The biggest difference is that his triples in 2013 (three) mark the first time he hasn’t hit double digits in that category, not to mention the 105 strikeouts which is one more than his career-low in 2012 when he played in 132 games.
Still, Fowler’s speed on the base paths and in the field, not to mention his leadership as a centerfielder might help rally the troops and get the Astros out of cellar, or at least close to threshold.
Scott Feldman: The signing of Feldman for three years at $30 million total is a great deal for the Astros for two reasons: The first is that they really needed a quality starting pitcher that they could afford and the other is because Feldman has eight years of experience in the American League Western Division.
Feldman was by no means the best available arm on the market, but he has made significant strides to better his numbers to become a reliable member of a starting rotation.
His best season to date is still when he went 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA and 113 strikeouts with the Texas Rangers in 2009, and despite playing for both the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles in 2013 he managed to go 12-12 with a career-low 3.86 ERA and career-high 132 strikeouts.
Perhaps the Astros aren’t as crazy and out of the running as most would like to assume.
Biggest Offseason Losses
Brandon Barnes: It’s hard to say who is a real “loss” for the Astros as they have been a rebuilding team ever since they dished Hunter Pence to the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle of the 2011 season, but since some players have found themselves no longer on the roster, there has to be names.
Barnes is easily the first person who could be considered a los because he has the most potential to be a breakout star. Even though he only hit .240 in his second season in the Majors he still managed to play some solid defense in centerfield and served as decent leader of the troops.
The only problem (a major one) is that his offensive numbers were light years behind the likes of his teammates based on the amount of games that he played in (136).
Despite playing in 12 less games than first baseman Chris Carter Barnes only managed to hit a third of the home runs (eight) and bring in exactly half of the runs (41) of his teammate while striking out the third-most on the team.
Jordan Lyles: Barnes and Lyles became the unfortunate duo who happened to be traded for Fowler, but once again, like Barnes, there really wasn’t another player from the 2013 that could be considered a real “loss” for the team as 2014 approaches.
In his third season in the Majors, Lyles hit a career-high 5.59 ERA in the most games he pitched on a season (25 starts, 27 appearances). He did manage to go 7-9 with 93 strikeouts and tally one save, but these aren’t exactly numbers to brag about when you log 141 1/3 innings.
The reality is that the Astros are statistically much better without these two. Only against the San Francisco Giants does Lyles actually have stats to boast about (1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings). Against the rest of his new opponents in the National League West it looks very rough.
Name to Watch in Spring Training: Matt Dominguez
It’s probably a bit of a stretch to say Dominguez with the likes of Fowler Feldman and the restructured contract of Jason Castro, but Dominguez was probably THE, if not the second biggest surprise of 2013.
Dominguez had been in the Majors for two seasons prior to 2013 and had only topped out at 31 games played with the Astros in 2012 where he managed to hit .284 with five home runs and 16 RBI. In 2013 he played in all but 10 games, but crushed 21 home runs (second most), knocked-in 77 runs (second-most), tally 131 total hits (second-most) and only managed to strike out 96 times.
Even though he only walked 30 times and hit .243 on the season, his third-best .409 slugging percentage (based on most plate appearances) proved that he loves to get on base with his bat, but doesn’t go down swinging and missing too often. With one full season under his belt he’ll surely be an exciting player to watch in 2014.
Biggest Spring Training Battle: Chad Qualls and Jesse Crain
Jose Veras saved 19 games for the Astros in 2013, but was traded to the Detroit Tigers late in the seasons, leaving the job wide open for a committee of players to finish out the seasons.
Even though rookie Josh Fields finished with the second-most saves at the end of the season with five, the additions of veteran bullpen pitchers Qualls and Crain leave little doubt that they were picked up to compete for the set-up and closer role.
Both would actually make closers, especially based on their 2013 numbers.
Qualls (35) has played for 10 seasons, two of which came as the full time closer for the Arizona Diamondbacks (the tail end of 2008-2010). In both of those seasons he combined for 45 saves as he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle of the 2010 season where he served as a set-up man. He also tallied five saves with the Astros back in 2007.
In 2013, Qualls made 66 appearances for the Miami Marlins while finishing with a 5-2 record, 2.70 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 62 innings. Crain on the other hand only has four saves in his 10-years career; all of them came as a result of extra inning reasons.
In 2013, Crain only managed to make 38 appearances for the Chicago White Sox, but he made all 36 2/3 innings count as he went 2-3 with a career-low 0.74 ERA and a solid 46 strikeouts and made his first All-Star Game appearance.
What Went Right in 2013
Like the players lost in 2014, it’s hard to say what went right for the Astros in 2013, but there is always a silver lining. Jason Castro and Chris Carter certainly went right for the Astros as they both had breakout seasons netting at least 18 home runs and at least 56 RBI each. Castro took the edge with his career-high .276 average in 120 games. Not too shabby for a catcher.
Biggest Areas of Improvement in 2014
As noted above, the Astros made huge improvements with four players: Crain, Qualls, Fowler and Feldman. Even one starting pitcher who does well can boost the morale of the entire rotation. Fowler has the potential to make his first All-Star team this season just as long as his career-.246 average against the AL West thus far proves to be only a small sample size. Adding two reliable veteran arms to the bullpen is one of the most significant moves the Astros have made this offseason, but they can’t be done there. The Astros bullpen was pretty rough in 2013 and could definitely use a few more able-bodied hurlers, otherwise Qualls and Crain will be carrying the load.
Overall Spring Training Preview
From 1962-1965 the New York Mets managed to lose 100 or more times in four straight years yet somehow managed to shock the world in 1969 when they won their first World Series in franchise history in only their eight season of existence.
Oddly enough, just eight years ago the Astros were playing against the White Sox in the 2005 World Series and have somehow found themselves in the bottom of the barrel. Current owner Jim Crane, who bought the team in 2011, has said that he will bring a winning team back to Houston, and so far he has done what he can to make it happen.
While his first two seasons in charge didn’t prove so fortunate, general manager Jeff Luhnow is doing what he can to make smart decisions with all of the draft picks they’ve been hoarding while still being able to field a respectable team.
This is not an immediate process, but you’d be surprised how quickly a team can turn things around with the right, passionate people at the helm.
When the Mets broke their triple-figure losing streak in 1966 by only losing 95 games, most saw that as a significant improvement. This might be the case for the Astros who will more than likely still finish at the bottom of the AL West, but it wouldn’t be as embarrassing.