Astros Still Have A Lot Of Work To Do

The Houston Astros got their regular season started on Friday, and they've come out of their spring workouts with a little bit better lineup and pitching rotation than they did one year ago. What took place at Minute Maid Park on Friday, however, suggests that this team, with all of its young prospects eager for a shot at the big leagues, still has a ways to go before achieving success.

This new season for Houston began with a 5-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. In the game, the Astros committed four errors, one of which leading to a Rockies tie-breaking run. Here's the deal, folks: They've got some young talent that's been stockpiled the last few years, thanks to former general manager Ed Wade and his drafting. It paid off in Philadelphia when he was GM there, so I believe what he did in Houston will also eventually pay off. Now, it's Jeff Luhnow's turn to be the GM, and he has made some very important decisions on how to add to what was already here. When he was in charge of player development in St Louis, the Cardinals were able to get young players to help the team stay on top, and were the World Champs last year. They've even been recognized as the Organization of the Year by Baseball America. That same publication, by the way, just ranked the Astros as number 18 in overall talent in Major League Baseball, a figure that is much higher than in recent years.

Luhnow is the right choice for the 'Stros. With that track record he had in St Louis in directing player development, he'll be expected to do a fantastic job as the Astros' new GM. That said, Houston will have its work cut out for them, and after a franchise-record 107 losses in 2011 (and that's the only time the 'Stros have ever had 100 losses in a season in fifty years), they have nowhere to go but up. They have a starting pitching rotation led by Wandy Rodriguez and joined by Bud Norris, J.A. Happ, along with newcomers Lucas Harrell and Kyle Weiland. Their bullpen still has some potential, but still loaded with question marks. They do have a new closer in former starter Brett Myers. He'll give the pen a lot of experience with leadership, plus he has the ability to close out games.

Now, the lineup. Offensively, they just might have a little more home run punch this year than they did last. Outfielder J.D. Martinez showed some big bat potential last year, so he could be counted on to provide power. So, too, can outfielder Brian Bogusevic, who actually had a homer in Friday night's loss. The key for this team is just to get on base and keep games going. If they get behind scorewise, they at least showed in Friday's game that they can come back and get into the game, something that last year's bunch could not do. Defensively, as you probably would have guessed by now, they need to work on it. ... Real hard.

A big part of why Houston lost so much last year was the instability at catcher. The starter last year was supposed to be Jason Castro, who debuted in 2010 but got injured in spring training last year. He's back this year and he's healthy. Luhnow also was able to bring in Chris Snyder (who once played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates) to be the backup, and he had a solid spring. Let's just hope that carries over into the regular season. It doesn't hurt that he's also a Houston boy.

In the infield, third baseman is set with Chris Johnson (another potential power hitter), first base with Carlos Lee, and second base with the ever-rising Jose Altuve. At shortstop, that was supposed to be for former Red Sox IF Jed Lowrie, but like in past seasons, he couldn't stay healthy, this time in the spring, and so he begins the year on the disabled list. A young newcomer in Marwin Gonzalez will fill that void until Lowrie comes back. Manager Brad Mills had previous experience as bench coach in Boston when the Red Sox won all the marbles. He hopes to have the same thing happen in H-Town, and that is what I look forward to in the years ahead. It's too bad it won't happen in the National League, but you have to learn to deal with change, and next year's league switch will only teach the Astros new lessons.

Speaking of lessons, they just need to learn some for this year. While that other Texas team (the Rangers) challenges for the American League West title for the third time in as many years, Houston is pegged by me to lose 98 games, and that, unfortunately, is realistic. And that's despite improved talent over a year ago. This team must continue to draft well, and there will still be players drafted in the last couple of years who eventually will step up to the show and make their presences known. The important aspect of the game they must grasp is winning. Learning to win. Expecting to win. As young major leaguers, it has to mean making it happen. And it shall be.