The Things That Must Go Right For The Astros In '17

A few weeks ago, the Houston Astros have made some new acquisitions to improve their batting lineup for the 2017 season. In the wings is a former Astro hoping to get voted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame, Jeff Bagwell. What remains to be seen now is whether or not general manager Jeff Luhnow can get one top-flight starting pitcher to add to his core.

Still, what the club has done so far has been very good and stands to be one of the league's most improved clubs. Now, we'd all want to see Baggy go in. He's deserving, what with the great numbers he'd put up for them during his career. He came up just short in the voting last year, which, as history would tell us, should give him a great chance of finally getting in. That will be a great catalyst for the season to come.

Among the most notable of their acquisitions are catcher Brian McCann, a guy who had given the Astros fits in the National League and even since their move to the American League. Now, he gets to help them. He'll do a great job of working with the pitchers and give Houston a much-needed bat, as well. One of the other notables is a guy who'd had one stint with the 'Stros previously, and that's Carlos Beltran. He is finally back with Houston and has some playoff experience under his belt. Some of the guys on the team are reportedly just in awe of him, so this'll give the incumbents a lift. This may be the deepest Houston has ever been in regards to lineup choices, bench choices, and reputable defense. We should definitely see the majority of the batting averages be above .250 and not below it. And, don't forget, I mentioned them obtaining Josh Reddick in a previous post; he's also a nice addition and big things will be expected from him. And I don't have to tell you about having a healthy Jose Altuve, George Springer, or Carlos Correa, do I?

The Astros will need no less than a winning April. They must start fast and they must start strong. If they falter again like they did last April, then they likely won't win the division again, as the other AL West clubs (except the Oakland Athletics) have made significant improvements and should all compete. Houston must also beat the Texas Rangers and have a winning record against them. They don't necessarily have to dominate, but they need a stronger presence against Texas and break whatever it is that caused all these losses the last couple of years. The Astros must also continue their mastery over the Los Angeles Angels, as they have had more success against them than against any other team in their division, not to mention the rest of the AL.

Starting pitching must also perform well, and more often. Remember what I said about April now. This must hold true for Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh, whose success is going to be not only critical, but mandatory this coming year. If Joe Musgrove pitches as well as he did last season, then the Astros will have a good core. They also need for Lance McCullers, Jr, to pitch to the expectation that the club has long been hoping for from him. Don't be surprised, however, if, number one, a newcomer from the minors makes it through spring, and/or, number two, Houston makes an acquisition for a top-tier or near-top-tier starter and he cracks the rotation. I don't have to tell you how important this will be.

It will be here before anyone knows it. Baseball. Spring training is less than two months away from starting. Astros fans have plenty of reason to be optimistic after a productive offseason, even though we're not done yet. A great way to start this coming year............is if we see Jeff Bagwell voted into and later inducted into Cooperstown. What a storybook start that would be!