Opening Day Roster, State of the Franchise
Catcher: (Age)
Jason Castro (24) - Castro will get a bulk of the playing time behind the dish. However, he'll be monitored closely after missing the entirety of the 2011 season with a torn ACL. A first round pick out of Stanford in 2008, the front office hopes Castro can be a franchise backstop.
Chris Snyder (31) - Snyder, a native Houstonian, will be the backup catcher. The long time Arizona catcher has a fair amount of thump for the position, and is a competent timeshare with Castro.
AAA Depth: Carlos Corporan (28)
Notable Prospects: N/A
First Base:
Carlos Lee (35) - The owner of the largest contract in Astros history shifts to first base in 2012. Lee is in the final year of an albatross 6-year, $100M deal.
AAA Depth: Brett Wallace (25) - Wallace has disappointed in 2010 and 2011, losing his former top prospect status. There's time for him to turn it around, but the clock is ticking.
Top Prospect: Jon Singleton (20) - The prize prospect of last year's Hunter Pence trade, Singleton will hopefully develop into a middle of the order bat. There's lots of power there, but lots of swing-and-miss too.
Second Base:
Jose Altuve (21) - Altuve was serviceable after being called up in June of last season. The diminutive second baseman has an impressive hit tool and plenty of speed, but he'll have to develop some power if he wants to stick around for the long haul.
Angel Sanchez (28) - He's your average backup middle infielder...
Top Prospect: Nolan Fontana (20) - Fontana had an impressive collegiate career, with an impressive on base tool. Impressive intangibles.
Third Base:
Chris Johnson (27) - Johnson hopes to bounce back from a putrid 2011 after an impressive rookie campaign in 2010. He's best served defensively at first base, but Carlos Lee's presence slides him across the diamond.
AAA Depth: Matt Downs (28)
Top Prospect: Matt Dominguez (22)
Shortstop:
Jed Lowrie (27) - Acquired in an offseason trade with Boston, the Astros hope the oft-injured Lowrie can stay off the DL and live up to his status as a former top prospect. If he doesn't, shortstop is one position with a good outlook for the future.
Marwin Gonzalez (23) - A Rule V selection in the offseason, Gonzalez can switch hit and play across the infield diamond.
Notable Prospects: Carlos Correa (17), Jonathan Villar (20)
Outfield:
J.D. Martinez (24) - Martinez will get the nod to start the year in left field, but the clock is ticking. A bad start to 2012 could find him on the way out of Houston.
Justin Maxwell (28) - Maxwell plays good defense and has plenty of thunder in his bat, but he
Brian Bogusevic (28) - Bogusevic clearly won't live up to be the baseball player many thought he would be. The rocket-armed right fielder has just as much of a future on the mound as he does in the outfield...that's not a good thing.
AAA Depth: J.B. Shuck (24), Brandon Barnes (25), Travis Buck (28)
Notable Prospects: George Springer (22), Delino DeShields (19)
Starting Rotation:
Bud Norris (27)
Lucas Harrell (26)
J.A. Happ (29)
Jordan Lyles (21)
Kyle Weiland (25)
Disabled List: Wandy Rodriguez (33)
AAA Depth: Dallas Keuchel (24), Brett Oberholtzer (22)
Top Prospects: Keuchel (24), Vince Velasquez (19), Mike Foltynewicz (20), Lance McCullers (18)
The rotation leaves a lot to be desired, especially with the current longest tenured Astro in Rodriguez on the DL for the first 2-3 months with bone chips. However, there are a lot of desirable arms in the farm system.
Bullpen:
CL: Wilton Lopez (28)
SU: Brett Myers (31)
SU: Wesley Wright (27)
MR: Fernando Rodriguez (27)
MR: Fernando Abad (26)
MR: Brandon Lyon (32)
MR: David Carpenter (26)
LR: Mickey Storey (26)
AAA Depth: Yikes
Top Prospects: N/A
Anyone that has success in this group will be shopped at the deadline...
Next, an update following the month of April