Houston Astros Dynasty

[HenriS218]

I hope to make this a pretty huge thread over time. I started an Astros franchise as soon as OOTP 24 came out, and I'm obsessed. I don't have a schedule for my play or anything, just play whenever I like. When I do play, I watch every inning of every single game. I'll show stats and results from each season and I'm gonna post for every single player who made the major league squad over the years.

So without further ado, welcome to my Astros dynasty!

[HenriS218]

I'm gonna try to make this pretty comprehensive like some other threads on here.

[HenriS218]

I had some very high expectations for this team, after we won the 2027 World Series. Well, 2028 was a great season, but we came up short, losing the ALDS to the Oakland Athletics in 5 games. I'm gonna start off with this year's postseason roster and a few other notable players from the season along with their MLB WAR totals from the year.

# Know that whenever I write something after a hashtag like this, it's just a note/comment that didn't exactly fit in what I was writing or isn't entirely related, but I still want to say it

SP Brandon Woodruff (4.4)
SP Hayden Juenger (3.5)
SP Ryne Nelson (1.3)
SP David Leal (1.2)
SP Spencer Arrighetti (1.5)

RP Aaron Ashby (0.7)
RP Tanner Houck (0.6)
RP Evan Sisk (0.4)
RP John Schreiber (0.0)
RP Joe Jimenez (1.1)
SU Evan Phillips (2.8)
SU Edwin Díaz (4.1)
CP Ryan Pressly (0.1)
# I just wanna note that I absolutely hate OOTP's WAR calculations for relievers. Pressly put up a 1.82 ERA and 41 saves in 50 innings, but his FIP was above 4.00, so his WAR is lower than Evan Sisk and his 92 ERA+.

# a * denotes less than 200 plate appearances for the Astros this year
C Luis Campusano (1.8)
C *Ali Sanchez (0.1)
1B/DH Yordan Alvarez (2.2)
1B Ryan Clifford (3.4)
2B Cristian Gonzalez (3.7)
2B/UTL Dylan Moore (1.2)
3B/SS David Hensley (1.0)
3B Brett Baty (0.0)
SS Eric Bitonti (2.5)
LF *Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (0.0)
LF/DH Juan Soto (2.6)
CF Jackson Chourio (4.1)
RF/UTL Rece Hinds (1.1)
RF Kyle Tucker (3.5)

Alright, there's the whole roster, which I feel pretty good about right now.

Next I'll give a little overview of my prospects. The farm system is pretty weak, ranked 30th out of 32 teams.
# There was league expansion before the 2027 season, with the Columbus Bears entering the AL Central and the Las Vegas Green Jackets entering the NL West.

Here's our top five prospects with their age and Pipeline Rankings.
1. 18 yo LHP Jabari Golphin (74)
2. 18 yo LHP Jon Wilcox (109)
3. 22 yo 2B Dave Carter (140)
4. 20 yo RHP Jeremy Deckard (142)
5. 20 yo 1B Ron DeCosta (178)

Obviously the system is weak, but these guys have some potential. Carter is the one I'm following the most because he's the oldest and the best currently, so he might even make the team in 2029 as a platoon/bench bat.

A big part of my success has been my allocation of money. Cristian Gonzalez and Ryan Clifford were both just decent prospects, but I've put over $20 million a year into player development since starting this franchise, and they've become superstars. I also put about $15 million into scouting every year.

Alright, I'm almost done with all of this boring stuff, and then we can get into the offseason action. The final thing I'm gonna show is all of the team salaries. The player's age will be displayed, then the number of years they have left and their salaries. These contracts do not include 2028, so this year's free agents such as Yordan are not included. Also, these aren't the contracts as they were signed, they're just

LF Juan Soto (29) - 3 yrs, $117 million ($39 million player option 2032)
RF Kyle Tucker (31) - 2 yrs, $69.2 million (opt-out after 2029 and $33.2 million player option 2031)
SP Brandon Woodruff (35) - 2 yrs, $54.2 million ($27.2 million player option 2031)
Edwin Díaz (34) - 1 yr, $16 million ($16 million player option 2030)
C Luis Campusano (30) - 1 yr arbitration, $20.8 million projected
RP Evan Phillips (34) - 2 yrs, $21.2 million ($9.6 million player option 2031)
RP Joe Jimenez (33) - 2 yrs, $21 million (opt-out after 2029)
CP Ryan Pressly (39) - 1 yr, $8.9 million
RP Aaron Ashby (30) - $13 million club option 2029
SP Ryne Nelson (30) - 1 yr arbitration, $8 million projected
RP John Schreiber (34) - 2 yrs, $9.2 million
RP Tanner Houck (32) - 1 yr arbitration, $5.5 million projected
RP Evan Sisk (31) - 5 yrs arbitration, $2.4 million projected
LF Allan Cerda (28) - 3 yrs arbitration, $2.2 million projected
RF Rece Hinds (28) - 2 yrs auto-renew, $1.2 million, then 4 yrs arbitration
SP Spencer Arrighetti (28) - 1 yr auto-renew $810 thousand, then 4 yrs arbitration
3B Brett Baty (28) - 3 yrs arbitration, $1.4 million projected
CF Jackson Chourio (24) - 4 yrs arbitration, $6.7 million projected
1B Ryan Clifford (25) - 2 yrs auto-renew, $810 thousand, then 4 yrs arbitration
2B Cristian Gonzalez (26) - 1 yr auto-renew, $810 thousand, then 4 yrs arbitration
3B David Hensley (32) - 3 yrs arbitration, $2.2 million projected
SP Hayden Juenger (28) - 3 yrs arbitration, $2.6 million projected
SP David Leal (31) - 1 yr auto-renew, $810 thousand, then 3 yrs arbitration
C Ali Sanches (31) 1 yr auto-renew, $810 thousand, then 3 yrs arbitration

It's pretty obvious when looking at these that I like to give out a lot of player options to lower my salaries.

Now that we've done all that, it's time to get into the offseason action!

[HenriS218]

The offseason hasn't actually started yet. I'm writing this on October 5, the day after we lost in the playoffs. I'll cover any action going on between now and the actual beginning of the offseason, then I'll get into the team's goals and everything else.

October 15: Cincinnati Reds win the NLCS

The Reds beat the Mets in seven games and will go on to play the Red Sox in the World Series.

October 25: Cincinnati Reds win the World Series

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games, earning the sixth title in franchise history.

October 27: Evan Phillips executes contract option

Evan Phillips decided not to opt out of his contract, locking himself in for two more years with the Astros. Phillips had a spectacular debut season with the Astros, putting up a 3.45 ERA, 2.34 FIP, and 2.8 WAR in 91 innings.

October 27: Astros decline Aaron Ashby's club option

I decided to decline Ashby's option, cause it was for $13 million, and I really don't need to be paying a middle reliever that much. My bullpen is already really good, and if I had exercised his option, I'd only have about $5 million budget room left. I'd really prefer to use that money on a #2 or #3 starter.

October 27: Contracts expire for two Astros coaches

The Astros' hitting coach Ryan Chipka and their bench coach Aaron France are now available on the market as their contracts have ended. I'll try to find new guys pretty quickly cause there aren't many great coaches.


Our only two free agents are Yordan Alvarez and Dylan Moore. I'm so sad to say this, but Yordan won't return to the Astros. He's my favorite player in baseball, but he's gotten a lot worse in-game. He injury proneness is now "wrecked" and he's averaged only 82 games a year over the last four seasons. He doesn't hit lefties very well anymore, and he wants 6 years, $156 million, which is completely ridiculous with his injury history. Moore has a good shot at coming back, though. I signed him to a minor league deal last year, but he came up and had a 117 OPS+ in 57 games. All he wants is 1 year, $1.9 million, which I'm happy to throw out there.

October 29: Astros sign new bench coach

The Astros have signed 43-year-old Danny Lehmann to a 3-year deal worth $1,155,000. Lehmann has three years of experience, acting as the Dodgers' bench coach from 2023 to 2025, making the playoffs once. His ratings are full of excellent and goods, so I'm glad to have him.

October 29: Astros sign new hitting coach

The Astros have signed 42-year-old Zach Larson to a 4-year deal worth $3,760,000. Larson has spent the last four years as the hitting coach for the AAA Gwinett Stripers, making the playoffs once. I know his history isn't very impressive, but his ratings are very good, especially his legendary hitting coaching.

November 1: Dylan Moore signs a one-year extension

Dylan Moore has signed a one-year contract extension with the Houston Astros worth $1.9 million. The 36-year-old thought his career was coming to a close as he was struggling for the Nationals in 2027. That offseason, the Astros put a flyer out on him, signing him to a minor league deal. He was called up on April 26th, and he stayed on the team for the rest of the year in a super-utility role. He played at least one inning at every position except catcher, impressing with his bat as well. Obviously he's older and no superstar, but his power and eye are still good, and I need his utility, since I'm absolutely terrible at managing around injuries.

[HenriS218]

The length of these are gonna be kinda inconsistent lol. They're just gonna be the amount I can write in one session, or a set amount of time. We'll just see.

[HenriS218]

Now let's get into the real offseason action!

November 5: Edwin Diaz wins AL Reliever of the Year Award

Edwin Diaz was unanimously voted as the American League Reliever of the Year. This is the fifth time he's won the award, last earning it for the Mets in 2026. In nearly 100 innings, he put up a 2.21 ERA and struck out 164 batters. Even more impressive is his 1.34 FIP and 4.1 WAR, both leading the MLB among relievers. He was one more year guaranteed with the Astros and a $16 million player option for 2030.

November 6: Two Astros win Silver Sluggers

Ryan Clifford won the Silver Slugger at first base in only his second year in the league. He mashed 34 homers and tallied 104 RBI, with a .284/.350/536 slash line and 3.4 WAR. The 25-year-old slugger has won the award for the first time, and many believe that more bright things are coming for him. He's another decent prospect who skyrocketed up the rankings with my massive development budget. I may try to extend him somewhat soon while the price is still pretty low.

Juan Soto won the Silver Slugger at left field in his age-29 season. The generational talent has won the award eight times so far in his career, and three times since joining the Astros in 2025. While he only tallied 25 homers and 79 RBI from the second spot in the lineup, his walk rate was above 20% once again. His .401 on-base percentage led the league for the third time in the last four seasons, and his 132 OPS+ is still elite, despite a decline from some of his previous years.

November 10: Three Astros earn MVP votes

First baseman Ryan Clifford placed 7th in MVP voting with 84 points. Center fielder Jackson Chourio placed 15th in MVP voting with 14 points. Second baseman Cristian Gonzalez placed 18th in MVP voting with 10 points.

November 19: Free Agents File

I'm looking for a pretty good starter either on the market or through trade. I have $27 million available, so I should have a good shot at one or two good pieces.

Some of my best options are:
Spencer Strider (30) - $30.7 million (best on the market, but out of my budget unless I can trade off some money)
Walker Buehler (34) - $27.5 million
Cristian Javier (31) - $15 million (missed most of 2027 and all of 2028 with elbow ligament reconstruction)
Matt Canterino (30) - $1.7 million (I might target him since he's way cheaper than most but has pretty good ratings. I do need to scout him more cause his OSA ratings aren't great and my accuracy is low on him)
Max Fried (34) - $23.2 million
Ranger Suarez (33) - $18 million
Michael Kopech (32) - $16 million (former Astro would be nice, but his injury proneness is fragile)
Max Meyer (29) - $1.7 million (Wow he looks really good! His rating is only 45 cause of low stamina, but everything else is great and my bullpen could pick up those late innings for him)
Clarke Schmidt (32) - $13.3 million (fragile injury proneness)
Chase Silseth (28) - $4.64 million

[HenriS218]

November 30: We've made a trade!

We've acquired 30-year-old RHP Bryce Miller from the Mariners in exchange for minor league pitcher Jake Hembree. Hembree looks like he'll never make the majors, while Miller will be a solid reliever and starter in case of an emergency.

December 21: First Free Agent Signing of this year

The Astros have signed 31-year-old RHP Matt Canterino to a one-year, $1.7 million contract. While his ratings aren't amazing, he should be solid on a one-year deal and pitch some quality innings. I picked up someone as cheap as him to save money for something really exciting you're about to see.

December 21: Astros have signed 1B Freddie Freeman

39-year-old Freddie Freeman has signed a one-year contract worth $20 million with multiple incentives included. While he's only played in 85 games over the last two years, this has lowered his price heavily. His ratings still look very good and should allow him to have another great season before he declines too much. He'll be our primary designated hitter, but he'll also log some games at first when Ryan Clifford is either off or playing in left.

December 23: Rule 5 Draft

Nearly every year of this franchise I've picked up a player in the Rule 5 Draft, and they've gone really well, with Allan Cerda, Hayden Juenger, and Rece Hinds each performing well for me. This year I ended up not taking anyone in the draft. There wasn't anyone who was particularly interesting.

December 24: Pitching Staff Decisions

I've decided to put Ryne Nelson on the trade block. I've been happy with his production since I've had him, but he's never been outstanding. I have one too many pitchers on the roster right now, and he's a free agent after this coming season. With the acquisitions of Bryce Miller and Matt Canterino, one of them will take over the #5 spot in the rotation in Nelson's absence. I'm hoping to get one or two good prospects in return.

[HenriS218]

February 12: Signing several minor league free agents

Every year I sign a lot of guys who will take a minor-league deal. I pick the guys who have some decent ratings and guys with leading personality types. Here's a list of some notable former major leaguers I signed:
3B Matt Chapman (35)
UTL Brendan Donovan (32)
OF James Outman (31)
SP Caleb Kilian (31)
SP Jacob DeGrom (40)
OF/1B Cody Bellinger (33) - played 33 games for the 2027 Astros
OF Randy Arozarena (33)

March 1: Spring Training begins

Spring Training will be a big opportunity for me to make some decisions about how the roster will look this year. Things are mostly set, but the biggest decision I need to make is who will be the #4 starter, Matt Canterino or Bryce Miller.

March 1: Ryne Nelson traded

RHP Ryne Nelson has been traded to the Marlins. The return was 24-year-old outfielder Walker Jenkins and 23-year-old pitcher Talan Bell. Both have good upside and are already fairly developed. Bell enters our system as our #23 prospect. I'm sorry to see Nelson go after several years with the team. In his tenure with the Astros from 2024 to 2028, he pitched 695 innings in 210 games (106 starts) with a 45-33 record, 101 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR.

March 21: Rece Hinds put on 10-Day IL, OF Marcos Torres recalled

Rece Hinds suffered a torn quadriceps and will miss approximately six weeks of playing time. Outfielder Marcos Torres will finally earn his shot in the majors. His ratings have become very impressive, and he'll earn a good amount of major league playing time to prove himself.

April 4: Preseason Predictions released

AL East:
Red Sox 102-60
Rays 81-81
Orioles 78-84
Blue Jays 77-85
Yankees 74-88

Al Central:
Guardians 87-75
Twins 83-79
Tigers 82-80
White Sox 81-81
Bears 78-84
Royals 75-87

AL West:
Astros 89-73
Angels 82-80
Rangers 80-82
Mariners 77-85
Athletics 75-87

NL East:
Braves 82-80
Nationals 81-81
Marlins 79-83
Mets 77-85
Phillies 71-91

NL Central:
Reds 102-60
Pirates 89-73
Cubs 82-80
Brewers 81-81
Cardinals 80-82

NL West:
Rockies 92-70
Dodgers 87-75
Diamondbacks 78-84
Green Jackets 77-85
Giants 72-90
Padres 69-93

April 5: Brett Baty DFA'ed

I decided to DFA Brett Baty because his highest OPS+ in the last three years is 76, despite his decent hitting ratings. If he doesn't get picked up by another team, I'll just send him to AAA.

April 5: Rotation Decision

I've decided to put Bryce Miller in the fourth spot in my rotation and keep Matt Canterino in the bullpen for now. Miller made six Spring Training starts and looked much better, allowing one less run per nine innings and striking out more batters.


Now without any further ado, let's kick off the 2029 MLB season!

[HenriS218]

Game 1: 5-0 W. WP - Woodruff (1-0, 7.0 4 0 1 6). HR - Clifford (1). There weren't really any outstanding performances from this game except for Woodruff's seven scoreless. He's been my ace for four years now, and he continues to deal.

# The format I used above for a pitcher's statline is this: (record, innings, hits, earned runs, walks, strikeouts)

Game 2: 5-1 W. WP - Jimenez(1-0). S - Phillips (1). Starter - Juenger (0-0, 4.2 4 0 1 7). HR - Gonzalez (1). 2027 MVP runner-up Cristian Gonzalez wins Player of the Game as he goes 2 for 4 with a 2-run homer. Juenger had a really strong first start, and I'm still feeling good about moving him to the rotation after his bullpen struggles in 2027.

Game 3: 7-5 W. WP - Sisk(1-0). S - Pressly(1). Starter - Leal (0-0, 4.1 6 3 2 1). HR - Chourio 2 (2), Freeman (1), Bitonti (1), Soto (1). Leal wasn't good, but he was carried by some big homers. Chourio won Player of the Game for his two crucial homers and his three RBI.

Team Record: 3-0. Through the first series of the year, we're leading, with the A's going 2-1.

[HenriS218]

Game 1: 3-6 L. LP Sisk (1-1). Starter - Miller (0-0, 4.2 7 4 0 6). HR - Bitonti (2). This was a crushing loss. We were down 2-0 before Eric Bitonti hit a huge 3-run homer in the top of the sixth to take the lead. Just as I was feeling great, Evan Sisk left the game with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh. Tanner Houck came in, walking a batter, then striking out the next, before giving up a grand slam to Kevin Parada. Outside of the one inning, out offense was pretty much quiet.

Game 2: 6-8 L. LP Phillips (0-1). Starter - Arrighetti (0-0, 4.1 6 5 3 2). HR - Tucker (1), Bitonti (3), Freeman (2). We staged a big comeback in the sixth on two-run homers from Bitonti and Freeman, but it ended up for naught. Phillips came in and allowed two runs in the top of the eighth to lose the game.

Game 3: 5-2 W. WP Woodruff (2-0, 6.1 5 1 1 4). HR - Clifford 2 (3), Chourio (3). Woodruff looked great again, and Ryan Clifford had his first big game of the season with two home runs.

Team Record: 4-2, We're now tied for the division lead with the Mariners heading into a series against another 4-2 team in the Red Sox.

[HenriS218]

Game 1: 2-4 L. LP - Phillips (0-2). Starter - Juenger (0-0, 5 2 0 1 6). This was a terrific outing from Juenger squandered by Canterino, Sisk, Phillips, and Diaz.

Game 2: 14-6 W. WP - Leal (1-0, 5.0 8 3 0 4). HR - Tucker (2). This was obviously an incredible game. We had nineteen hits (seven doubles) and scored fourteen runs in game 2 of the series.

Game 3: 0-5 L. LP - Miller (0-1, 4.2 6 3 3 4). This was just a pathetic performance from the offense. I don't have much to say about this one.

Team Record: 5-4, This was a really rough series outside of Game 2, but we're still tied with the Mariners for the division lead.

Injury: I have two things to share for this series. First, John Schreiber is dealing with some back soreness. He won't be placed on the IL since his injury is only supposed to last for a week, but he will be benched until he is fully healthy.

Rotation Decisions: Bryce Miller hasn't looked great through his first two starts, but Canterino has looked pretty similar in his bullpen action so far. I'll be watching the situation closely for the next few weeks.