Inbox: Who will open season as Astros' DH?
HOUSTON -- With a little more than one week until the start of the regular season, let’s hit the Inbox to see what’s on your mind with the Astros:
If Yordan Alvarez, who was placed on the injured list Sunday for undisclosed reasons, isn’t ready to start the season, I would expect the Astros to rotate players for the DH spot.
The player most likely to get most at-bats at the outset is Kyle Tucker, given that Josh Reddick is the best defensive option in right field. That would allow manager Dusty Baker to get them both in the lineup. But certainly Yuli Gurriel and Michael Brantley would be prime options to get some DH at-bats as well.
George Springer, José Altuve and Carlos Correa don’t enjoy being the DH as much as playing in the field, and they are premium defenders. Plus, in a short season, getting Springer, Altuve and Correa off their feet now and then with a day at DH won’t be a priority.
There are only six days off in the 66-day, 60-game regular season, so it’s not like they could utilize a bunch of off-days to only have a four-man rotation. They’re going to need five starters to begin the season, because they won’t have a day off until the sixth game. Later in the season, there’s a stretch of 27 games in 28 days, including 17 consecutive games without a day off.
As for the fifth starter, it appears lefty Framber Valdez might have the edge. With José Urquidy on the IL for undisclosed reasons and Josh James in camp and being primed to be a starter, that will leave one spot behind Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr. Austin Pruitt is slowed by elbow injury, and Brad Peacock has a shoulder issue. Pitching coach Brent Strom has gushed about the way Valdez has pitched in camp so far. I wouldn’t count out Bryan Abreu yet, either, but I expect him to make the Opening Day roster in the bullpen.
With All-Star setup man Ryan Pressly in the eighth and closer Roberto Osuna in the ninth, it’s fair wonder how the Astros will cover the sixth and seventh innings if a starter doesn’t go past the fifth. Even with Will Harris’ departure to the Nationals and Joe Smith out, there’s experience with Chris Devenski, who is trying to put two subpar seasons behind him. It doesn’t help the Astros that Pruitt (elbow) is expected to start the year on the IL and Peacock has a lingering shoulder injury.
Strom said some of the prospects in camp, including Abreu and Cristian Javier, have looked sharp. It would be a big jump for Javier to pitch in the Major Leagues, but the with an expanded pitching roster and being down a few bodies, Houston might give him a shot. In a perfect world, the Astros would have Devenski and Joe Biagini for the sixth and seventh, with Peacock, Pruitt and Cy Sneed ready to throw two or three innings when needed. Valdez could be a multiple-inning bullpen arm as well, but he might be needed in the rotation to start the season.
The Astros haven’t been able to say much about Urquidy and Alvarez, short of saying they’re on the injured list to start the year. Their status remains in limbo. Smith was put on the restricted list while he weighs whether he wants to play this year. I would suspect to see Urquidy and Alvarez back at some point, and whether Smith gets on the field in 2020 is up to him and his family.
No, Forrest Whitley won’t be on the Astros’ 30-man roster to start the year. Whitley, who is on the 56-man player pool and is ranked the club's top prospect, has been working out at the alternate site at the University of Houston and isn’t on the 40-man roster, which makes it harder to put him on the active roster. He has pitched twice in instrasquad games at Minute Maid Park, and pitching coach Brent Strom said Tuesday he thinks Whitley will be a star. But some other prospects are closer to the Majors than he is, including Abreu and Javier. Plus, Whitley didn’t pitch well last year.
Whitley went a combined 3-7 with a 7.99 ERA with 44 walks and 86 strikeouts in four levels last year. He began the year at Triple-A Round Rock and had a 12.21 ERA in eight games (five starts) before being placed on the injured list with shoulder fatigue. The Astros sent him back to the Gulf Coast League in July and he moved up to Class A Advanced Fayetteville before finishing the year with Double-A Corpus Christi. He finished the year strong with a second consecutive strong performance at the Arizona Fall League (2.88 ERA) and will need to build on that.
Considering they’re short some bodies on the pitching staff and they might need 15 or 16 pitchers on their 30-man roster to start the year, he’s got a shot. Javier was assigned to work out with the players at Minute Maid Park at Summer Camp, which gives the Major League staff a chance to see him daily. He’s coming off a great year but has barely pitched about Triple-A.
Javier, the Astros' No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, began last season at Class A Advanced Fayetteville and spent most of the year at Double-A Corpus Christi before ending the season with a pair of outings at Triple-A Round Rock. In all, he posted a 1.74 ERA with a 0.97 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings and led all Minor League pitchers (minimum 100 innings) in opponents’ batting average (.130). He was named the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Yes, I am told the Astros will have a 2019 American League championship banner in place by the time they start the season July 24 against the Mariners.