An outside addition before Opening Day becomes less likely with each passing day. Nevertheless, manager Joe Espada declined to name starters at any of the three outfield positions this weekend (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle).
“I’m not ready to say that yet,” Espada said. “Clearly we know what Jake Meyers can do in the center, I feel very good about that. I feel really good about what Cam Smith can do right. Zach Cole and the rest of those guys can play all three. But when it comes to who is there on the first day, that is not there yet.”
On paper, Meyers feels like the safest bet to play every day. He is a plus defender in center field and is having his best season at the plate. The 29-year-old hit .292/.354/.373 with 16 stolen bases and a career strikeout rate of 17.6%. A right calf strain hampered him in the second half and kept him to just under 400 plate appearances.
Cole and Smith are much less established. The first made his debut in September and hit four home runs in his first fifteen games. He also struck out 20 times in 52 plate appearances at a 35% clip in Triple-A. It’s hard to see that profile working over a larger sample size unless he makes contact much more consistently.
Smith, a top prospect acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade, did well for a few months before its numbers plummeted in the second half. Smith’s experience in the upper minors before his promotion consisted of five games at Double-A. It’s impressive that he managed to stay afloat in the major leagues with so little work against higher-level pitching, but he should probably open this season in Triple-A. That would be easier for the Astros to figure out if they can get an experienced corner bat.
Along with the outfield, the back end of the rotation has some uncertainty. Houston added a few hopeful players in the middle of the rotation Tatsuya Imai And Mike Burrows to slide back Hunter Brown And Christian Javier. The Astros plan to start the season with a six-man rotation. They only have two scheduled days off within the first 28 days. Most teams signing a high-profile pitcher from Japan also prefer to use a six-man rotation to fit the weekly schedule that uses NPB starters.
The Astros took one-year fliers Ryan Weiss And Nate Pearson compete with internal options Lance McCullers Jr., AJ Blubaugh, Spencer Arrighetti And Jason Alexander for the last two jobs. Pearson is out of options and must be on the MLB roster in some capacity or exposed to waivers. However, it appears he will have to start the season on the 15-day injured list.
Espada said this afternoon that Pearson has slowed his throwing program due to elbow pain (Reported by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Pearson, who underwent cleaning surgery on his elbow this offseason, had organized bullpen sessions. He has never played in a Grapefruit League game.
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