After busy offseason, are Astros best team in AL West?
After the Chicago Cubs ended a historic curse by defeating the Cleveland Indians for their first World Series title in 108 years this past November, the Houston Astros didn't waste any time springing out of the offseason gates in an attempt to improve their ball club for 2017 and the foreseeable future.
In November alone, Houston claimed outfielder Nori Aoki off waivers, traded for catcher Brian McCann, shipped reliever Pat Neshek to Philadelphia, and spent $66 million on starter Charlie Morton and outfielder Josh Reddick.
General manager Jeff Luhnow wasn't done there, either.
After being heavily involved in discussions with Edwin Encarnacion, who eventually signed with the Cleveland Indians, the Astros instead chose to ink veteran Carlos Beltran to a one-year deal, reuniting him with the club where he had a monumental postseason in 2004.
After such a busy offseason, the Astros appear primed to make a run at the division crown in the American League West, but are all of the additions enough to make them the best team in the division?
Here are three reasons why they are.
More offense
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The Astros were one of the worst hitting teams in the AL last season, posting a .247 team average which was only greater than the light hitting Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays, while finishing second in the league in strikeouts.
By adding the bats of Beltran, McCann, Aoki, and Reddick, while giving everyday playing time to Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel, Houston's projected Opening Day starting lineup is better on paper offensively than the one they began 2016 with.
2016 Opening Day lineup
| ORDER | PLAYER | PA | OPS | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Altuve | 717 | .928 | 70 |
| 2 | George Springer | 744 | .815 | 178 |
| 3 | Carlos Correa | 660 | .811 | 139 |
| 4 | Colby Rasmus | 417 | .641 | 121 |
| 5 | Carlos Gomez | 323* | .594* | 100* |
| 6 | Luis Valbuena | 342 | .816 | 81 |
| 7 | Preston Tucker | 144 | .551 | 40 |
| 8 | Marwin Gonzalez | 518 | .694 | 118 |
| 9 | Jason Castro | 376 | .684 | 123 |
* 2016 stats with Astros
2017 Projected Opening Day lineup
| ORDER | PLAYER | PA | OPS | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Springer | 744 | .815 | 178 |
| 2 | Jose Altuve | 717 | .928 | 70 |
| 3 | Carlos Correa | 660 | .811 | 139 |
| 4 | Carlos Beltran | 593 | .850 | 101 |
| 5 | Brian McCann | 492 | .748 | 99 |
| 6 | Alex Bregman | 217 | .791 | 52 |
| 7 | Josh Reddick | 439 | .749 | 56 |
| 8 | Yulieski Gurriel | 137 | .677 | 12 |
| 9 | Nori Aoki | 467 | .738 | 45 |
Not only is the Astros' starting lineup better on paper, but having the ability to rotate Evan Gattis and his 32 home runs through catching and DH duties gives them additional depth to rest the aging Beltran and McCann while still maintaining a deadly unit with scary power potential.
Best double-play combo in division
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The AL West is loaded with talent at second base and shortstop, but no pairing in the division is better than Altuve and Correa, two of the franchise cornerstones.
Altuve finished third in MVP voting during the best season of his career last year, while Correa avoided the sophomore slump and proved he is one of the game's best shortstops.
Even after the Mariners acquired Jean Segura to partner with Robinson Cano, and despite the talented twosome of Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor in Texas, the Astros double-play combination drove in more runs, stole more bags, and was worth more WAR than any of their AL West counterparts.
| PLAYERS | HR | RBI | SB | OPS | DRS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altuve/Correa | 44 | 192 | 43 | 1.739 | -5 | 11.6 |
| Cano/Segura | 59 | 167 | 33 | 1.749 | 11 | 11.0 |
| Andrus/Odor | 41 | 157 | 38 | 1.598 | -12 | 4.1 |
| Espinosa/Simmons | 28 | 116 | 19 | 1.374 | 28 | 4.8 |
| Lowrie/Semien | 29 | 102 | 10 | 1.372 | -14 | 1.8 |
Altuve and Correa may not have even hit their peaks as players just yet, either.
Altuve is 26 years old and continues to improve - if that's even possible - while Correa just turned 22 this past September and has only one full season under his belt, albeit an impressive one.
If the pair continues to progress in 2017, watch out AL West, because that's bad news for any of Houston's opposition.
Keuchel back to 100 percent
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No pitcher in the AL was better than Dallas Keuchel in 2015 after the southpaw secured the Cy Young award with a 20-8 campaign, which included a 2.48 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 232 innings of work.
His masterful work was part of the reason why the Astros were able to make a surprising run to the postseason and nearly oust the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the division series.
Unfortunately, the 29-year-old couldn't return to form last season as his numbers dropped all across the board with Houston finishing third in the division.
Keuchel admitted last week he "sucked" in 2016 and pitched through shoulder problems rather than resting accordingly.
"From the get-go, coming into spring training, it wasn’t right,” Keuchel told Ted Berg of For The Win. “But I was telling myself I could push through it, and get through it, but that wasn’t the case. I actually hurt the team more than helped them out, so I learned that it’s OK to tell people if you’re not feeling right.
"It was like I was using a rubber band and shooting it to the sky to get (the ball) 60 feet. I knew something was wrong from the get-go, and nothing helped. So at that point it was, OK, we’ve got to say something to the doctor."
The ace entered spring camp this season back to full strength and said he felt like a "brand new guy," which is exactly what the Astros need if they want to win a division title for the first time since moving the franchise into the AL West.