Astros GM says team is better entering 2018

If Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow is right in his assessment of his team's roster, the rest of baseball better watch out.

"I think we got a better team this year than we did last year," Luhnow told MLB Network Radio on Sunday.

Luhnow's confidence is putting his rivals on notice. The Astros won it all in 2017, and will enter 2018 as the predominant favorites in the American League.

The team has gone through plenty of changes since the beginning of last season, most notably is the acquisition of ace right-hander Justin Verlander, who played an integral role down the home stretch and throughout the postseason.

Luhnow points to the offseason trade that landed former Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole as a potential turning point for the team's pitching depth.

"We looked at some of the big free agents and decided that the matchup with Cole was best for us," he said. "We gave up a lot of prospects to get him. But to add Gerrit Cole to (Dallas) Keuchel and Verlander and (Lance) McCullers and (Charlie) Morton and (Brad) Peacock just made us a stronger organization."

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He also likes what he's seen from younger players like Derek Fisher and Kyle Tucker, who he sees as important pieces in the near future.

Not much is scarier than the prospect of a powerhouse team somehow being even better, but there is a distinct possibility that the Astros fit that bill.