Hey guys, I haven't been this excited about our off season since... well, since 2017 lol. This year feels different though. I feel like this team is positioned for a repeat and we should be the favorites to win it all again. That being said, to win a championship, you need All-Stars and I'm expecting this team to be loaded with them! Who are your picks to represent the Astros in the summer classic? Springer - Yes Bregman - Possibly Altuve - Yes Correa - Yes Yuli - Possibly Marwin - No, but deserves to be Reddick - No McCann - No Gattis - No Verlander - Yes Keuchel - Yes Cole - Yes McCullers - Yes, if healthy Morton - No Giles - Yes, will turn his career around
Keeping in mind that pitchers are selected by managers and the reserves are by managers/players and the final slot is by internet vote... Springer - Starting Bregman - Starting Altuve - Starting Correa - Starting Gurriel - No Gonzalez - No Fisher - No Reddick - No McCann - No Gattis - No Verlander - Starting Keuchel - Yes Cole - No McCullers - Final Slot Morton - No Devenski - Injury Replacement Harris - No Giles - No
A bit optimistic on the pitching (especially Giles). Yuli is a hard no. Will be tough for Bregman just because of the glut of talent at that position. But the big 3 and Verlander/Keuchel seem likely.
With our lineup, I can see Verlander and someone else winning 20 games this season and our top 4 guys winning at least 15 games. It would be amazing to have 3 or 4 of our starting pitchers make the All-Star team.
This is a fun exercise. Springer, Altuve and Correa are easily the three most likely position players. Verlander and Keuchel are the most likely pitchers. After Springer, Altuve and Correa I see three guys who each have a chance to make the team but that I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. Bregman is the most likely of these three guys to make the team though. Bregman is a really really good 3B but in the AL alone he has to compete with Jose Ramirez, Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Adrian Beltre and Kyle Seager. The amount of really good 3B in the AL will make it tough for him to make it as a starter. However I see no reason why he could sneak in as a reserve. Gurriel is a solid 1B but I just don't see him putting up the power numbers he would need to make the team. Although the vast majority of the top 10 MLB 1B are in the NL so if he has a really strong start to the season there's always a chance he could sneak in. I wouldn't count on it though. Gonzalez should have been an All-Star last season but I'm just not sure how likely it is that he repeats last years performance. Will he still be a good player that provides great value due to his ability to play all over the place? Absolutely. Is he going to put up a season nearly identical to what he did last season? Most likely not. Springer - Yes Bregman - Possibly as a reserve/fan vote. Altuve - Yes Correa - Yes Gurriel - Not likely unless he has a monster first half Gonzalez - Not unless he matches last year's monster numbers Fisher - No Reddick - No McCann - No Gattis - No As for the pitchers, I see Verlander and Keuchel as the most likely All-Stars. Verlander has the name power and should have no problem putting up numbers worthy of an All-Star selection. The fact that Hinch is in charge of (to a certain degree) choosing the pitching staff should only increase Verlander's chances. If Keuchel starts the season anything like he did last season he will have no problem making the team. If he's healthy, he's nearly a shoe-in for the team. If he's not healthy then he probably won't make it. After Verlander and Keuchel, McCullers and Cole are the other two pitchers most likely to make it. With our lineup, our pitching staff should have no problem piling up the wins. If McCullers pitches anything like he did April-June of last season he can easily make the team. Same for Cole... if he pitches like he did back in 2015 then he can easily make the team as well. Now, it's highly unlikely that any one team would get four pitchers into the all-star game so I would only bet on Keuchel and Verlander at this point. Verlander - Yes Keuchel - Yes Cole - No but has a legit chance if he can revert back to 2015 form McCullers - No but if he repeats last year's 1st half performance he could very well make the team again Morton - No Devenski - Probably not given the fact that Hinch likely won't call on Devo for multiple 2-3 inning appearances at quite the rate he did during the 1st half of last season. Harris - No Giles - No
Altuve, Correa, Bregman, Springer, Verlander, Keuchel, Cole. Or...1st team ever with 5 SP as all-stars?
The locks will be Correa, Springer, Altuve, and Verlander. I think Bregman is going to rake this season and he will make it too. McCullers and Keuchel highly likely but will depend on their health. I don't think any relievers will make it this year, unless Peacock stays in the pen and performs like he did last year.
Bergman had a couple of huge hits and played good defense but other than that he hit .208 with a .673 OPS in the playoffs.
I just had to look it up...Dave played 17 years in MLB. That's impressive. '98 Sean 5th starter was also impressive, if you have to lose your job to somebody, Randy Johnson is a good one to tell your kids about.
Just good and a couple? Who would be you playoff mvp? Just curious, probably a good argument for a few guys.
