MLB NEWS: Houston Astros General Manager Dana Brown has officially announced to Houston Astros fans that legendary World Series manager Joe Espada has been officially fired by the Houston Astros 10 minutes ago. Because of….
A fan’s confidence level in their team is largely tied to the team’s talent level and championship experience, and while the Houston Astros have seen a fair amount of both leave the building over the last few off-seasons, it’s good to be reminded that the Astros are still one of the most talented teams in baseball, even after watching Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman go out the door.
Specifically, we thank the publication Baseball America for reminding us of how good we still have it baseball-wise in this town. The reminder came in the form of eight Astros on their Top 100 Players list for the upcoming 2025 season. Here is the list of Astros in the Top 100:
13. Yordan Alvarez, DH/LF
44. Framber Valdez, SP
69. Christian Walker, 1B
74. Jose Altuve, LF/2B
76. Isaac Paredes, 3B
85. Yainer Diaz, C
94. Hunter Brown, SP
98. Jeremy Pena, SS
Okay, a few observations here:
Most of the players on this list will be Astros for a good while
Of the eight players listed above, the only one likely to be gone after 2025 is Valdez, who is in the final year of team control, and has revealed recently that there has not been a contract extension offer this spring from the team. The other players are all under team control via salary arbitration or under contract for at least three seasons, through 2027. Additionally, closer Josh Hader, probably the closest non-Top 100 player to making this list, is under contract through 2028.
Biggest riser by year end will be….
Give me Jeremy Pena, who had a HUGE spring for the Astros, with four home runs and a 1.300 OPS. We know that Pena already has the defensive skills to be elite on that side of the ball (Gold Glove, 2022), and he’s hit more than 20 home runs in a season (2022),and stole 20 bases last season. If he can do all three of those things for a winning Astros team in 2025, he should vault to somewhere around 60th on this list.
Biggest faller by year end will be….
I hate to say this, but with this left field experiment, and the natural decline through aging, my fear is that the 35-year-old Altuve falls off the list entirely. I’ve never wanted to be more wrong about something. I love Jose Altuve.
What former Astros made the list?
Just three, but the fact that two of them were still Astros a few months ago, it stings a little bit. Kyle Tucker, sent packing in a trade to the Cubs, is 14th on the list, right behind Alvarez. Alex Bregman, who signed a three year, $120 million deal with Boston, is 60th. Finally, Carlos Correa, heading into his fourth season as a Minnesota Twin, is 84th overall on the list.
A fan’s confidence level in their team is largely tied to the team’s talent level and championship experience, and while the Houston Astros have seen a fair amount of both leave the building over the last few off-seasons, it’s good to be reminded that the Astros are still one of the most talented teams in baseball, even after watching Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman go out the door.
