Spring training is here. The Astros have spent the offseason revamping their pitching staff and adding key pieces to strengthen the rotation. With all the new additions, the Astros have officially named Hunter Brown as their Opening Day starter, marking the first Opening Day start of his career.
However, there are still a few questions to be answered. The infield remains crowded, creating a logjam with Christian Walker, Isaac Paredes, and Carlos Correa. Yordan Alvarez isn’t thrilled about being limited to the designated hitter role and wants some time in left field. Despite these issues, here’s a look at the projected Opening Day lineup for the Astros.
Projected 2026 Houston Astros Opening Day Lineup
Shortstop (SS): Jeremy Peña
Second Base (2B): José Altuve
Designated Hitter (DH): Yordan Alvarez (hoping to play some left field)
Third Base (3B): Carlos Correa (or Isaac Paredes/Mauricio Dubón)
Catcher (C): Yainer Díaz
First Base (1B): Christian Walker
Left Field (LF): Zach Cole (or similar outfielder)
Right Field (RF): Cam Smith (or Jesús Sánchez)
Center Field (CF): Jake Meyers
Projected Rotation:
Starting Pitcher 1 (SP1): Hunter Brown
SP2: Tatsuya Imai
SP3: Christian Javier
SP4: Mike Burrows
SP5: Lance McCullers Jr. / Spencer Arrighetti
So, with the projected lineup, they still have some work to do. Isaac Paredes has been linked to trade rumors for quite some time now, but nothing seems to be working out. The chances of him staying with the Astros are looking higher and higher. The Astros are now looking at free agents like Michael Conforto to fill some of their lefty needs. The Astros are very right-heavy when it comes to pitching and batting, and Conforto is a left-handed batter.
Christian Walker was also linked to trade rumors, but he is a hard one to move. Paredes is much more likely to be the one to be traded to solve the logjam. Then there’s Yordan Alvarez, who isn’t happy just DHing. While putting him at DH is meant to keep him healthy, his injuries didn’t occur while playing left field, though the decision isn’t ultimately up to him.
As for Hunter Brown, he gets to start his very first Opening Day of his career, a very exciting moment for the young pitcher.
While spring training is going on and the World Baseball Classic is underway, these players need to stay healthy and play hard.