HOUSTON – ONE WEEK LEFT!
Opening day is Thursday March 30, and the Astros are getting ready for a fun weekend where fans will get all sorts of giveaways. Let’s look through the most interesting stuff going on, plus some season predictions.
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WHO REPLACES ALTUVE?
Jose Altuve had thumb surgery Wednesday and is out two months, according to general manager Dana Brown. Altuve will likely be back at some point in June and the amount of games missed should be around 60.
Some combination of David Hensley and Mauricio Dubon are in line to take Altuve’s at-bats. Both are super-utility players who can play 3-5 positions. Hensley has significantly less MLB experience than Dubon, but was impressive in his 2022 MLB debut, even working his way into the World Series startling lineup as DH over Aledmys Diaz and Trey Mancini.
Hensley has worked a decent amount in left field in spring training in the event Michael Brantley misses time and/or Yordan Alvarez needs to rest from playing the field, but the Astros’ hottest prospect has been Justin Dirden, who can play LF.
SEASON PREDICTIONS
Record: 102-60, first place in NL West.
Result: Win World Series and become the first team since the 1998-1999-2000 Yankees to repeat.
Best hitter: Yordan Alvarez hits .300 with 40 home runs and battles for MVP with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani
Best pitcher: Cristian Javier steps up his game and wins the Cy Young with 170 innings and more than 230 strikeouts with an ERA below 2.50 in 30 starts
Breakout player: David Hensley owns the fill-in role with Altuve out and uses it to springboard himself into consistent line up at bats, and puts pressure on the organization to find an every day role for him in 2024.
Other random predictions: Alex Bregman has more walks than strikeouts again. Kyle Tucker goes 30-30 and further proves he’s a $200 million player. Jeremy Peña is voted as an All-Star starter after a solid first-half and continues to be one of the faces of baseball.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Astros have two exhibition games versus the Sugar Land Space Cowboys before the true season opener March 30.
