The Astros are improving in real life, but in fantasy terms, their hitters are much more interesting than their pitchers.
(Note: When a player's fantasy draft status is mentioned - e.g., "he's an SP4" - the number is based on 12-team mixed leagues.)
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Key additions: C Hank Conger, SS Jed Lowrie, 3B Luis Valbuena, OF/C Evan Gattis, SP Dan Straily, RP Luke Gregerson
Key losses: OF Dexter Fowler
Projected Lineup
Altuve's early NFBC ADP is 13th overall, with our analysts split between late first round and late second. He's one of fantasy's top three second basemen, but the order varies depending on who you talk to ... Lowrie moves to a friendlier hitter's park, but is the potential for a .260 BA with 12 homers all that exciting? ... Springer is a very talented young player with fascinating power/speed potential and big strikeout numbers that could lead to another BA in the .230s. If you want him, don't wait, as he carries a fourth-round ADP ... Carter's always a BA risk, but he tied for second in the majors in homers last season. Grabbing him in the middle rounds depends on how the rest of your roster is constructed ... Rasmus should hit 20-25 homers with a BA south of .250. How much power do you need in the late rounds? (Warning: Jake Marisnick's defense could impact Rasmus' playing time) ... Gattis still has catcher eligibility based on 2014, and he should be drafted among the top five at that position. Now that he plays the outfield, he'll get more playing time, and that means more homers ... Castro was terrible in 2014, batting .222 with declines in K and BB rates. If you want to bet on him having a small rebound as your late-round second catcher, we won't argue ... However, Castro could lose playing time to Hank Conger and his awesome pitch-framing skills ... Singleton is young, and should improve. But he's got a long way to go after batting .168. Not this year, folks ... Valbuena has a better bat than Dominguez, and will get the busier half of the hot corner platoon.
Projected Rotation
CL: Luke Gregerson
Look for Feldman to make 30 starts with subpar ERA, WHIP and K rates ... Keuchel induced more ground balls than any other starter last season, and should be a solid SP5. If only he whiffed more batters ... The BABIP fairy (.259) helped McHugh last season, but his K rate suggests that he wasn't too much of a fluke. Don't expect a repeat, but he should be solid as a back-end fantasy starter ... Oberholtzer doesn't walk many batters, but that's about the only positive thing we can say about him ... Straily teases with high minor-league K rates, and then disappoints when given big-league opportunities. Don't expect anything different in 2015.
Gregerson isn't your typical flame-throwing closer, but he throws enough strikes and gets enough ground balls to be good enough. Chad Qualls looks to be the fallback option.
Sleeper: Rasmus isn't a good real-life hitter, but getting 25 homers in the late rounds isn't a bad idea.
Top prospects
Carlos Correa, SS - Correa is an elite prospect with power and speed; there aren't five prospects you'd rather own. Though his development was paused last season due to a broken leg, he could be ready by Opening Day 2016.
Mark Appel, SP - Appel is a former top overall pick who struggled early last season, but improved as the year went on. He's still well-regarded as a potential No. 2 starter, but won't be ready this year.
Vincent Velasquez, SP - Velasquez misses a lot of bats, but he's had a checkered injury history that includes Tommy John surgery. If he pitches close to a full season, he'll rise up the prospect lists.
Domingo Santana, OF - The powerful Santana looked overmatched during a brief callup last season, whiffing 14 times in 18 plate appearances. MLB.com has Santana ranked as its No. 71 prospect, while Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs says, "after talking to at least a half dozen scouts about him, I still have no idea what to make of him."
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