Astros Offense Might Surprise People After Encouraging Spring Training

Will the offense for the Houston Astros surprise people?

Nick Ziegler | Mar 24, 2025

Mar 16, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros outfielder Cam Smith rounds third base after his two run home run during the second inning against the New York Mets at Clover Park. / Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

As spring training comes to a close for the Houston Astros, the team is getting prepared for what will be an interesting upcoming season.

There are few teams in baseball that have as many question marks going into the new campaign than the Astros.

This winter, Houston saw two key players from their lineup in 2024 and, in years prior, headed elsewhere.

First, Kyle Tucker was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a package of players. More recently, Alex Bregman signed with the Boston Red Sox.

As two staples in the batting order, replacing their production is not going to be easy. However, the Astros did bring in some new faces in the lineup, and there is a chance that the team could still be a contender despite losing two stars.

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com recently spoke about the biggest takeaway for the Astros this spring being that their offense could end up being much better than expected.

“The club added Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, who’s been hurt most of the spring, but the superb springs of prospects Cam Smith (No. 1) and Zach Dezenzo (No. 5) could give Houston two solid bats in the lineup it wasn’t expecting entering camp.”

While losing Tucker and Bregman is a significant blow, the team does have some appealing new players on the team in 2025.

This winter, Houston signed veteran first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year deal. The talented first baseman is a massive upgrade for the team at a position that they didn’t receive much from in 2024.

Walker will provide the team with a player that has 30-home run upside and plays a gold-glove-caliber defense. Compared to what they received from the position in 2024, it will be a significant upgrade.

Furthermore, two of the young players they received back from the Tucker trade appear to be set to start the year for Houston. While Isaac Paredes was slated to be the starting third baseman for the team after he was acquired, Cam Smith has seemingly forced his way onto the roster as well.

The talented young slugger was easily the standout player for the Astros this spring and appears to be switching to right field to be the starter.

While all eyes will be on the new faces, Houston still has some great players in their lineup as well.

Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve will be looking to lead this new group around them in 2025, with both players carrying a bit more weight on their shoulders after key departures.

Overall, there is still a lot to like about the lineup for the Astros. The quick emergence of Smith has really helped make the batting order look better, but the defense will be a major question mark.

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