Houston Astros’ Projected Opening Day Roster, Part II: Position Players

With Houston Astros’ 26-man roster all but set, it’s time to take a closer look at projected position players to hit the field in 2023.

In part one of this two-part series examining the projected 26-man roster for the Houston Astros, we took a closer look at the pitching staff for Opening Day 2023.

Today, we'll be taking a closer look at the position players to don an Astros jersey this coming season.

Keep in mind that the spring training stats mentioned below do not include the Astros game against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, March 5.

Let's start things off with the guys calling the shots for the hurlers on the mound -- Houston's duo of backstops.

Catchers: Martin Maldonado, Yainer Diaz.

Maldonado returns for another year as a superb defensive catcher after posting a .186 batting average (344 at-bats), 15 homeruns and 45 RBI in 2022. Thus far in spring training, he has five plate appearances with one RBI.

Diaz, meanwhile, will fill the slot as the backup catcher and has 10 plate appearances thus far in the Grapefruit League -- posting a .100 batting average. Diaz made his major league debut in September of last year -- garnering a .125 batting average with one RBI (eight at-bats).

First Baseman: Jose Abreu.

Abreu, the Astros new first baseman, has a .250 batting average with one homerun and two RBI (eight at-bats) thus far in spring training. Last season, he was a big-time producer at the plate -- ending the 2022 season with a .304 batting average (601 at-bats), 15 homeruns and 75 RBI.

Second Baseman: Jose Altuve.

Altuve has yet to garner a hit in spring training (nine at-bats), but the slow start -- especially in preseason action -- is nothing new for the All-Star Astro. Last year, Altuve batted .300 (527 at-bats) with 28 homers and 57 RBI. He also had 18 stolen bases.

Shortstop: Jeremy Pina.

Pena returns to Houston after an absolutely incredible rookie season. Thus far in spring training, Pena is batting .200 (10 at-bats). Last season, he finished the year with a .253 batting average (521 at-bats) with 22 homeruns, 63 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Third Baseman: Alex Bregman.

Thus far in the Grapefruit League, Bregman -- who enters the season fully healthy -- has only two plate appearances and has yet to garner a hit. Last year, the All-Star third baseman slashed a .259 batting average (548 at-bats) with 23 homeruns and 93 RBI.

Outfielders: Kyle Tucker, Michael Brantley, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers.

All-Star Tucker anchors a solid group of outfielders for the Astros in 2023, with the right fielder currently batting .462 in spring training (13 at-bats) with two RBI and one stolen base. Last season, he batted .257 (544 at-bats) with 30 homeruns, 107 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

Brantley also returns for the Astros after dealing with an injury-plagued season in 2022. He has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game. Last year, Brantley batted .288 (243 at-bats) with five homers and 26 RBI.

McCormick has seven plate appearances thus far in spring training -- garnering a .286 batting average. Last season, the outfielder batted .245 (359 at-bats) with 14 homeruns, 44 RBI and four stolen bases.

Meyers, Houston's projected everyday center fielder for 2023, has 10 plate appearances so far in spring training with a .300 batting average. Last year, he batted .227 (150 at-bats) with one homerun, 15 RBI and two stolen bases.

Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez.

Alvarez has not appeared in a single game thus far in spring training but is slated to be Houston's everyday DH in 2023. Last season, he batted .306 (470 at-bats) wiyh 37 homeruns and 97 RBI.

Bench/Utility: David Hensley, Mauricio Dubon.

Hensley has seven at-bats in the Grapefruit League this spring, batting .143 with one homerun, two RBI and a stolen base. Last year, he batted .345 (29 at-bats) with one homer and five RBI in limited playing time.

Dubon, meanwhile, has eight plate appearances this spring and is batting .375 with one stolen base. Last season, the utility player (outfield, shortstop and second base) batted .214 (243 at-bats) with five homeruns, 24 RBI and two stolen bases.

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