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The Houston Astros have Dallas Keuchel, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner. And they have Carlos Correa, who just added an AL Rookie of the Year trophy to his case.

If you’re searching for reasons to be excited about the 2016 ‘Stros, in other words, you don’t have to look far.

There’s another Astros player, however, who could grab the wheel and steer the club’s fortunes next season. And he appears poised for a genuine breakout campaign.

In some ways, George Springer already broke out in 2015. The slugging outfielder and 2011 first-round pick hit .276 with 16 home runs and 16 stolen bases. But he also missed two months with a broken wrist and wound up playing just 102 games.

Springer, who turned 26 in September, is dangling on the edge of stardom. He has the tools. And he has the admiration of his teammates.

“He’s our spark plug,” said Keuchel, per MLB.com’s Richard Justice. “He comes to the park every day with a smile on his face.” 

The entire Houston franchise should be grinning. After entering last season as a presumed up-and-coming also-ran, the Astros led the AL West most of the way before claiming a wild-card slot and pushing the eventual champion Kansas City Royals to five games in the division series.

Now, the ‘Stros are nominal favorites in the West, neck-and-neck with the Lone Star State-rival Texas Rangers. A healthy, full-throttle Springer could push them over the top.

Full throttle, seemingly, is the only way Springer knows how to roll. 

“I try to copy the way he plays,” All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve said, per Justice. “He has one speed—100 mph.”

This is the part where we embed a defensive highlight that shows Springer giving up his body and wielding a glove made of Krazy Glue. Tellingly, there are many to choose from, but this one’s plenty instructive: 

Marry that with plus speed and legit, game-changing pop, and you’ve got all the elements of a rising star ready to flash across the MLB firmament.

As FanGraphs’ Brad Johnson put it, “Alfonso Soriano with more walks (and fewer steals) is one possible outcome.” 

Can you say tantalizing?

Sure, the injury questions will linger until Springer lasts a full season. And while he reduced his strikeouts in 2015, he still whiffed 223 times in his first 180 big league games. 

You can poke holes in any player’s resume, though. Even five-tool studs have their weak spots.

If you want to pivot back to optimism, here’s the evidence, courtesy of Sports Illustrated‘s Michael Beller:

He cut his o-swing percentage—which measures the rate at which a player swings at pitches outside the strike zone—from 26.7% to 23.1%. Unsurprisingly, his contact rate surged to 69.5%, an increase of nearly 10 percentage points, while his whiff rate dropped from 18.6% to 13.9%. Springer struck out in exactly one-third of his plate appearances as a rookie, but that K-rate plummeted to 24.2% last year. That goes a long way toward explaining his 45-point jump in batting average and 31-point climb in OBP.

Or just look at the way Springer finished last season.

In the final 10 games of 2015, while Houston was scratching and clawing for a playoff berth, Springer went 18-for-46. And he doubled and homered in the division series against Kansas City.

As Opening Day approaches, much of our focus is trained on the impressive 2015 rookie class, a loaded group that includes Correa, Kris Bryant, Francisco Lindor, Maikel Franco—the list of stellar sophomores goes on.

Springer, who debuted in 2014 but has a scant 683 MLB at-bats to his name, might outpace them all. 

Playing his home games at Minute Maid Park, the ninth-most homer-happy yard in baseball, according to ESPN’s Park Factors, doesn’t hurt. Nor does taking his hacks in the midst of a balanced, potent lineup.

The bottom line, however, is that Springer is a specimen. A missile ready to launch. 

“We talk a lot about the type of athletes we’ve got,” Houston skipper A.J. Hinch said, per David Borges of the New Haven Register. “I don’t know that we’ve got a better combination of power and speed and athleticism than George.”

If you’re searching for reasons to be excited about the 2016 ‘Stros, toss a dart and take your pick. If you’re searching for under-the-radar stars in the making, don’t overlook Springer.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Houston Astros and manager A.J. Hinch reached an agreement this week on a new contract. 

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com passed along confirmation about the new deal from Hinch. Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reported the signing is “believed to have guaranteed money through at least 2018,” but the details weren’t officially announced.

Drellich also included comments from Astros owner Jim Crane from earlier in spring training:

A.J.’s a bright guy. He delivers a great message in the locker room. … He’s got a lot of experience. I think you saw that come through with the way he pulled the guys together. I think there was an expectation of A.J. that he and Jeff get along extremely well. That makes things very fluid for the whole time, so you know the chemistry’s there with the front office. He handles the players extremely well, and they respect him, and that’s what you want.

Star second baseman Jose Altuve provided a simpler explanation to the Houston Chronicle: “He’s the right manager for the right team.”

Hinch also commented on the extension, per Drellich:

The Astros are one of the league’s most promising teams, and they started to showcase that potential last season. They reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005 during Hinch’s first season in charge after posting a 86-76 record during the regular season.

Houston edged the New York Yankees in the Wild Card Round before losing to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the ALDS.

Altuve, 25, is joined by the likes of shortstop Carlos Correa, 21, outfielder George Springer, 26, and pitchers Dallas Keuchel, 28, Collin McHugh, 28, and Lance McCullers, 22, to give the team a potent core of under-30 contributors.

There’s more talent on the way, too. Baseball America rated the Astros second in its 2016 Organization Talent Rankings, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. So the organization is set up for long-term success.

Being able to handle all of that young talent and putting them in positions to succeed will be a tough task over the next handful of years. Clearly, the Houston front office saw enough encouraging signs in 2015 to ensure Hinch stays in place as the franchise builds toward a championship run.

The former MLB catcher didn’t enjoy nearly as much success during a prior stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 89-123 across parts of two seasons. In turn, there’s still pressure on him over the next few years to show he can make a positive impact on a budding roster.

The often-painful rebuilding process is over in Houston, and now, expectations are rapidly beginning to rise. The onus is on Hinch to make sure the Astros reach those goals, which will include winning a championship in the near future.

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Houston Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis turned in a career year in 2015, but he underwent hernia surgery on Tuesday, according to the team.

Continue for updates.

Gattis to Miss ‘Most’ of Spring Training

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle confirmed Gattis had hernia surgery but noted “the injury is not considered severe.” Drellich also said the expected recovery time is four to six weeks and that Gattis will miss “most of his spring training at a minimum.”

Drellich added Gattis suffered the injury working out at Minute Maid Park about a week prior to surgery. 

Houston’s first full workout is Feb. 23.  

Gattis spent the first two seasons of his career with the Atlanta Braves, but they traded him to the Astros before the 2015 campaign. All he did for the Astros was post a .246 batting average with 27 home runs and 88 RBI. It was his third season in the league and his third year topping the 20-homer plateau, but his total of 27 last season was a career-high mark.

Gattis also racked up 11 triples, which was certainly surprising for someone who only had one career three-bagger coming into 2015. The 6’4” and 260-pound slugger has yet to register a single stolen base as well.

Despite the impressive production, Drellich pointed out Gattis and the Astros were “far apart” on their proposed arbitration numbers heading toward a Feb. 16 hearing. Houston proposed a $3 million salary for 2016, while Gattis countered with $3.8 million.

Drellich called the hernia update “a new wrinkle” in the process, and it will likely help the Astros on the business side of things. Even though Gattis doesn’t have much big league experience since he entered the majors in 2013, he will turn 30 years old in 2016 and now has health concerns as an additional factor to consider.

Drellich said it is “unclear how significantly” the surgery will impact the arbitration, but it is not a stretch to say it gives the Astros more leverage in any negotiations.

Still, Gattis was a major part of a Houston offense that finished sixth in the major leagues in total runs in 2015 on the way to a wild-card berth in the American League. The Astros lost a heartbreaking five-game series in the divisional round to the eventual champion Kansas City Royals.

If Houston plans on advancing deeper into the playoffs this time around, it needs Gattis back and healthy in that potent lineup alongside Jose Altuve.

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Doug Fister is fresh off arguably the most difficult season of his career, and he is ready to change directions.

Rather than re-sign with the Washington Nationals, Fister inked a deal with the Houston Astros on Thursday, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow confirmed.

Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reported Fister signed a one-year, $7 million deal in Houston. Cotillo added the deal could reach $12 million with performance bonuses.

Fister totaled 25 appearances and 15 starts for the Nationals in 2015 and posted a 4.19 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 103 innings. It was a far cry from his dominant 2014 season with Washington when he tallied a sparkling 2.41 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 98 strikeouts in 164 innings and finished eighth in the National League Cy Young race.

Fister had the sixth-best ERA among starters in all of baseball in 2014 but finished with a career-worst ERA and WHIP during his lackluster 2015 season that largely mirrored the Nationals’ disappointing campaign as a whole.

The Nats moved Fister to the bullpen in August even though he only had four major league relief appearances on his resume before the switch. While he did notch his first career save in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, he wasn’t the same pitcher Nationals fans saw the previous year.

Fister also dealt with a right forearm injury in the first half of the campaign and didn’t pitch from May 14 to June 18.

Despite the move to the bullpen, Fister believed he would be a starter again at some point in his career, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post:

I don’t feel like right now in my career I’m forced to be a bullpen member for the rest of my career. I still think I have a starting role somewhere, whether it’s here or somewhere else. I still have that capability. That’s still in my heart that I can go out there and get guys out. But I know now I can adjust, I can be a member of the bullpen and be ready to pitch on a day-to-day basis.

Fister‘s team-first approach and willingness to move to the pen in a contract year at least deserve recognition, as Washington struggled throughout the second half to stay in playoff contention.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports ranked Fister as the 45th-best free agent available this offseason but did recognize there was some rebuilding to be done: “Started 2015 thinking a good season could mean a $100 million deal. Ended it in the Nationals’ bullpen. Nobody could use a value-building one-year deal more than Fister.”

Fister will be 32 years old in the 2016 campaign and is coming off the worst statistical season of his career, dealing with health concerns and suffering a drop in performance. The risk factor involved with a new contract for an aging veteran like that likely impacted the offers or interest Fister generated this offseason.

However, the right-hander was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball not long ago. Perhaps a change in scenery will help him tap into the dominance he once demonstrated on the mound.

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The Houston Astros announced Monday that minor league pitcher Jose Rosario died in a motorcycle accident Sunday night in the Dominican Republic.

“Our thoughts go out to Jose’s family, friends and many teammates,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement.

Oz Ocampo, Houston’s director of international, said in a statement Rosario was a “true student of the game.”

“He will be remembered as a long, lanky-framed pitcher with tremendous ability, an outgoing personality and an ever-positive disposition,” Ocampo said.

Rosario made 18 appearances in the Dominican Summer League and Gulf Coast League in 2015, posting a 4.40 ERA. He spent the bulk of his time as a reliever, making eight starts in those 18 appearances. He pitched 57.1 innings, striking out 51 batters and walking 22.

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A little snow couldn’t keep Carlos Correa from America’s pastime. Not even a lot of snow—like the “up to 30 inches” kind—could.

The Houston Astros shortstop took Winter Storm Jonas (aka the massive blizzard sweeping the East Coast) head-on Saturday, sharing a video of himself playing baseball atop the fresh blankets of snow covering the streets and surrounding areas of New York City.

Call it love, passion, dedication—whatever you want. Just promise not to try it at home, folks.

[Carlos Correa]

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The Houston Astros have outraced the competition to land Carlos Sierra.

Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported the Cuban flamethrower has agreed to sign with Houston, though terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Sierra, 21, will be restricted to a contract under MLB’s international signing rules. He had a showcase for MLB teams in October and has had multiple other workouts where he’s looked impressive. The Astros came away particularly impressed, with Jerad Goodwin complimenting Sierra after going head-to-head against the Homeplate Chilidogs. 

“He was as advertised,” Goodwin said, per Teddy Cahill of Baseball America. “He was very good. Dominated the lower half, hard slider. It was just a tough matchup, especially coming out first game where they traveled and did all that.”

As Sanchez wrote in an April profile, Sierra boasts a fastball he throws in the 90s at three different angles. He also boasts a slider, curve and circle changeup. Though his experience has largely been limited, Sierra most recently played for the Tenerife Marlins in the Division de Honor de Beisbol, Spain’s top baseball division.

Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle put the signing in context:

Sierra will almost certainly start his MLB career in the minors, where the Astros will look to season his four pitches and get him throwing at a more consistent arm angle.

As Drellich notes, this isn’t a massive deal; odds are he tops out as a back-of-the-rotation talent. That said, it’s still a worthwhile move given his age and skill set.   

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The term “untouchable” is always relative, and the parameters of it depend on the organization and front office that hold said player who might be off limits in trade discussions.

Some teams hang up the phone after such a player’s name is mentioned, and that is assuming they do not answer the phone by stating the player is off the table as a salutation. Then again, other teams use the label loosely, as if to say an interested team would have to be willing to part with a massive return package just to start the conversation about that player.

It is the tag’s second form that most accurately applies to the Houston Astros’ view on George Springer, their 26-year-old right fielder who possesses promising power potential and is seen as part of the young core that has Houston garnering World Series expectations. Rumors about Springer came up during the winter meetings earlier this month, but to this point, there is no traction beyond passing inquiries as the Astros seem unlikely to part with Springer unless the haul for him is significant.

As it should be, rightfully making him one of Houston’s “untouchables.”

Source: Astros have not discussed Springer in any deals.

— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) December 9, 2015

That does not mean the Astros will not listen, though many of the words might go in one ear and out the other if other teams are simply trying to gauge the market.

“We listen,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told reporters at the meetings (h/t Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle). “We talk to clubs about everything. There’s nothing out of bounds.”

Of course, that is a far trek from putting a player on the trading block. That is particularly true when the player has put up back-to-back seasons with a 126 OPS+ despite injuries and still has five seasons of team control.

Luhnow is quite aware of those facts.

“It’s a tricky question to answer,” he told reporters when he was asked about untouchable assets. “Because if you have good players, other clubs are going to ask you about them and any time you get an inbound inquiry on any player, you’re going to at least look at it and talk about it with your group. I think for us, we’ve got young core players. That starts with [Dallas] Keuchel, [Jose] Altuve, [George] Springer, [Carlos] Correa.

“Those guys are part of the Astros and there’s no reason for us to move any of those types of players. They’re here, they’re under control for years, they’re good, they’ve played together, it works. I don’t think anybody in that group would be going anywhere any time soon.”

That seems to prove especially true for Keuchel and Correa, the American League’s reigning Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year winners, respectively.

Springer could be a different case, though.

The Astros certainly are not shopping him, but the 11^th overall pick of the 2011 draft is attractive because of his ceiling and control. His current club understands the value that brings, and if he can garner a package of high-ceiling prospects and/or a top-shelf pitching prospect or front-line major league-ready starter, that listening the Astros are doing could turn into real talks.

There is a lot to like about Springer as a high-upside offensive player. He hit 20 home runs in 345 plate appearances as a rookie, and last season he ended up as the team’s leadoff hitter for most of the year, posting an .829 OPS from that spot—he also hit third early in the year and second in the final month.

Springer suffered a fractured wrist in early July, when he was hitting .264/.365/.457 with an .822 OPS. He returned in September for the final 27 games and hit .304/.373/.464 with an .837 OPS, five doubles and three home runs.

Springer can also play solid defense. Last season, among major league right fielders with at least 800 innings played, he was sixth with five defensive runs saved, a counting stat likely lowered because of the time Springer missed, and seventh with a 4.4 ultimate zone rating per 150 innings, according to Fangraphs.

Despite missing most of July and all of August, Springer was still almost a four-win player by both Baseball-Reference‘s and Fangraphs‘ calculations. There is significant value in that, which is why other teams have a desire to put that type of lineup-versatile player on their roster.

The Astros are right to label Springer as one of their untouchables at this point. He could be just entering his prime, and his potential when given 600-plus plate appearances is high enough to cause salivation and project some All-Star selections in his future. The Astros are also right to listen to the chatter about their budding star. If a team is willing to pay the asking price, the organization has to consider moving him.

For now, though, Springer is an Astro and a major part of the organization’s plan to go from doormat to title hopeful. With him, the Astros are better. Without him, they might improve. And that difference is enough of a reason to mark him as an “untouchable.”

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired first-hand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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The Houston Astros reportedly reached an agreement Thursday to re-sign relief pitcher Tony Sipp on a three-year, $18 million deal.  

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported an agreement was in place pending an official physical. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com passed along the financial details. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com also confirmed the deal.

Sipp is coming off of an outstanding 2015 season with the Astros. The 32-year-old left-hander posted a microscopic 1.99 ERA to go along with a 1.03 WHIP and 62 strikeouts in 54.1 innings across 60 appearances out of the bullpen.

The former member of the Cleveland Indians and the Arizona Diamondbacks played a key role in Houston, as the team ranked sixth in bullpen ERA at 3.27, per ESPN.com.

His success wasn’t a product of being a lefty specialist, either. He actually faced more right-handed batters than lefties and held them to a .190 batting average. Left-handed hitters tallied a .227 average against him.

Though he tested the free-agent waters, he stated back in October he always hoped things would work out so he could return to Houston, as noted by Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle:

(That will) probably hit me once I’m packing up my locker in Minute Maid, with it potentially being the last, but I really hope it isn’t. ‘Cause I want to come back. I definitely feel like this is home for me. And it’s definitely been—I’ve had special seasons here, whether it’s personal or for the team. 2014 it was more of a personal thing. This year, it’s a special team. So I just hope from a selfish standpoint I come back, and contribute the same thing next year.

He got his wish, and now, the Astros will be leaning heavily on him to provide similar shutdown innings late in the game. It’s probably not realistic to expect another sub-2.00 ERA from a pitcher with a 3.50 career mark, but his 3.34 xFIP last season, per FanGraphs, was still solid.

Houston has a budding core that gives it a good chance to make another playoff charge in 2016. Sipp and the bullpen must have another strong season to keep them firmly in the mix, though.

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The Houston Astros have reportedly acquired a piece that bolsters their youthful core and keeps them in line as a World Series contender right now, and maybe over the next couple of years.

According to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, on the tail end of a slow Wednesday at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, the Astros struck a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for the bullpen arm they coveted all offseason—Ken Giles.

Per Drellich, the trade cost Houston potentially ripening arms in Vince Velasquez and Brett Oberholtzer, as well as outfield prospect Derek Fisher (No. 8 in the club’s top 30 prospects and now the Phillies’ eighth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline), along with a fourth player.

In return, the Astros get a proven addition to their bullpen who can pitch the eighth or ninth inning with a high-90s fastball and a put-away slider. They also get five years of control with Giles, whose 1.56 ERA and nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings through two seasons are good enough to put him among the elite’s elite.

That fits with what Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told reporters Wednesday before the trade was reported when asked about the value of a proven arm:

There’s never a complete understanding of what type of pitcher makes that transition into that closer role, into that ninth inning role successfully. There’s been a lot of good arms, with good stuff that are good in the seventh and the eighth inning and have struggles in the ninth. There are pitchers that have successfully made that transformation and increased their value and there are those that have gone the other way. Having done it to me has value that it’s more likely to be replicable in the future.

Immediately after reports of the trade emerged, and for much of the era of advanced metrics and new-age ways to value relievers, pundits noted how they like proven dominant relievers, but also how they can be developed or found for cheaper than what the Astros paid for Giles. Recent history has shown that philosophy to be accurate, especially for teams lacking payroll to spend on their bullpens.

It is certainly noticeable that people are high on Velasquez, as they should be. He is 23 years old, struck out 9.4 hitters per nine innings in 2015 and averaged around 95 mph on his fastball. There is a lot to like about an arm like that, especially if he gains some command and is transitioned into the bullpen, where he can maximize his best pitches and top velocity.

But the Astros are not in position to experiment and hope. Not now, not after an unexpected run into the playoffs, and not when they were mere defensive outs away from advancing to the American League Championship Series. Not when they have the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner (Dallas Keuchel), the reigning AL Rookie of the Year and a superstar shortstop (Carlos Correa) and other current and budding stars littering the roster (Jose Altuve, George Springer, Lance McCullers).

This team is in win-now mode after years of asking its fanbase to wait out the losing years, to be patient with the prospects and to keep up the support. The fans did, and the Astros repaid the faith last season. Now, they have to take the next step forward, and Giles helps them do that months after the team lost to the Kansas City Royals in the Division Series in large part because of a bad bullpen.

Velasquez, for all his promise, is not a proven piece yet. Giles is.

This is why Luhnow went after the 25-year-old Giles. He would not cost in money or players what someone like Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman or Andrew Miller would. But he is proven enough that he is a huge upgrade, the kind that can help the Astros be the favorite in the AL West and lock down the late innings in October.

One day, maybe a couple of years from now, Velasquez and Fisher might end up starring for the Phillies as cost-controlled impact players heavily assisting the franchise’s rebuild. Maybe the trade will look amazing from Philadelphia’s end.

The Astros should not care. They are a team with a growing payroll that can be afforded, and many of the players on the 25-man roster are still cost-controlled anyway, including Giles.

They are also finished with their rebuild, and they need to win at the major league level. This kind of deal, for Giles, is part of the reason why they stockpiled so much young talent during the losing years, because if they needed to flip it for proven talent, they would be able to in an effort to win a World Series.

The Astros got the man they targeted for an area that needed improvement. Nobody knows how future performances will pan out, but in the now, Giles is a major addition to the team’s young core and championship chances.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter and talk baseball here.

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