What to look forward to in 2023 for the Houston Astros (Part One)

  You'd be hard-pressed not to find a multitude of things worth looking forward to for the 2022 World Series champions. As a fan, every single game presents something to anticipate. Opening weekend itself will be very eventful between the banner ceremony and players recieving their rings. The Astros' main free agency signing Jose Abreu, will be playing against his former team in his first series wearing Astros orange. Arch nemesis Joe Kelly will watch it all unfold from the visitor's bullpen.

  With that being said, let's tap into some things that fans will want to keep tabs on regarding the defending World Series champs.

  The emergence of Hunter Brown

 Hunter Brown rose to the major-league scene in early September of last year, and he didn't disappoint. In 20.1 regular-season innings, he registered a 0.89 ERA and 1.082 WHIP, fanning 22 batters across those innings. The comparisons to Justin Verlander were irresistable to make, with the mechanics/delivery. Although it is premature to say he'll fill the reigning AL CY Young winner's shoes, Brown should get plenty opportunity to showcase his talents in 2023. Can he work on better control? How does he fare with a bigger workload/more innings? With Lance McCullers Jr. out with injury, Hunter Brown is a lock for the opening day starting rotation.

The Backup Catcher Spot

  The Astros didn't make a serious effort to retain Christian Vazquez and were never going to offer Willson Contreras a 5-year deal. For one, they're comfortable with Martin Maldonado handling the pitching staff and being the starting catcher, but it's also the young backstops in their system: Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz. They both present different strengths and weaknesses. Lee has the better arm behind the plate, Diaz' bat has more upside. It's been a healthy competition so far in Spring Training, with Korey Lee getting the edge thus far. As of March 14th, he's hitting .333 with a 1.151 OPS in 18 at-bats this spring. Yainer is not too far behind with a .261 average and .739 OPS.  If I were a betting man, my money would be on Lee being the backup catcher behind Maldonado on opening day. Without question, though, Yainer Diaz will still be an integral part of the organization, especially when Maldonado steps down.

How the Astros lineup performs at full-strength

  How can you make the 2022 World-Series winning lineup even better? By adding two of the best hitters in the sport. Any lineup that could feature the ALCS & World Series MVP in the 7-hole is an absolute wagon, and hell on Earth for opposing pitchers.

  The Astros lineup was 6th in wRC+ last year, 7th in OPS, and 5th in SLG. But the inconsistent run-production was noteworthy, especially the game following a large offensive output. They were shut out 11 times in the 2022 regular season. Part of the problem was the underperformance of the bottom-half of the lineup, and Yuli Gurriel who was the AL batting champion just the year prior. His .242 average was a far cry from 2021, and his OPS was nearly .200 points lower. More balance with big-time run producer Jose Abreu and Michael Brantley will keep those rallies going and allow more crooked numbers on the boards.

  Even if some regression occurs between Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez who are coming off of career-years, it could be offset by improvements from Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña, and Alex Bregman. Tucker with no shift should see considerably better numbers. We know Peña has thunder in his bat, but with better pitch recognition it could roar even louder in 2023. Alex Bregman had a fully healthy 2022 and saw a massive resurgence in the second half of the season. His 154 wRC+ and .894 OPS following the All-Star break were reminiscent of his seasons when he was an MVP candidate.