Three games in (with that odd off-day on Sunday), and the Astros are already navigating a new landscape—one without familiar faces like Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, and Justin Verlander. As the team embarks on this fresh chapter, let’s assess how those departed stars fared in their debuts, evaluate the Astros’ opening series, and separate real progress from early-season noise.
Life Without Tucker, Bregman, and Verlander
- Tucker (Chicago Cubs): Tucker is off to a decent start (.250 BA, 7 RBI) but has nearly as many strikeouts (5) as hits (6).
- Bregman (Boston Red Sox): Bregman took over third base from Rafael Devers (who’s making headlines of his own with 12 strikeouts in his first 16 at-bats). Bregman himself has four hits (.235 BA) but no homers and no RBI through his first series.
- Verlander (San Francisco Giants): Verlander made his Giants debut with a five-inning outing against the Reds, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out five and walking one. As long as he stays healthy—always the big question—he’ll be much better than replacement level.
Astros’ Opening Series: What’s Real and What’s Noise?
Houston opened the season with a three-game series against the Mets, taking two out of three. The pitching staff, led by Framber Valdez and Spencer Arrighetti, turned in solid performances. Valdez delivered seven shutout innings on Opening Day, and Arrighetti was part of a combined one-hitter in the series finale.
Overall, the pitching staff gave up only 12 hits, but issued 13 walks (27 Ks) in the three games.
Offensively, Yordan Alvarez delivered a decisive double in the sixth inning of the final game, though the lineup as a whole has yet to heat up. Otherwise, the outfield carried the team (hit-wise) as infielders had only 4 of the team’s 15 hits.
But let’s be real—it’s still too early to draw conclusions. Soon, Dan will be here with one of his classic YIE presentations, but we’ll be debating until at least late May what’s real and what’s just early-season noise.
It’s Early, But…
- Jose Altuve’s Transition to Left Field: Altuve’s move to left has been surprisingly smooth, and he’s already made a highlight-worthy catch that saved a Mets run.
- Cam Smith’s MLB Debut: The rookie wasted no time, recording his first major league hit—a single to the opposite field—on the very first pitch he saw.
- Bullpen Holding Strong: Josh Hader already has two saves, including his 200th career save on Opening Day. If the bullpen keeps this up, they could be a real strength this year.
My Personal Thoughts
- Paredes should be a solid Bregman replacement over the long haul. While he may not take on the same leadership role, he’ll hold down third base and contribute at the plate just fine.
- Fun fact: Did you know Paredes has already been traded four times in his young career? He started with the Cubs, got shipped to the Tigers, then to Tampa Bay, then back to Chicago before landing in Houston.
- Altuve is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with all singles—no extra-base hits. If he can hit .455 all year, I’ll happily take the lack of power. (Ha!)
- ESPN’s experts predict the Rangers will win the AL West, with the Astros and Yankees securing Wild Card spots. I still think Houston finds a way to take the division.
- ESPN’s David Schoenfield made a bold prediction: Framber Valdez, Spencer Arrighetti, and Hunter Brown will combine for 45 wins in 2025. They totaled just 33 in 2024, so that would be a massive leap.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next for the Astros?
As the Astros gear up to face the Giants, we’re left wondering: Are these early performances signs of the team’s new identity, or just part of the natural ebb and flow of a long season?
Debate Points for Astros Fans
- Can the Astros’ offense keep rolling without Tucker and Bregman anchoring the lineup?
- Will Altuve’s shift to left field impact his offense or the team’s defensive chemistry?
- Are Valdez and Arrighetti primed for dominant seasons, or is this just an early hot streak?
- Can the bullpen maintain its dominance in high-leverage situations?
- How will the leadership void left by Verlander, Tucker, and Bregman impact clubhouse dynamics?
- I’m curious. Astros’ manager Joe Espada used two different lineups in the series. Cam Smith, Brendan Rodgers and Jake Meyers in the first two games and Zach Dezenzo, Mauricio Dubon and Chas McCormick in the final game. Just getting reps for guys or is there a pattern developing?
Let’s hear it! What’s your take on the first series of 2025?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
23 responses to “Opening Takeaways: Is this the Astros we’ll get all season?”
We’re going to see a lot of breaking balls thrown to our line up heavy with right-handed hitters by right-handed pitchers.
We have no idea what Cam or Zach or Rodgers are going to do at the plate.
We pretty much know what to expect from Dubon, Jake, Altuve, Alvarez, Paredes, Walker, Diaz, Caratini, Pena.
Chas could go in different directions.
Good to see our first three starters all have good starts. I think these guys will be mostly reliable.
The infield defense will be better overall. The outfield defense will not.
I’m hopeful our fourth and fifth starters will keep us in games.
I still think the pen will be erratic. I don’t know if Hader can get into a groove. Too much contact.
I still think the Astros will hit and the small sample of selectively at the plate is a positive sign so far.
I think Christian Walker is going to take on a quiet leadership role.
For the time being anyway, Joe will start all 13 bats on the roster.
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My personal take was concern for Dezenzo’s at bats. He did not look terribly comfortably, watched some strikes and swung at some balls. I thought Cam was fine at zone recognition, and its the first trait you have to display before the rest come in, unless you are bat-to-ball special on a Jose/Yainer level. People find stardom on different levels at different things – but from Judge to Ohtani to Soto to Betts to Alvarez, they all have to start with the same trait – telling a ball from a strike early enough in the decision process to increase your chances of doing something with that pitch.
I just don’t see this first trait with Zach, but I do with Cam, and I think it’s why so many people are excited about him. Not to say Zach can’t find that gear, just saying at this very moment it’s not there.
One thing people might underestimate though is his ability to make solid contact. He didn’t accidently hit .295 in the minors. He does have better than average ability to barrel and hit. That’s why I wanted him to get the LF job, because even if he will frustrate you at times as he did in game 3, by the end he will probably hit .260-.270 and hit 20 HR if he was given every day time, just not with a super OBP. But if you were looking for a cheap option to fix LF, he was a better option than moving Jose and signing Rodgers.
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We’re going to see a lot of breaking balls thrown to our line up heavy with right-handed hitters by right-handed pitchers.
We have no idea what Cam or Zach or Rodgers are going to do at the plate.
We pretty much know what to expect from Dubon, Jake, Altuve, Alvarez, Paredes, Walker, Diaz, Caratini, Pena.
Chas could go in different directions.
Good to see our first three starters all have good starts. I think these guys will be mostly reliable.
The infield defense will be better overall. The outfield defense will not.
I’m hopeful our fourth and fifth starters will keep us in games.
I still think the pen will be erratic. I don’t know if Hader can get into a groove. Too much contact.
I still think the Astros will hit and the small sample of selectively at the plate is a positive sign so far.
I think Christian Walker is going to take on a quiet leadership role.
For the time being anyway, Joe will start all 13 bats on the roster.
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My takeaways from series 1 – the pitching is exactly what you think the pitching is. If Blanco and Hayden hold up their end, it can be special. And if LMJ is indeed actually going to pitch….
I concur with Dave, this lineup is going to see breaking stuff consistently. It was very effective against them – they were shut down by one of the weaker “top of the rotations” out there. Yordan striking out on a pitch that bounced before it even got to the plate just tells me big man is still bringing a little bit of those ST blues with him. They showed no power. One thing they did show was patience. Its obvious they have talked about being the worst team in the league last year in pitches per at bat and wanting that to change.
Abreu has to throw strikes. He was exactly the Bryan Abreu I want to see in game 3. Not as much in game 1.
Hader isn’t missing bats. Maybe that will change as the season goes on, but right now I wonder what season 4 and 5 of this contract might look like.
There is no good answer with Dubon and Rodgers. One of them has to play. I would pick Dubon to play 2 of every 3, so far it looks like Joe is going with Rodgers, and he is the one that matters.
Good pitching matters more than good offense, and this series is why. You can win some 3-1 games, you can lose some 3-1 games, but you can’t win if your starter gives up 8 in 2 innings. The Brewers got trash canned by the Yankees, out of games by the 3rd inning. They scored 9 runs in one of them, and the game was still never in doubt. We have a good chance of having the most starts in the AL West of starters “doing their job” and that includes a really good Seattle staff.
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Oooh we’re on course for 108 wins!
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Oooh we’re on course for 108 wins!
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LMJ update – Lance pitched 2 innings yesterday for the SL Space Cowboys
First inning struck out the side
Second inning – gave up one out single, wild pitch, walk and two run double before getting out of the inning… all three outs to the outfield.
No decision.
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Putting Dubon out in left does nothing for me.
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I’ve been wrong before, but I think the division has shifted considerably. I think Oakland is the team that will play hard for the first half and run out of gas. I think Seattle is the one that is going to underperform. Anaheim doesn’t have enough talent to compete. The Rangers are the ones to worry about. Whether we make the playoffs may come down to the head-to-head with them.
The question about whether the Astros will have a void in leadership is a good one. I think it only becomes an issue if they face extended adversity. I do think if LMJ returns his voice in the clubhouse will be considerable.
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Devin, after Altuve, it seems there is a dearth of leadership. Perhaps there’s someone who operates “quietly” in the clubhouse, but losing JV, Tucker and Bregman was huge, especially when you have a lot of younger players.
Walker may be able to develop into that role, though, given his experience.
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Jurickson Profar gets an 80-game ban. Weren’t the Astros in on him this offseason? Dodged a bullet there!
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And of course, Profar said he’d never disrespect the game by knowingly cheat the game. Nice that he apologized to everyone.
The rules should include a clubs ability to void a contract. In this case, the Braves are still on the hook for most of the 3 year, 42 million they signed him for.
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And of course, Profar said he’d never disrespect the game by knowingly cheat the game. Nice that he apologized to everyone.
The rules should include a clubs ability to void a contract. In this case, the Braves are still on the hook for most of the 3 year, 42 million they signed him for.
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I think Astos should trade Dubon and Chas , open playing time for youngsters.
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time for our batter’s to get an injection of vitamin “H”. I looked at the stats and we’re right at the bottom for all of the offensive metrics. I’m not too excited over Blanco’s performance as walks will kill you as they did last night. How about that Montero performance. Yes, he’s back but not in a good way. I know, I’m somewhat of a pessimist and it’s early but you’d think there would be a positive about the team other than starting pitching and Altuve (which I was wrong about).
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Gusto had a positive performance; he threw a lot of strikes.
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yes he did. I forgot to mention that.
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My first thought when I saw Montero was – the best way to make an uphill but surmountable lead into an unsurmountable lead is put in the anti-closer. Of course, he delivered.
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At 2 wins and 2 losses, this is probably the direction of what we get this year, I fear.
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How about a 2 and 3? I usually like to hear Blummer and TK broadcast the games but this fantasy of every other batter hitting a home run is getting a little old. How about just stringing together 3 or 4 hits in a row for starters. Tonight 3 GIDP, team BA .171 and OPS is .487 which gets us in 27th place in the stats. On a brighter note the pitching has been very good as a rule with a couple of hiccups.
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I am encouraged. We got good (enough) pitching from all five of our starters first time through. Blanco would have been 2 runs on 87 pitches over five innings had Joe not sent him back out in the sixth on Monday. I’d sure take that from our #4 starter in his first appearance of the season. As a side note, Espada made Contreras’ job tougher too. Let the guy go out to the mound with nobody on base. And Wesneski did have good stuff too. He’ll be a work in progress. But I saw 97 and I saw movement. He’s the fifth man in the rotation.
Again, we already know most of the guys that will not hit. And we know the guys that will hit. It’s going to take a little time for things to stabilize. Beyond that, Cam might. Chas might. Zach needs to play everyday somewhere. He’s a waste sitting on the bench, but there simply are not enough at bats for him. Send him to Sugar Land and bring up a guy like Salazar.
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I am encouraged. We got good (enough) pitching from all five of our starters first time through. Blanco would have been 2 runs on 87 pitches over five innings had Joe not sent him back out in the sixth on Monday. I’d sure take that from our #4 starter in his first appearance of the season. As a side note, Espada made Contreras’ job tougher too. Let the guy go out to the mound with nobody on base. And Wesneski did have good stuff too. He’ll be a work in progress. But I saw 97 and I saw movement. He’s the fifth man in the rotation.
Again, we already know most of the guys that will not hit. And we know the guys that will hit. It’s going to take a little time for things to stabilize. Beyond that, Cam might. Chas might. Zach needs to play everyday somewhere. He’s a waste sitting on the bench, but there simply are not enough at bats for him. Send him to Sugar Land and bring up a guy like Salazar.
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I like to look at series so I’ll definitely have more to opine on later today – let me just say at least we aren’t 0-6 and just had our new 42M leftfielder suspended for 80 games. Living in Braves country I’m surrounded by a few disgruntled fans right now.
A freefall for the Braves is good for me, the Astros don’t come to town until September, by then I may be able to afford to stay in Atlanta the entire weekend and make all 3 games.
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