In my mind, a baseball team is split into three areas – starting pitching, relief pitching, and offense. One could break this down into sub-areas like left-handed and right-handed pitching, infield and outfield, etc.
But for the purposes of this post, we will stick with Dan P’s three areas, concerns, and positives about each for the 2026 Astros.
Starting Pitching
Concerns
- Even though he was a disappointment down the stretch, the biggest concern is not having Framber Valdez, who has averaged 14 wins and 191 innings per season over the last 4 years.
- Dependency on Tatsuya Imai as an MLB rookie to fill the top of the rotation.
- Dependency on Mike Burrows, who only has 99 career MLB innings to fill a spot in the rotation.
- Dependency on Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier to improve the shaky pitching they showed in 2025 after returning from injury.
- Dependency on Spencer Arrighetti, who missed most of 2025 with injury and did not pitch well when he was available.
Positives
- Hunter Brown is a top 5 pitcher in the American League and appears ready to repeat that based on his Spring Training performance.
- Imai had an excellent season in Japan in 2025 in a league that has translated well to the MLB previously. He has shown well so far in Florida.
- Burrows was chosen specifically because the team thought they could enhance certain traits. He has also been excellent in Spring Training.
- Both McCullers and Javier will be coming off a healthy off-season and are farther removed from surgery rehab.
- If someone fails along the way, A.J. Blubaugh and Ryan Weiss both look like they could pick up the slack.
- Both Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski could return by around mid-season and if needed could be other options for the rotation.
Relief Pitching
- Biggest concern is that the team has confirmed that elite closer Josh Hader will start the season on the IL. This is a larger than normal concern since he has not fully come back from the problems he had at the end of the last season while suffering a setback in the off-season.
- A concern that Bryan Abreu will perform like he did at the end of 2025 when he attempted to fill-in as the closer.
- The team is relying on several cheap pickups from last season for high leverage innings such as Bryan King, Steven Okert, Enyel De Los Santos, and Bennett Sousa. The concern is that one or more of them will take a header this year (ala Tayler Scott or Rafael Montero) and turn back into a pumpkin.
- The bullpen may rely on pitchers who had poor 2025’s – like Kai-Wei Teng (6.37 ERA) or someone like Peter Lambert who flared out in the majors in 2024, then did so-so in Japan in 2025.
- The bullpen may get abused due to a potential 6-man rotation and have to rely on multi-inning outings from pitchers who are not that experienced.
Positives
- Perhaps giving Hader time off early in the season (4 wks?/6 wks?) may result in a more rested Hader down the stretch
- Abreu could do a much better job knowing that he will start the season as the closer rather than having it thrust upon him
- No team in the majors has done a better job of turning Lemon Pledge into lemons (high quality ones, not bad, used car lemons) than the Astros pitching coaches. Someone or ones may grab hold of jobs including Lambert and Teng
- The Astros have some quality folks that will make the team as long relief options, possibly both Blubaugh and Weiss
Offense
Concerns
- The outfield is really iffy, if Jake Meyers is your one sure thing and he was a prime candidate to get traded.
- There is the possibility of infielders getting their noses out of joint due to five starter quality infielders sharing four spots.
- Your best bat is Yordan Alvarez, who has had injury problems including 2025 when he only played in 48 games.
- Jose Altuve is not getting any younger.
- One of the Astros’ best left handed bats in 2025 (switch hitter Victor Caratini) is no longer around and being replaced by ????
- Cam Smith collapsed in 2025 after a good start – can the new hitting coaches avoid this type of death spiral in 2026?
Positives
- Your best bat is Yordan Alvarez, who is a premier hitter.
- You have real depth in the infield with Christian Walker, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena (when he returns), Carlos Correa and Isaac Paredes. When all are healthy you will have 4 solid bats and a good hitter on the bench (or at DH). When any of them are hurt, you have a good player taking their place.
- Cam Smith has come to Spring Training with a better looking swing.
- Somebody – Joey Loperfido, Zach Cole, Brice Matthews, or even Zach Dezenzo or Taylor Trammell will grab a spot or spots on the roster.
- Jake Meyers gives you a heckuva glove in CF (don’t ask about his arm).
In the end, the concerns will linger even with a good start to the season, or balloon with a poor one. But every team is a different animal, and the 2026 Astros will be unique and perhaps concerning in their own way.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
7 responses to “Astros: Which area brings you the most concern?”
I know, spring stats don’t count, but if our pitchers were getting bombed, we’d have collective concern. The good new is that our pitchers have been great, better then they will end up being.
But our hitters have collectively been worse than anyone else, or just about. They do walk. Is it something to build on? Do we take the cavalier approach and chalk up to it being spring and assume those offensive stats don’t count? To a degree, but we flat out stink as a team, even spending much of our time taking at bats against guys that have already been sent back to where they came from.
We need a couple of career years. We need a couple of older guys to correct up a bit. We need Cam Smith the be the guy Dana Brown has promised. And we need a surprise too. I think we need all that from the line up.
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There I go scaring everyone away again.
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My feeling on the “three” areas is that starting pitching is the most important – it can at least keep team’s in games.
The bullpen is important from a morale standpoint – blown leads/ blown saves become contagious sometimes and the pain and fear from them can taint a good team.
Offense is important, but rarely will a team win it based on pure offense.
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Sorry Dave you aren’t alone in the universe, I just don’t know if I can go on about what I’m optimistic about and what I’m concerned about without writing a book.
Optimistic – Hunter should be Hunter. While Javier seems highly unlikely to compete for the Cy Young that one 2022 ESPN writer predicted, at least he is back to looking like he is going to give you what he gives you. Imai looks super, as does Burrows. I’ve actually changed my tune on LMJ a little; if he really can maintain 93-94 I think he can succeed. I don’t know what the counting stat line looks like to qualify success, but probably good enough to stay on the team the entire year.
Concerns – Arrighetti looks familiar. You know, blow through 8 or 9 hitters in a row, walk someone, give up a hit, next thing you know its a 2 or 3 run inning. Just needs to find more consistency in his approach and delivery. The bullpen has some guys like King and Sousa that don’t have long track records. Did the carwash fix them? Or are they candidates to Montero/Scott this thing up? I think De Los Santos is a candidate for a shiny new coat from the car wash, but until it happens….. I do know this team needs a righty reliever they can trust in the 6th or 7th inning. Is Hader’s arm still attached? It’s been 8 or 9 months since his last competitive pitch and he isn’t ready to pitch. That’s concerning.
I can’t say much positive about the OF except hey we won 87 games last year with it in this state. Hummel, Trammell , Dubon, McCormick, Melton and Sanchez combined for 991 PAs last year – most in the OF – and collectively they were terrible. You have to think those ABs are going to Loperfido, Cole, and a healthy Yordan getting some LF time. Cam has to be better. Jake has to stay healthy if he doesn’t get traded at some point. On one hand, its hard to imagine it being worse than the musical chair LF, Meyers only playing 104 games, and Cam just disappearing into auto out territory, but I guess it can always get worse.
The infield seems set but fragile. I’m glad that Brown stayed away from trading Paredes for prospects just because it seems crowded – the team is better in 2026 with him then without him if the only return was what Milwaukee got for Durbin. I think Correa is not the player he was and probably isn’t worth 20M anymore, but he still forces pitches and shouldn’t be terrible offensively while providing a boost defensively. You know Pena is motivated to have 2 all star caliber seasons to get a generational contract. Can Walker and Altuve stave off father time to at least be what they were last year? As many people I’ve seen that think Walker is going to be better this year I’ve not heard the flipside (and more likely outcome) that he is just a year older now and……
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I’m concerned the offense will struggle when certain hitters go through prolonged stretches of noncompetitive at bats. I’d love to be proven wrong there.
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I just hope Brown and Crane do not saddle the team with another bad contract. And do not trade Parades or any of our top 5 youngsters
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Again, it really does not matter, but after starting 1-6 (with a few ties thrown in there) the Astros are playing better – going 9-4 in their last 13 decisions. They have continued with good starting pitching, the bullpen has hit their stride and they are actually starting to hit the last week.
Does it mean anything? Who knows, but I feel a bit better about the team.
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