Why You Want an Astros Jersey in Two Years

The Astros have been really bad the past four years. Like, really, really bad. From the 2011 season to today, the Astros have put up a total record of 186-356. The past three seasons they have lost over 100 games (in fact they had double the losses at 162-324), including losing 15 in a row to end the 2013 season. That’s just really unfortunate. They’ll have the number one pick three years in a row with the 2014 first-year player draft next month.

In the 2012 draft, they selected Carlos Correa out of high school, a shortstop. Good pick, and he’s ranked as the 7^th best overall prospect according to mlb.com. In 2013, they selected Mark Appel, a great pitcher ranked as the #14 prospect. Appel actually was drafted in 2012 by the Pirates, but chose not to sign, so they were lucky that they had the chance to get him.

Or were they? The problem with these two picks is that there were other options that were arguably better. In 2012, they surprised everyone by picking Correa instead of taking Byron Buxton, who would go #2 in the draft by the Twins. Correa is a great shortstop with excellent power and is killing it in the minors, but Buxton has everything – power, speed, a deadly arm, etc. Buxton is ranked as the #1 prospect and is supposed to come into the majors in 2015. Correa, however, won’t be coming until 2016.

The same goes with Appel. Once again a fine choice, but they could have also selected Kris Bryant, who is now ranked as the 8^th best prospect, but is killing in the minor leagues. The Cubs needed pitching, but they couldn’t have passed up with Bryant. Once again, Appel is doing fine, but probably won’t come until late 2015.

This year they will go with some pitcher as number one in the draft, and then they will be stacked with pitching in their farm system. They will select from either Brady Aiken, Carlos Rodon, or Tyler Kolek as their pick, all pitchers.

The rest of their farm system sums up the best in the league. Jon Singleton has power, and is the number one first base prospect. Lance McCullers and Mike Foltynewicz are their next two big pitchers, with both probably coming in 2015. They also have speed in Delino DeShields Jr., who has more speed than his Dad, who stole 463 bases in his 13-year career.

The prospects look great, but for now it’s about the present. Surprisingly, they are not as bad as you would think for a team that actually loses more games each season. They have now won seven in a row, and, though still 8 games under .500, is the hottest team in baseball.

It’s no fluke. Things are coming together for them. Dallas Keuchel is 6-2, and looks to get his 7^th win tonight. But it’s all about Jose Altuve and George Springer.

These two guys are going to be all the talk in a few years. Altuve, who is more known for the picture on the right as of now, is the captain of this team and will be for years to come. He currently leads the AL in hits (77), at bats (238), and stolen bases (20), while putting up a .324/.366/.437 line. He’s only 24 years old.

George Springer was the first prospect to come up in this new rebuilding program, and has shown nothing but greatness to the fans. He got off to a slow start at first, but since this winning streak he is batting over .400. He now has 10 home runs and 29 RBI’s in just 39 games. He too is just 24 years old.

They are not there yet. They need Correa and Appel in order to compete. But add one more #1 pick, and this team might become the best team in the AL in 2016. Will they lose 100 games this year? Maybe. But this past week has shown that Springer is good, Altuve is one of the best second baseman in the league, and most importantly, they have potential.