The Astros have released outfielder Charlton Jimerson and pitcher Kelly Wunsch. Jimerson was 6 for 23 (.261 avg) this Spring, but, he whiffed an amazing 12 times! He’s had problems with striking out his whole professional career and didn’t seem to have much of an upside so the Astros decided to just cut their ties with him.

Wunsch was so awful in the only game he pitched that the Astros’ brass decided they had seen enough! He only pitched 1/3 of an inning and he gave up 2 hits, walked a batter and allowed 2 runs (both earned). He will likely hook on with some team and pitch in the minors because he’s lefhanded, but that’s the only thing he’s got going for him at this point in his career.

Phil Garner has done the best managing of his career for the Houston Astros. In his three seasons with the Astros, Garner has compiled a 219-179 (.550) record and he’s 13-13 (.500) in the post season and got the Stros to the 2005 World Series. In 14 seasons as a major league manager Phil Garner has never won a Division Title and he’s compiled a record of 927-981 (.486).

The Astros need Brad Lidge to prove that he’s not the pitcher he was in 2006 or the Astros are in trouble this season. 30 year old righty Brad Lidge still has the nasty stuff that made him an effective closer in 2004 and 2005 so the problem is between his ears. He was 1-5 with 6 holds, 32 saves, a 5.28 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP in 78 games for the Astros in 2006. Batters only hit .238 (righties .201) against Lidge last season and he whiffed an amazing 104 batters in only 75 innings! Still, Lidge walked too many batters (36) and he gave up too many homers (10) in 2006. If he can improve on the walks and homers he will return to the dominating closer he once was….but that’s a huge if.

29 year old righty Dan Wheeler has really turned into a solid set-up man in Houston the last three seasons. He was 3-5 with 24 holds, 9 saves, a 2.52 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 75 games for the Astros in 2006. Batters only hit .221 against Wheeler (righties .183) and he whiffed 68 batters in 71.1 innings which showed what kind of stuff Wheeler has. He is a great set up man and the Astros will be better with him in that role, but, if Lidge continues to melt down Wheeler will replace him at closer.

28 year old righty Chad Qualls has turned into a good pitcher for the Astros. He was 7-3 with 23 holds, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in 81 games last season for the Astros. Batters only hit .242 against him last season and he only walked 28 batters in 88.2 innings for the Astros in 2006. Look for Qualls to have another good season for the Astros this year.

33 year old lefty Trever Miller had a good season for the Astros in 2006. He was 2-3 with 12 holds, 1 save, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 70 games for the Astros in 2006. Miller held batters to a .225 batting average last season and he only walked 13 batters while whiffing 56 in 50.2 innings. Look for Miller to have another solid season for the Astros in 2007.

30 year old righty Dave Borkowski looks like he has the inside track on being the mop-up man in Houston. He was 3-2 with 1 hold, a 4.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 40 games for the Astros in 2006. Look for him to have similar numbers in 2007 for the Astros if he makes the team.

38 year old Rick White is battling for the long job in the Astros bullpen. He was 4-1 with 7 holds, 1 save, a 5.15 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 64 games for the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. Batters hit .293 against White last season so he will have to do a better job of missing bats to make the Astros in 2007.

35 year old righty Brian Moehler is also in camp trying to win a job with the Astros. He was 7-11 with a 6.57 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP in 29 games (21 starts) for the Florida Marlins who play their home games in a gigantic stadium. Batters hit .325 (lefties .351) against Moehler last season and he gave up a whopping 19 homers in 122 innings. If he makes the Astros pitching staff the Astros are in trouble.

The Astros got rid of Astacio despite the fact that he was pitching good this Spring. He pitched in 7 games and was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He struck out 7 batters and only allowed 8 baserunners in 8 innings this Spring. He was immediately claimed by the Texas Rangers so the Astros will be reminded often if they made a mistake.

The Astros needed catching depth in the organization so they traded young Wade Robinson to the Nationals for Ardoin. Ardoin played in 40 games for the Baltimore Orioles and the Colorado Rockies last season and he hit .196 with a .238 slugging %. He’s never been much of a hitter but he’s a good defensive catcher. He will likely start the season in AAA and come up to the Astros if anyone gets hurt ahead of him.

The Astros gave Hidalgo every opportunity to win a job on their roster but he didn’t take advantage of it. He played in 19 games this Spring and he was only 6 for 44 (.136 batting average) with 1 homer and 9 RBIs. It will likely be hard for him to hook up with another team unless he’s willing to go to the minors and work his way back up.

The Astros moved quickly to trade for Jason Jennings and signed Woody Williams in free agency to back up Roy Oswalt at the top of the Astros rotation. 29 year old righty Roy Oswalt is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball! He was 15-8 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in 33 games (32 starts) for the Astros in 2006. Oswalt has pinpoint control as he only walked 38 batters in 220.2 innings last season. Oswalt has won 55 games and he’s struck out 556 batters in his last three seasons which are outstanding numbers. Look for Oswalt to win 20+ games and win the Cy Young in the National League in 2007.

28 year old righty Jason Jennings has finally gotten out of the jail called Coors Field. Jennings stuff is on par with Oswalt’s and he will form and outstanding 1-2 punch in the Astros rotation. He was 9-13 last season with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in 32 starts for the Colorado Rockies last season. Look for Jennings to be much more aggressive in the strike zone and cut his walks and ERA down in 2007. Look for Jennings to win 15-18 games with a ERA in the low 3’s.

40 year old righty Woody Williams will be the #3 starter for the Astros this season. He was 12-5 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 25 games (24 starts) for the San Diego Padres last season. Look for Williams to be very aggressive in the strike zone as he doesn’t walk many batters, but, he’s not playing at Petco Park anymore so his ERA will climb some. Look for Williams to win 10-13 games with an ERA between 4.15-4.50 in 2007.

28 year old lefty Wandy Rodriguez will get another chance to win the #4 spot in the Astros rotation this year. He was 9-10 with a 5.64 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 30 games (24 starts) for the Astros in 2006. Batters hit .290 against Rodriguez last season and allowed 17 homers in only 135.2 innings last year. Look for Rodriguez to win 9-10 games with a 5.00-5.50 ERA in 2007.

24 year old righty Fernando Nieve is the leader for the #5 spot in the Astros rotation. He was 3-3 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in 40 games (11 starts) for the Astros in 2006. Nieve held batters to a .242 average against him last season but he will need to cut down on giving up the longball as he allowed 18 homers in 96.1 innings last season. He’s been a starter his whole career and he’ll do a good job if the Astros give him a shot at the rotation.

24 year old righty Matt Albers will also get a shot to win a job in the rotation this season. He was 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 4 games (2 starts) for the Astros in 2006. He was outstanding in the minors as he was 12-3 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 23 starts. Look for Albers to start in AAA if he doesn’t make the rotation out of Spring Training. But make no mistake, Albers will be starting at some point in the season for the Astros.

27 year old righty Ezequiel Astacio was 2-0 with a 11.12 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP in 6 games last season for the Astros. He was 8-4 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP in 21 games (17 starts) in AAA last season. Look for him to be in AAA ball until he proves worthy of getting another shot with the Astros.

26 year old Miguel Ascenzio was 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP in 3 games (1 start) for the Colorado Rockies in 2006. He was 8-7 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP in 38 games (16 starts) in AAA ball last season. Look for him to start the year in AAA and to get a call from the Astros at some time in 2007 if he deserves it.

Soon to be 29 year old righty Chris Sampson is a longshot to make the Astros rotation. He was 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP in 12 games (3 starts) for the Astros in 2006. Major leaguers only hit .205 against him and he only walked 5 batters in 34 innings for the Astros. Sampson was 12-3 with a 2.51 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in AAA last season and he only walked 14 batters in 125.2 innings! Look for Sampson to either be in the rotation or the bullpen for the Astros when the team breaks camp in April.

29 year old righty Brandon Backe will miss most of the season as he’s recovering from major surgery. He started 8 games for the Astros last season and he was 3-2 with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 2006. This is a shame as Backe has been a decent starting pitcher for the Astros over the last couple of seasons.

28 year old lefty swinging Luke Scott will have an edge going into Spring Training based on how he played last season when the Astros called him up. He played in 65 games for the Astros and he hit .336 with 31 runs scored, 10 homers, 37 RBIs and a 1.047 OPS. Scott only hit .240 against left handed pitching last season so the Astros could platoon in RF this season. Scott only played 13 games in RF last season and he didn’t make an error, but he showed below average range. Look for Scott to at least win a platoon role if he doesn’t win the starting job outright in Spring Training. He will have a good season with the bat in his hands.

30 year old Jason Lane was a huge disappointment last season after having a solid 2005 year for the Astros. Last season Lane played in 112 games and he only hit .201 with 44 runs scored, 15 homers, 45 RBIs and a .710 OPS. Lane played 89 error-less games in RF last season but he showed below average range. Look for Lane to bounce back because he’s a much better hitter than he showed last season. That being said, it will be hard for him to beat Scott out for the starting job. It’s possible that they could platoon in RF.

The Astros brought back old friend Richard Hidalgo to battle for a spot on the roster. The 31 year old Hidalgo was last seen in the majors in 2005 with the Texas Rangers. He played in 88 games for the Rangers that season and he hit .221 with 16 homers, 43 RBIs and a .705 OPS. Over his major league career, Hidalgo has played in 987 games and he’s hit .269 with 531 runs scored, 171 homers, 560 RBIs and a .835 OPS. If Hidalgo has anything at all left he could make the Astros as a reserve, just don’t expect him to whack 30 homers this season.

27 year old Chris Burke has been patiently waiting for his big shot and he will get it this season for the Astros.  Burke played in 123 games last season and he hit .276 with 58 runs scored, 9 homers, 40 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and a .765 OPS. Burke played 38 games in CF last season and he only made 1 error but he didn’t show much range. Look for Burke to have a good season on offense. Expect him to hit in the .280 range with possibly 20+ homers and 20+ stolen bases. He will have to produce with the bat to mask his shortcomings with the mitt.

38 year old lefty swinging Orlando Palmeiro will likely give Burke a day off once in a while in center. He played in 103 games last season and he hit .252 with 12 runs scored, 17 RBIs and a .613 OPS. Palmeiro didn’t play any games in CF last season but he didn’t make an error in the outfield in 23 games last season.

28 year old Charlton Jimerson could make the Astros out of Spring Training. He played in 123 AAA games last season and he hit .247 with 18 homers, 45 RBIs, 28 stolen bases and a .732 OPS. He played in 17 games for the Astros and he went 2 for 6 (.333 avg.) with 2 stolen bases. Jimerson could make the team because the Astros don’t really have much outfield depth.

31 year old Carlos Lee has been brought in to slug away in Houston’s little ball park. Lee played in 161 games last season for the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers and he hit .300 with 102 runs scored, 37 homers, 116 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and a .895 OPS. Lee has averaged 97.5 runs scored, 32.8 homers, 110.5 RBIs and 15.3 stolen bases over the last four seasons so look for him to have a monster season hitting in Houston. He has to hit because he’s a DH playing left field. He played in 149 games in LF last season and he made 6 errors while showing awful range.Â

Look for Orlando Palmeiro to give Lee a break once in a while as he played 12 games in LF last season and he didn’t make an error there.