The Astros forgot something over the winter: you need decent starting pitching to win at the major league level. Roy Oswalt will win 16-20 games himself but the rest of the rotation is looking pretty poor. Brandon Backe, Wandy Rodriguez, Chris Sampson and Shawn Chacon? I would have to make a small play on the under despite all of the offense that the Astros have.

25-year old righty swinging Hunter Pence is moving to RF full-time for the 2008 season. He played in 108 games for the Astros last season and he was 147 for 456 (.322 avg, .899 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 17 homers, 69 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He played in 14 games in RF last season and he made 2 errors while showing outstanding range. Look for Pence to crack at least 25 homers in 2008 and drive in close to 100 runs as long as he can stay healthy.

26-year old righty swinging Victor Diaz is a darkhorse to provide power off the bench for the Astros in 2008. He played in 37 games for the Rangers last season and he was 25 for 104 (.240 avg, .797 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 9 homers and 25 RBIs. He played in 24 games in RF for the Rangers last season and he only made 1 error but showed poor range.

Jose Cruz played in 23 games in RF last season for the Padres and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range. Darin Erstad played in 9 games in RF last season for the White Sox and he didn’t make an error while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

25-year old lefty swinging Michael Bourn was brought in with a trade with the Phillies in the off-season and the Astros are going to see what he can do. He played in 105 games for the Phillies last season and he was 33 for 119 (.277 avg, .726 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Bourn has averaged 40.8 steals per season in his 4 years in the minors. He played in 12 games in CF for the Phillies last season and he showed below average range but didn’t make an error.

34-year old lefty swinging Darin Erstad is a good insurance policy in case Michael Bourn can’t handle the job. Erstad played in 87 games for the White Sox last season and he was 77 for 310 (.248 avg, .645 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 4 homers, 32 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Astros hope that Erstad revives his bat as he has a career average of .284 with a .750 OPS in 1,407 games in the major leagues. Erstad played in 45 games in CF for the White Sox last season and he only made 1 error while showing below average range.

27-year old righty swinging Reggie Abercrombie played in 35 games for the Marlins last season and he was 15 for 76 (.197 avg, .554 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He whiffed an amazing 22 times last season for the Marlins as he’s not a good hitter at all because he tries to hit homers instead of putting the ball on the ground and using his speed. He played in 17 games in CF last season for the Marlins and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range, but, he mis-plays a lot of balls.

If injuries spread among the CFs of the Astros, Hunter Pence could return there. He played in 95 games for the Astros last season and he made 4 errors there while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-

32-year old righty swinging Carlos Lee is the main man in the Astros’ lineup. He played in 162 games for the Astros last season and he was 190 for 627 (.303 avg, .982 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 32 homers, 119 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Lee showed below average range in 157 games in LF while making 4 errors. But, the Astros don’t pay Lee the big bucks for his defense. Look for Lee to have another outstanding season in 2008 for the Astros.

34-year old switch hitting Jose Cruz will try to make the team as a backup OF for the Astros. He played in 91 games for the Padres last season and he was 60 for 256 (.234 avg, .691 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 6 homers and 21 RBIs. Cruz showed way above average range in LF last season for the Padres in 49 games there and he only made 1 error.

34-year old lefty swinging David Newhan is also trying to make the Astros this spring as a reserve. He played in 56 games for the Mets last season and he was 15 for 74 (.203 avg, .573 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Newhan didn’t make an error in LF in 8 games there for the Mets last season while showing above average range.

Darin Erstad is also a very capable LF as he played in 12 games there last season for the White Sox and he didn’t make an error while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A

The Astros think that 30-year old righty swinging Ty Wigginton will give them solid production at the 3B slot. He played in 148 games last season for the Rays & Astros and he was 152 for 547 (.278 avg, .792 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 22 homers and 67 RBIs. Wigginton played in 80 games at 3B last season and he made 8 errors while showing good range. Look for Wigginton to knock in more runs this season with the Astros improved lineup.

Mark Loretta will be Wigginton’s top backup at 3B. He played in 23 error-free games for the Astros there while showing average range. Geoff Blum played in 13 error-less games at the hot corner for the Padres last season but he showed poor range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+

The Astros traded 5 players to the Baltimore Orioles for Miguel Tejada the day before the Mitchell Report came out with his name all over it. The Astros hope that Tejada still has some power left now that he will be playing drug free. Tejada played in 133 games last season for the Orioles and he was 152 for 514 (.296 avg, .799 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 18 homers and 81 RBIs. His defense also wasn’t up to par last season as he made 15 errors in 124 games at SS while showing below average range. The Astros hope that the short fences at home will bring back Tejada’s power stroke.

Mark Loretta played in 72 games at shortstop last season and he made 6 errors while showing about average range. Geoff Blum played in 12 games at SS last season for the Padres and he made 3 errors while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

The Astros signed 32-year old switch hitter Kazuo Matsui to start at 2B for them this season. He played in 104 games last season for the Rockies and he was 118 for 410 (.288 avg, .747 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 4 homers, 37 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Matsui is also a outstanding defender as he made only 4 errors in 102 games while exhibiting outstanding range. As long as Matsui stays healthy he should be productive for the Astros.

36-year old righty swinging Mark Loretta is back for a 2nd season as an infield reserve for the Astros. He played in 133 games last season for the Astros and he was 132 for 460 (.287 avg, .724 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 4 homers and 41 RBIs. Loretta didn’t make an error in 49 games for the Astros at 2B last season but he didn’t show much range.

35-year old switch hitting Geoff Blum played in 122 games for the Padres last season and he was 83 for 330 (.252 avg, .686 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 5 homers and 33 RBIs. Blum also doesn’t have much range at 2B but he only made 2 errors in 61 games there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

The Astros have lost Fernando Nieve and Felipe Paulino until at least May. Nieve has a strained right hamstring which has put him behind in his return from Tommy John surgery. Felipe Paulino has a pinched nerve in his upper arm. These injuries really hurt the young rotation depth the Astros have when combined with the trades they made in the off-season….especially the one with the Orioles for Miguel Tejada.

32-year old switch hitter Lance Berkman should be even a bigger threat in the new dynamic lineup that the Astros are going to trot out. He played in 153 games last season for the Astros and he was 156 for 561 (.278 avg, .896 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 34 homers and 102 RBIs. The Astros hope that Berkman can get back to his career norms of a .300 avg. with a .971 OPS over his first 1,212 games in the majors. Berkman has been a beast his last 7 seasons as he has averaged 99 runs scored, 33 homers and 110 RBIs!

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A