The Astros went out this winter and signed 34-year old righty swinging Pedro Feliz to start at 3B in 2010. Feliz played in 158 games for the Phillies last season and he was 154 for 580 (.266 avg, .694 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 12 homers and 82 RBIs. Feliz’ addition should give the Astros a huge boost over the platoon of Geoff Blum and Jeff Keppinger that they used in 2009. Feliz made 15 errors in 155 games while showing good range for the Phillies last season. Feliz is a solid all around player who will help the Astros in 2010.

36-year old switch hitting Geoff Blum will go back to coming off the bench for the Astros in 2010. He played in 120 games for the Astros last season and he was 94 for 381 (.247 avg, .681 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers and 49 RBIs. Blum only made 3 errors in 102 games at 3B last season but he showed pretty poor range there.

29-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger could also get some P.T. at 3B in 2010. He played in 67 games at the hot corner for the Astros last season and he made 7 errors while showing average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: C+

26-year old righty swinging Tommy Manzella heads into spring training as the starting shortstop for the Astros. Manzella played in 7 games for the Astros last season and he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .400 OPS). He also played in 133 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 153 for 530 (.289 avg, .756 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 9 homers, 56 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Manzella didn’t make any errors in 2 games at SS for the Astros last season while showing above average range. The Astros just hope that Manzella hits enough for them not to regret signing or trading for a SS over the winter.

28-year old Edwin Maysonet will battle for a job on the bench this spring for the Astros. He played in 39 games for the Astros last season and he was 20 for 69 (.290 avg, .695 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Maysonet also played in 59 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 44 for 187 (.235 avg, .640 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Maysonet played in 3 error-free games at SS for the Astros in 2010 but he showed pretty pathetic range.

29-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger can handle playing SS in a pinch for the Astros. Keppinger played in 11 error-free games at short for the Astros in 2009 but he showed below average range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: D

34-year old switch-hitting Kaz Matsui is in the Astros’ Dog House but he is still the best 2B on the roster heading into spring training. He played in 132 games for the Astros last season and he was 119 for 476 (.250 avg, .659 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 9 homers, 46 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. The Astros really hope that Matsui hits more like his career norms of .271 with a .712 OPS. He is still a good defensive 2B as he made 6 errors in 130 games at 2B while showing outstanding range.

29-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger played in 107 games for the Astros last season and he was 78 for 305 (.256 avg, .707 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 7 homers and 29 RBIs. He will be used as a utilty man instead of a platoon 3B in 2010. He played in 22 games at 2B for the Astros last season and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C