2012 Houston Astros: What Can We Reasonably Expect from Them?

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is about to be upon us and for Houston Astros fans, the thoughts of how this season is going to turn out comes to mind.

Other than the starting rotation and Carlos Lee, there's not much big-league experience for the Astros.

Add in the fact that it's their last year in the National League and first year with new owner Jim Crane, and you have a season that many fans will never forget—win or lose.

Here's a look at what we can reasonably expect from the Astros this year, their last in the National League.

Bullpen-by-Committee All Year

Other than closer Brandon Lyon, the Astros bullpen is going to be a work in progress all year.

Wilton Lopez is scheduled to be the setup man, but on any other team, he'd be a situational reliever. Although he's had below 3.00 ERAs over the last two years, prior to that Lopez constantly struggled.

Enerio Del Rosario is in his second full season and still has a lot to learn. Last year, he went 0-3 with a 4.58 ERA in 53 innings pitched.

Sergio Escalona is also very inexperienced, going into his third full year, but has only pitched in 63 total games in his career.

And, things aren't any better down the rest of the list.

With that, relievers in the Astros minor league system are going to get opportunities to prove themselves at the big-league level.

The Starting Staff Will Be Decent

Led by Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez and Bud Norris, the Astros' starters will be relatively decent this year.

One thing is for sure: The combination of all five starters will get close to 800 strikeouts.

Last year, the starters had 80 total quality starts and lost 17 games after they left the game with the lead.

As far as my expectations for the top three starters, I believe Myers will win 13 games with 160 strikeouts, while Rodriguez will win 16 with 180 strikeouts and Norris will win 12 games with 155 strikeouts.

But, who knows? The starters could surprise and do much more than expected.

Rotation Will Have Prospects by End of Year

With there not being much in the cupboard for the Astros, two players acquired in the Michael Bourne trade with the Atlanta Braves will make their Major League debuts by the time the All-Star Break rolls around.

Brett Oberholtzer was decent last year in Double-A where he went 11-12 with a 4.01 ERA and 121 strikeouts. He has a plus-fastball, a solid cutter and an above-average changeup.

However, the best part of his game is that he mixes his pitches well and has great command.

Paul Clemens went 8-6 last year in Double-A with a 3.81 ERA and 119 strikeouts, before being called up to Triple-A to make one start. With a little more seasoning in Triple-A, Clemens will no doubt be ready for the big leagues.

Jordan Schafer Will Lead off

Although there are a lot of question marks for lineup, there are two things for sure—Carlos Lee will be slotted in the No. 3 or 4 hole, and Jordan Schafer will be the leadoff hitter.

Once thought to be the Atlanta Braves answer to the center field problems, Schafer never really reached full expectations after opening the 2009 season with a home run in his first Major League at-bat.

Now, away from those expectations, Schafer can just settle in and be the leadoff hitter he knows he can be.

Although the average won't be great for a leadoff hitter, we can reasonably expect that Schafer will hit around .250 and get upwards of 30 stolen bases.

As long as he can stay out of trouble, and depending on what his suspension is after his arrest for marijuana in the offseason (via ESPN), he should do well.

Carlos Lee in Mr. 3000

I have a feeling that Carlos Lee is going to have a season like "T-Rex" Pennebaker had in the movie, Mr. 3000.

Pennebaker was the only one getting big hits and driving in runs for his team (according to him) and had no help on the offensive side. His arrogance had Stan Ross (played by Bernie Mac), who the movie was based around, think about how he acted the same way during his time in the league.

Although Lee won't have the same attitude as Pennebaker, it's going to seem like he's the only one producing like Pennebaker.

Brett Wallace Will Start on the Bench

Or in Triple-A.

With Carlos Lee supplanting Wallace at first base, Wallace is going to have to beat out incumbent Chris Johnson for the starting spot at third base.

In my opinion, Wallace still has a lot to learn at the Major League level as he's striking out way too often and not getting on base. If his power were good, then he'd be in the same company as Mark Reynolds, but it's not.

If Wallace doesn't win the third-base job, I suspect he'll go down to Triple-A and Jimmy Paredes will be the backup at third base.

By the All-Star Break, Playoffs Will Be out of Question

By the time the All-Star Break rolls around, the Astros will be out of playoff contention.

With the shortage of veterans and good players on their roster, the Astros are going to have a tough time competing this year.

The first month of the season sees the Astros hosting the Rockies, Braves, Dodgers and Mets. They will travel to Miami, Milwaukee, Washington and Cincinnati.

So, things don't look like they're going to start great for Houston, and the rest of the season should follow suit.

Oh well. Maybe things will improve in 2013 when they move to the American League.