Houston Astros Opening Day Roster Predictions

The Houston Astros entered Spring Training seeking answers to several questions.

Who's going to make the starting rotation? Who's going to be the starting catcher? How many games are we capable of winning? Are we a contender?

For several weeks, the Astros were on pace to accomplish a monumental feat: the worst Spring Training record of all-time.

After beginning 1-16-3, Houston embarked on a seven-game winning streak, which coincided with the signing of future Hall-of-Fame catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.

Traditionally, teams dismiss poor spring records, claiming they have no significant meaning in dictating the regular season. 

Regardless of what sport, athletes want to win. Winning builds confidence and a team can't simply transfer a poor preseason into instant regular-season success. 

Mentality plays a critical role in sports. Losing brings down the morale of a locker room. Luckily, the Astros discovered the remedy for losing and made a remarkable turnaround, finishing their Grapefruit action with a 10-18-3 record. 

As Opening Day approaches on Tuesday, the Astros will play two exhibition games at Minute Maid Park Friday and Saturday against the Cleveland Indians, which manager Cecil Cooper will use to evaluate the final roster spots.

Here's my Opening Day roster predictions and starting lineup: 

STARTERS

C –   Ivan Rodriguez

1B –  Lance Berkman

2B –  Kaz Matsui

SS –  Miguel Tejada

3B –  Geoff Blum

LF –  Carlos Lee

CF –  Michael Bourn

RF –  Hunter Pence

RESERVES

1) Darin Erstad: OF/1B

2) Jason Michaels: OF

3) Jeff Keppinger: 3B/SS/2B

4) Jason Smith: SS

5) Humberto Quintero: C

STARTING ROTATION

1) Roy Oswalt

2) Mike Hampton

3) Wandy Rodriguez

4) Brian Moehler

5) Russ Ortiz

BULLPEN

1) Jose Valverde (CL)

2) Doug Brocail

3) LaTroy Hawkins

4) Geoff Geary

5) Chris Sampson

6) Wesley Wright

7) Tim Byrdak

OPENING-DAY LINEUP

1) Matsui

2) Rodriguez

3) Berkman

4) Lee

5) Tejada

6) Pence

7) Blum/Keppinger

8) Bourn

9) Oswalt

PROJECTED REGULAR SEASON LINEUP

1) Bourn

2) Pence

3) Berkman

4) Lee

5) Tejada

6) Rodriguez

7) Blum/Keppinger

8) Matsui

9) Starting Pitcher

Bourn has done enough the past two weeks to regain the leadoff spot; however, Cooper proclaimed that Bourn would begin the season batting eighth in the lineup.

Until recently, it appeared that Bourn would not even make the roster based on his offensive struggles. Last season, Bourn hit a dismal .229 with five homers, 29 RBI, 41 stolen bases and a dreadful .288 on-base percentage.

The 2009 season will be an audition to determine his future role with the team. If the former Houston Cougar fails to produce, top-notch prospect Brian Bogusevic will be waiting to take his spot.

Bourn's greatest assist is his blazing speed. If he can simply raise his on-base percentage, he possesses the ability of replicating Ricky Henderson's stolen base numbers. His speed becomes a useless commodity by rarely getting on base. 

The 26-year-old outfielder begins the regular season swinging a hot bat and intends to prove he belongs at the top of the order.

Pence makes an ideal No. 2 hitter. He's a scrappy player with good speed and pop in his bat. Pence drilled 25 homers last season and demonstrates passion on the field. The UT-Arlington product always hustle no matter what.

All-Star sluggers Berkman, Lee, and Tejada have combined for 840 career home runs, making them ideal middle-of-the-lineup hitters.

Rodriguez makes sense in the No. 6 role and provides Tejada with protection in the lineup. After a dismal half-season with the Yankees in 2008, Pudge showed a rejuvenated bat in the World Baseball Classic and continued his offensive production after signing with the Astros. He has a career .301 average with 295 homers and 1,217 RBI.

Blum is a blue-collar contact hitter, and Matsui has the ability to get on base and use his speed with the pitcher batting behind him.

The Astros' starting pitcher can bunt Matsui over to either second or third base with less than two outs to set up an RBI opportunity for the top of the lineup.

Ultimately, 25-man rosters change frequently over 162 regular-season games. Injuries, poor performances and trades are some of the many reasons.

Minor league prospects in the Astros' organization will be ready to make the climb to the big leagues when called upon.

If the Astros find themselves out of contention at trade deadline, the organization will likely shop Rodriguez and Tejada to playoff caliber teams. Tejada enters the final year of his six-year, $72 million contract, and Pudge signed a one-year deal.

Everyone begins Opening Day as a World Series contender. Houston must avoid their traditional slow start if they want to remain in the playoff picture.

The Chicago Cubs lead a weak NL Central, meaning the Astros have a chance to hang around and either challenge for the divisional title or pursue a wild card berth.

For additional information on the Houston Astros, visit http://www.examiner.com/x-2910-Houston-Astros-Examiner.