55-107, 6th in the NL Central

The Astros started 2012 preparing for a bleak year and it only got worse. They dealt everyone on the roster who had any kind of name recognition who wasn’t injured and were running out a cast of no names for much of the second half.

For proof, I randomly selected the August 17th starting lineup.

Altuve 2B
Green SS
Pearce 1B
Maxwell LF
Francisco RF
Barnes CF
Castro C
Gonzalez 3B
Keuchel P

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say 1) That doesn’t even look like a good AAA lineup 2) I don’t know the first names of half of those players 3) I didn’t know who two thirds of those people were until this season. (This paragraph should be emphasized with the fact that compared to the common fan I know who everyone is.)

But a very dark 2012 isn’t reason to fret in Houston. The club is actually moving in the right direction. New GM Jeff Luhnow scorched the earth of the 2012 season to fill his minor league rosters with capable players. He added a lot of talent, and while not much of it is elite, the Astros can now look forward to some decent players coming up through the system.

They also drafted Carlos Correa #1 overall this year and the 17 year old SS has star potential. There is a lot of work to be done through player development, scouting, and Free Agency, but the team is moving forward.

Brad Mills lost the managerial spot late in the year and 2012 Nationals’ 3B coach Bo Porter will assume the role in 2013.

While 55 wins is essentially a replacement level team (i.e. how a AAA team would play in MLB), the Astros weren’t even trying to win this season. They were looking forward 3 or 4 years. This was a franchise in free fall the last couple years and they are now back on the long road to relevance.

They had just three players post WARs above the 2.0 threshold we normally consider MLB starter level (and one was Jed Lowrie who missed much of the second half). 2012 was dismal year on the field but a good one in the front office.

I’d be optimistic for their prospects next season, except they’re moving to the AL West. Moving from baseball’s 5th best division to its best division from 2012, not to mention having to contend with the DH, is going to be an adjustment.

It’s going to be a challenge for the Astros in 2013, but it has to be better than 2012.

2012 Grade: F
Early 2013 Projection: 65-97