For those that missed the guidelines I am using for this series of posts, you can find them here.
Team #15: Houston Astros
General Managers(since 1994)
Bob Watson (1994-1995): 142-117
Gerry Hunsicker (1996-2004): 793-665
Tim Purpura (2005-2007): 244-242
Ed Wade (2008-Current): 233-252
Team Performance
| Playoffs | Division Finish | ||||||
| WC | League | Playoff App | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th or 6th |
| 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
All information is drawn from Baseball Reference.
| Position | Name | Acquired | Years with Org. |
Stats with Organization |
Left? |
| C | John Buck | 1998 – 7th Rd | 6 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to KC – 6/24/04 |
| 1B | Lance Berkman | 1997 – 1st Rd (16) | 13 | 5 All Star Appearances 1569 gm, .297/.409/.549, 320 HR, 1073 RBI, 994 R |
Currently with Org. |
| 2B | Julio Lugo | 1994 – 43rd Rd | 9 | 366 gm, .268/.332/.391, 28 HR, 114 RBI, 45 SB, 222 R | Released – 5/9/03 |
| 3B | Melvin Mora | Int’l FA – 1991 | 6 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Free Agency – 10/17/97 |
| SS | Tommy Manzella | 2005 – 3rd Rd | 5 | 66 gm, .211/.257/.253, HR, 16 RBI, 13 R | Currently with Org. |
| LF | Bobby Abreu | Int’l FA – 1990 | 7 | 74 gm, .248/.325/.362, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 7 SB, 23 R | Expansion Draft – TAM – 11/18/97 |
| CF | Hunter Pence | 2004 – 2nd Rd | 6 | 1 All Star Appearances 497 gm, .286/.336/.482, 78 HR, 261 RBI, 45 SB, 256 R |
Currently with Org. |
| RF | Ben Zobrist | 2004 – 6th Rd | 2 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to TAM – 7/12/06 |
| SP | Roy Oswalt | 1996 – 23rd Rd | 14 | 3 All Star Appearances 142-80 3.25 ERA, 1570 K, 441 BB, 1907.1 IP, 1.199 WHIP |
Currently with Org. |
| SP | Johan Santana | Int’l FA – 1995 | 4 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Rule 5 Draftee – MIN – 12/13/99 |
| SP | Wandy Rodriguez | Int’l FA – 1999 | 11 | 55-62, 4.45 ERA, 715 K, 320 BB, 871.1 IP, 1.394 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
| SP | Freddy Garcia | Int’l FA – 1993 | 5 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to SEA – 7/31/98 |
| SP | Mitch Talbot | 2002 – 2nd Rd | 4 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to TAM – 7/12/06 |
| RP | Matt Albers | 2001 – 23rd Rd | 6 | 4-13, 5.87 ERA, 82 K, 57 BB, 125.2 IP, 1.599 WHIP | Traded to BAL – 12/12/07 |
| RP | Fernando Nieve | Int’l FA – 1999 | 10 | 3-4, 4.63 ERA, 82 K, 43 BB, 107 IP, 1.374 WHIP | Selected by NYM – 3/14/09 |
| RP | Felipe Paulino | Int’l FA – 2001 | 9 | 6-20, 5.55 ERA, 180 K, 87 BB, 202.2 IP, 1.589 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
| RP | Chris Sampson | 1999 – 8th Rd | 11 | 19-15, 4.41 ERA, 172 K, 87 BB, 350.2 IP, 1.332 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
| RP | Brad Lidge | 1998 – 1st Rd (17) | 9 | 2 All Star Appearances 23-20, 123 SV, 3.30 ERA, 561 K, 170 BB, 401 IP, 1.197 WHIP |
Traded to PHI – 11/7/07 |
| CL | Billy Wagner | 1993 – 1st Rd (12) | 10 | 3 All Star Appearances 26-29, 225 SV, 2.53 ERA, 694 K, 191 BB, 504.1 IP, 1.039 WHIP |
Traded to PHI – 11/3/03 |
| BN | J.R. Towles (C) |
2004 – 20th Rd | 6 | 101 gm, .189/.273/.327, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 29 R | Currently with Org. |
| BN | Bud Norris (P) |
2006 – 6th Rd | 4 | 8-8, 5.61 ERA, 114 K, 52 BB, 104.1 IP, 1.639 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
| BN | Jason Castro (C) |
2008 – 1st Rd (10) | 2 | 6 gm, .250/.348/.400, HR, RBI, 5 R | Currently with Org. |
| BN | Chris Johnson (3B) |
2006 – 4th Rd | 4 | 25 gm, .217/.239/.275, 7 RBI, SB, 7 R | Currently with Org. |
| BN | Juan Gutierrez (P) |
Int’l FA – 2000 | 7 | 1-1, 5.91 ERA, 16 K, 6 BB, 21.1 IP, 1.453 WHIP | Traded to ARI – 12/14/07 |
| BN | Chad Qualls (P) |
2000 – 2nd Rd | 7 | 23-12, 6 SV, 3.39 ERA, 218 K, 84 BB, 284 IP, 1.236 WHIP | Traded to ARI – 12/14/07 |
June Amateur Draft
The Astros really to me look like they have had some pretty decent draft picks. Unfortunately, there really haven’t been a lot of impact players in recent years, with Lance Berkman and Brad Lidge really being the last two impact players to come out of the system. They have done well with players like Hunter Pence, and the system will be drawing players like Jordan Lyles, Jiovanni Mier, and Ross Seaton all waiting to make an impact in the lower levels of the system. They recently promoted both Jason Castro and Chris Johnson to the Majors, so it remains to be seen whether they can adapt to being Major League starters.
International Free Agency
The Astros have done pretty well in the international free agent markets, with Wandy Rodriguez and Julio Lugo being the players who made the biggest impact for the Astros themselves. They’ve also had quite a few players go through the system who have turned into excellent players, but were either allowed to leave or traded before they could make a significant impact for the Astros. These include multiple Cy Young award winner Johan Santana, All-Stars Bobby Abreu, Ben Zobrist, and Freddy Garcia.
Overall Grade
I give the Astros a C+. The players that they have developed on their own have been excellent, but the short-sighted trades that they have made to acquire pieces for playoff runs have left the team with a completely depleted farm system, with very little currently in the system besides the players I mentioned. Hopefully the Astros will be able to continue to find some quality players going forward.
