HEADLINES: Hunter Pence & Astros

[DRAFTAHOLIC]

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Astros have settled on a starting lineup after their flurry of offseason deals. New acquisitions Michael Bourn (CF), Kaz Matsui (2B) and Miguel Tejada (SS) will bat one, two and three, followed by 1B Lance Berkman, LF Carlos Lee, RF Hunter Pence, 3B Ty Wigginton and C J.R. Towles. "If you really think about it, from top to bottom it could be one of the best lineups the Astros have ever had," manager Cecil Cooper said. "We've got speed. We've got power. We've got guys who hit for average. We have so many ways to score. You should not have long losing streaks when you're like that."

Analysis: Pence is an extra-base-hit machine and, at age 24, is one of the best young outfielders in baseball, but this news only hurts his Fantasy value. He batted second for much of his rookie season, getting plenty of pitches to hit with sluggers Berkman and Lee protecting him in the lineup. Now, with only Wigginton to keep pitchers honest, his batting average might take a turn for the worse. On the plus side, the extra batters in front of him should give him more RBI opportunities. He remains a No. 2 Fantasy outfielder -- and a great option for keeper leagues -- but bump him down a notch or two based on this projected batting order.

Personally I wonder if anyone would bump down Hunter Pence because lineup's do not last forever, talent on the other hand is far reaching.

Draftaholic

[WaCougMBS]

He is certainly less valuable in the 6 hole with only Wigginton behind him, but I think he will have a boatload of RBI opps nonetheless. I think this might hurt his runs scored, and possibly average/HRs a bit, because he won't have as much protection. I might bump him down a couple of spots, but especially in keeper/dynasty leagues, the kid is worth the price IMO

[CadensDad]

I'm sure he will be batting 1-2 by july

[Secret Avatar]

That's a retarded lineup for many reasons and I expect it won't last past the first week of ST. Expect Carlos Lee to ultimately hit 4th and Pence to hit 2nd or 5th.

[CadensDad]

That's a retarded lineup for many reasons and I expect it won't last past the first week of ST. Expect Carlos Lee to ultimately hit 4th and Pence to hit 2nd or 5th.

Yea, I don;t understand the Astros at all

[WaCougMBS]

Yeah, they rarely make any sense to me either. Very confusing organization at times, that is for sure...

[HasteTheDay]

Tejada #2 =

[Danger]

Yah I highly doubt Pence stays in the 6 hole. Once the 'stros hit a slump Pence will bat 1-2.

[swyck]

That's a retarded lineup for many reasons and I expect it won't last past the first week of ST. Expect Carlos Lee to ultimately hit 4th and Pence to hit 2nd or 5th.

Not that sure why its all that retarded. Maybe you can explain some of those 'many' reasons.

If you put Lee at 4th i'd put Berkman in 3rd, moving Tejada down to 5th. I like that better.

I've got no problem with Pence at 2nd, but Matsui is a prototypical 2nd slot hitter, and did well out of there last year. 7th is probably a better slot, but 2nd isn't unreasonable.

As for 5th are you saying move Pence ahead of Berkman? If so that's just plain flat out crazy, retarded even. If you move Berkman up and Tejada down that makes somewhat more sense. However, they just made a big deal to get Tejada, he's a big name, former MVP, etc., so I don't see anything wrong with slotting him in 5th. Pence is going to be a fine player down the road, maybe even this year, but you simply can't rate him ahead of either Berkman or Tejada at this point. Better Pence in 6th this year protecting the big name in the 5th slot with Wigginton behind him. I think he does just fine out of this slot.

I'm not saying that the lineup as listed is the best mix, and it isn't what I'd do, but IMO it can't in anyway be described as retarded. On paper its not a bad lineup at all, and the Astros should be in the chase in that division.

[stevethumb]

it makes ZERO sense to give more ABs to hitters like bourne and matsui at the expense of clee and hpence...now i understand the logic of having one of those guys at leadoff but you can't take swings away from clee.. he is an rbi machine...lunacy..hpence should hit 2nd w/berkman 3rd and clee 4th..after that it's tejada and wigginton (who should have some surprisingly good #s) w/matsui hitting 7th and towles 8th