Astros Crawfish Boil: Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Mar 28, 2023 - 1:00 PM

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Welcome to the Tuesday edition of your Crawfish Boil.

Houston Astros News

Top 10 reasons the Astros can repeat (chipalatta.com)

Houston Astros to repeat as World Series champs: Paul Hoynes’ 2023 MLB predictions (cleveland.com)

Who will earn Houston Astros’ final five roster spots before Opening Day? (chron.com)

Opening Day Power Rankings: Who’s No. 1? (mlb.com)
Yeah, it’s Houston.

Smith: When will Astros stop spoiling us? Not any time soon (houstonchronicle.com)

Ken Hoffman takes a swing at Houston Astros’ pitch to build a new downtown hotel

MLB 26-and-under power rankings: No. 1 Houston Astros (foxsports.com)

Alvarez ‘continuing to amaze’ as Opening Day nears (mlb.com)

Who’s on 2nd? Astros bench, acquisitions in play to fill in for injured Jose Altuve, manager says (abc13.com)

When Houston Astros owner Jim Crane escaped scot-free after an investigation cleared him of ant involvement in 2017 cheating scandal (sportskeeda.com)
I’m not sure how much stock I would put in a website that has a spelling error in the actual title of the article. Still, this is an Astros-related opinion, so here you go.

AL West News

Drayer: A look at Mariners roster essentially set for opening day (sports.mynorthwest.com)

It’s Julio Rodriguez’s world. Everyone wants to be part of it (seattletimes.com)

Oakland to use Díaz-Allen platoon at shortstop (mlb.com)

Prospect Miller’s stuff earns praise: ‘That was ... wow’ (mlb.com)

A two-foot burger and something called ‘corn ribs’ headline new Texas Rangers food offerings (wfaa.com)

Will these young Rangers make OD roster? (mlb.com)

Column: Enjoy Shohei Ohtani while you can, Angels fans. His days in Anaheim appear numbered (latimes.com)

Angels’ Taylor Ward wants a .900 OPS and to be in the same conversation as MVP teammates (theathletic.com)

MLB News

Opening Day 2023: The MLB offseason’s most chaotic moments (ESPN.com)

2023 MLB season predictions: Expert picks for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and more (cbssports.com)

The 2023 MLB Preseason Power Rankings (theringer.com)

MLB world champion and 4-time All-Star bickers with Bravo star ex-wife over custody (nj.com)

MLB Power Rankings: Astros, Padres look like baseball’s best teams entering 2023; Mets, Yankees in top five (cbssports.com)

2023 Positional Power Rankings: Bullpen (No. 1-15) (blogs.fangraphs.com)

Astros Birthdays

Glenn Davis (62) played the first seven years of his 10-season MLB career with the Astros from 1984 through 1990. He made the National League All Star Team twice (in 1986 and 1989) and topped 30 homers three times in the spacious Astrodome. He hit .262/.337/.483 in 830 games with the team.

Utility player Robel García (30) hit .151 in 46 games with the 2021 Astros.

Well-traveled reliever Mark Melancon (38) played for Houston from mid-2010 through 2011. He was 10-4 with a 2.85 ERA in 91 ²⁄₃ innings, with 85 K’s and a 1.211 WHIP.

David Hensley (27) went 10-for-29 in a 16-game look with the Astros in 2022. I expect he’ll get a significant cut of time at second base with Jose Altuve’s injury woes. Look for him to get some serious playing time for Houston in 2023, and to do well enough to make it impossible to not play him.