Yordan

Alvarez

Paredes homered during Monday’s exhibition at Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park, pulling a ball into the iconic Crawford Boxes in left field. He’ll get the nod in the second spot on the lineup card over Jeremy Peña. The 26-year-old boasts strong on-base skills and should benefit exponentially from a counting stats perspective by hitting ahead of franchise cornerstone Yordan Alvarez. It’s a significant boost to his fantasy value and it wouldn’t be shocking if Paredes wound up finishing as a borderline top-10 third baseman this season for fantasy purposes.

Alvarez was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup for precautionary reasons with right thumb soreness, so it’s an encouraging sign that he’s ready to get back into game action without an extended absence. The 27-year-old fantasy stalwart has eclipsed the 30-homer mark in four consecutive seasons and will be a borderline first-round pick in all remaining drafts this spring.

Altuve has been a mixed bag in left field this spring as he acclimates to the outfield for the first time in his professional career, juxtaposing strong defensive plays with viral gaffes that have made the rounds on social media. The 34-year-old will likely make his share of mistakes, but has progressed to the point that the Astros are going to put him out there virtually every day in an effort to preserve Yordan Alvarez’s health. It’ll come down to some combination of Brendan Rodgers, Luis Guillorme or Mauricio Dubón filling the void at second base.

Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters he expects Alvarez to return to Wednesday’s lineup after injuring his thumb during batting practice prior to Sunday’s spring contest. It doesn’t sound like a massive concern, but there’s zero reason for Houston to take any chances with the health of their primary middle-of-the-order catalyst with only one week left until Opening Day. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now and continue to monitor his status over the remainder of the week.

Alvarez did have a couple of well hit balls, including a liner back up the middle that Clay Holmes made a fine play on. It’s hard to say if there was any significance to him batting second today, especially since the Astros weren’t using a lineup of regulars. He hit second for most of April and September last season, but third throughout the rest of the summer. With Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman gone, Alvarez could move up behind Jose Altuve, with Christian Walker, Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz following in some order.

The Astros are proceeding full-steam ahead with the Altuve in left field experiment, which will enable them to move Yordan Alvarez to a full-time DH role. The 34-year-old veteran has played second base exclusively since 2011, but figures to be able to make the transition pretty seamlessly. Barring an unexpected reversal, it’ll likely be some combination of Brendan Rodgers, Mauricio Dubón, Shay Whitcomb and possibly even top prospect Brice Matthews battling it out this spring for the starting second base role.

Universally regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball last decade when he was selected third overall in the 2015 MLB Draft, Rodgers never quite put it all together with the Rockies, posting a pedestrian .726 OPS over six seasons dating back to 2019. The 28-year-old provides the Astros with a reliable second base option with Jose Altuve heading to left field and Yordan Alvarez transitioning to a full-time DH role. It’s a strong landing spot for Rodgers considering he was non-tendered a couple months ago by Colorado as he figures to play on a regular basis for Houston in another hitter-friendly ballpark. He’s at least worth monitoring in deeper mixed leagues and AL-only formats.

Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters last month they want to cut back on Alvarez’s playing time next season in the outfield, which certainly explains their continued pursuit of a reunion with third baseman Alex Bregman, which would result in Jose Altuve heading to left field. The 27-year-old fantasy superstar managed to avoid offseason knee surgery after tweaking his knee down the home stretch of last season and should be a full-go at the outset of spring training. It’s undoubtedly a positive sign that he’s feeling back to normal heading into camp. We’re strongly anticipating a transition for Alvarez to a full-time DH role this upcoming season, which puts his outfield eligibility for fantasy purposes in jeopardy.

Brown went on to praise prospect Zach Dezenzo’s progress as he continues playing left field during winter ball action in Puerto Rico. Alvarez dealt with knee issues down the stretch late last season, so it makes sense that the Astros will want to get him off his feet as much as possible moving forward, even if it’s just for precautionary reasons.

As planned, Alvarez took it quite slow on the bases. His double came in the ninth, and he was removed for a pinch-runner afterwards.