34-year old switch-hitting Kaz Matsui is in the Astros’ Dog House but he is still the best 2B on the roster heading into spring training. He played in 132 games for the Astros last season and he was 119 for 476 (.250 avg, .659 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 9 homers, 46 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. The Astros really hope that Matsui hits more like his career norms of .271 with a .712 OPS. He is still a good defensive 2B as he made 6 errors in 130 games at 2B while showing outstanding range.

29-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger played in 107 games for the Astros last season and he was 78 for 305 (.256 avg, .707 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 7 homers and 29 RBIs. He will be used as a utilty man instead of a platoon 3B in 2010. He played in 22 games at 2B for the Astros last season and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C