26-year old righty swinging Tommy Manzella heads into spring training as the starting shortstop for the Astros. Manzella played in 7 games for the Astros last season and he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg, .400 OPS). He also played in 133 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 153 for 530 (.289 avg, .756 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 9 homers, 56 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Manzella didn’t make any errors in 2 games at SS for the Astros last season while showing above average range. The Astros just hope that Manzella hits enough for them not to regret signing or trading for a SS over the winter.

28-year old Edwin Maysonet will battle for a job on the bench this spring for the Astros. He played in 39 games for the Astros last season and he was 20 for 69 (.290 avg, .695 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Maysonet also played in 59 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 44 for 187 (.235 avg, .640 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Maysonet played in 3 error-free games at SS for the Astros in 2010 but he showed pretty pathetic range.

29-year old righty swinging Jeff Keppinger can handle playing SS in a pinch for the Astros. Keppinger played in 11 error-free games at short for the Astros in 2009 but he showed below average range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: D