27-year old switch-hitting Jed Lowrie was acquired in a deal with the Red Sox over the winter and he will be the starting SS for the Astros in 2012. Lowrie played in 88 games for the Red Sox last year and he was 78 of 309 (.252 avg, .685 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 256 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 204 of 808 (.252 avg, .732 OPS) with 110 runs scored, 19 homers, 117 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Lowrie had 10 errors in 49 games at SS last year while showing amazingly poor range. The Astros are hoping for average defense and a good stick out of Lowrie in 2012.

28-year old righty swinging Angel Sanchez played in 110 games for the Astros last year and he was 69 of 288 (.240 avg, .590 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 1 homer, 28 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 175 games in his first two years with the Astros and he was 139 of 538 (.258 avg, .624 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 1 homer, 53 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Sanchez has now played in 184 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 145 of 568 (.255 avg, .612 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 1 homer, 54 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Sanchez had 7 errors in 46 games at SS last year while showing off good range. He is going to have to fight for a roster spot this spring.

22-year old switch-hitting Marwin Gonzalez comes into this season as the Astros’ #20 prospect according to Baseball America. Gonzalez was picked off the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft last winter. Gonzalez played in 124 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Cubs last year and he was 119 of 413 (.288 avg, .742 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 4 homers, 39 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 510 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 465 of 1,800 (.258 avg, .657 OPS) with 192 runs scored, 15 homers, 202 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. He is going to have a pretty good shot of making the Astros’ opening day roster.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2012: C

The Astros are expecting good things from 21-year old righty swinging Jose Altuve in 2012. He played in 57 games for the Astros last year and he was 61 of 221 (.276 avg, .654 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He also played in 87 games in A+AA-ball last year and he was 139 of 357 (.389 avg, 1.017 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 10 homers, 59 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Altuve only had 2 errors in 55 games at 2B for the Astros last year while showing pretty awful range. The Astros are expecting big things out of Altuve’s bat in 2012.

27-year old righty swinging Matt Downs might challenge Altuve for P.T. at some point in 2012. He played in 106 games for the Astros last year and he was 55 of 199 (.276 avg, .864 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 10 homers and 41 RBIs. Downs has now played in 117 games in his first two years with the Astros and he is 57 of 218 (.261 avg, .815 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 10 homers and 41 RBIs. Downs has now played in 163 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 85 of 349 (.244 avg, .741 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 12 homers, 50 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Downs had 3 errors in 27 games at 2B last year for the Astros and he showed below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE AT 2B IN 2012: B

Astros’ Manager Brad Mills has decided to move 31-year old righty Brett Myers from the starting rotation to the bullpen in 2012 to close games. He will bump Brandon Lyon out of the closer’s role. Lyon will be the set-up man for Myers this year. Myers has pitched in 58 games out of the bullpen in his major league career and he is 5-6 with 21 saves, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has also started 249 games in his major league career and he is 89-79 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Myers has been a decent reliever and I think he is going to excel in his new role with the Astros in 2012.

35-year old righty swinging Carlos Lee will be the Astros’ full-time 1B in 2012. Lee played in 155 games for the Astros last year and he was 161 for 585 (.275 avg, .788 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 18 homers, 94 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 749 games in his first five years with the Astros and he is 820 for 2,863 (.286 avg, .824 OPS) with 352 runs scored, 128 homers, 504 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. Lee has now played in 1,952 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 2,128 of 7,433 (.286 avg, .831 OPS) with 1,072 runs scored, 349 homers, 1,286 RBIs and 122 stolen bases. Lee looks like a statue at 1B as he made 5 errors in 79 games at 1B for the Astros last year. The Astros will put up with Lee’s D as long as he keeps raking with the bat.

25-year old lefty swinging Brett Wallace might still be the Astros’ 1B of the future, but he’s going to need to step up at some point. Wallace played in 115 games for the Astros last year and he was 87 for 336 (.259 avg, .703 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 166 games in his first two years with the Astros and he is 119 of 480 (.248 avg, .677 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 7 homers, 42 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Wallace also has shown poor plate discipline so far in his major league career as he has whiffed 141 times while walking 44 times. Wallace made 6 errors in 96 games at 1B for the Astros last year. Wallace will need to improve with the bat and the mitt before the Astros give him another chance.

PROJECTED GRADE AT 1B IN 2012: B

24-year old lefty swinging Jason Castro tore his ACL last spring, but he appears to be ready to go. His only major league experience came back in 2010 with the Astros. Castro played in 67 games for the Astros in 2010 and he was 40 for 195 (.205 avg, .573 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. If Castro has a good spring, he can win the starting job behind the plate for the Astros in 2012. If he struggles this spring, he will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball as the Astros don’t really want to play him in the majors until he’s ready to have some success as he is a key to the team’s future.

31-year old righty swinging Chris Snyder is in camp on a minor league deal, but he’s likely going to make the team as the starter (if Castro starts in the minors) or the backup. Snyder played in only 34 games for the Pirates last year due to a back problem and he was 26 for 96 (.271 avg, .772 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. Snyder has now played in 630 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 426 of 1,846 (.231 avg, .727 OPS) with 204 runs scored, 70 homers and 273 RBIs. Snyder didn’t have any errors in 33 games behind the plate last season for the Pirates but he did have 5 passed balls. Snyder threw out 5 of 23 (21.7%) base stealers last year and Pirates’ pitchers had a 3.39 ERA when he was behind the dish…and that is pretty impressive.

32-year old righty swinging Humberto Quintero will be back to compete for a job this spring. He played in 79 games for the Astros last year and he was 63 for 262 (.240 avg, .575 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Quintero has now played in 344 games in his first 7 years with the Astros and he is 229 for 980 (.234 avg, .585 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 13 homers, 82 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 379 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 252 for 1,075 (.234 avg, .589 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 15 homers, 94 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Quintero had 5 errors and 3 passed balls in 77 games behind the plate for the Astros last year. He also threw out 11 of 62 (17.7%) base stealers last year and Astros’ pitchers had a 4.61 ERA with him behind the dish last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: D