It seems like the Houston Astros might be older than any team in baseball this season. With so many aging veterans on the roster, they’ve been nicked up with more injuries than a team could ask for. Despite this, none have been major and everyone’s hanging around.

Looking at the team’s usual injury risks, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada, and Ivan Rodriguez have all remained healthy for the vast majority of the season. While these players are all valuable to the team, the Astros have little chance of making the playoffs and I’ve begun to give my attention to the younger, emerging players in the organization.

This all begins with 26-year-old Michael Bourne. A player who’s always had some of the best speed in the majors, it seems like he finally got his batting situation figured out this season, with an average of .289 at the moment. This is over 60 points higher than his 2008 numbers. He’s tops in the majors in SBs and triples, and I believe that he’ll continue to improve.

Hunter Pence made the All-Star team this year, at just 26 years of age, has a bright future ahead of himself. His numbers are slowly improving, and while his power is down a bit this season, I expect it to rise back as he matures some more.

At catcher, a young Jason Castro is still in the minors, but having a great season playing double A ball. At outfield, Brian Bogusevic is quickly making the transition from pitcher to hitter, and doing a great job at that. The infield is a little weaker, but Chris Johnson at third base is promising, as is the 18 year old Jiovanni Mier, still a few years off, but a first round pick in 2009.

As far as pitchers go, Bud Norris couldn’t look much better than he has during his first three major league starts. With a 3-0 record and an ERA at just 3, Norris is pitching some great baseball for a rookie. Yorman Bazardo and Felipe Paulino both show some process to, as do 19 year old Ross Seaton and Jordan Lyles.

In the bullpen, some of Ed Wade’s moves have begun to pay off. Wright, Arias, and Fulchino have been reliable this season, and make for a solid foundation. Then the core of the team (Berkman, Oswalt, and Rodriguez) is all in its early 30s, and should play their best baseball for another few years, if not more.

Since the Astros most likely won’t catch the Cardinals or the Cubs, I’d say they should let their youth play some baseball. You never know who might catch on. This is a team with great youth, and it’s time to bring the future stars to the big league.

Related baseball articles:

1. No Relief in Houston for the Astros
2. Things Come to a Head in Houston
3. Let’s Give Respect to Josh Johnson
4. Let’s Give Some Love to Baseball
5. It’s Time to Let Oswalt Go

Category: Baseball Team• Tags used in this article: Carlos Lee  Felipe Paulino  Houston Astros  Hunter Pence  Jason Castro  Miguel Tejada 

Baseball articles on the web based on related keywords: Carlos Lee  Felipe Paulino  Houston Astros  Hunter Pence  Jason Castro  Miguel Tejada