Before spring training started, some people had guarded optimism about this team heading into 2011. After trading away top stars Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt, they had a record above .500 and were playing pretty good baseball down the stretch. They had four rookies in their starting lineup and rotation and if these young players continued to develop, the Astros would be competitive this season.
However, expectations for this team have quickly dropped only two weeks into spring training. They have started off very slow so far and last week lost Jason Castro, who was expected to be their starting catcher this year, for the majority of the season. But no matter what injuries the Astros have to deal with, the show must go on. This is what I expect to see for a starting lineup and rotation for the Houston Astros on Opening Day.