2010 Rewind: 76-86, 4th place NL Central.  After a pitiful start to the season the Astros once again finished strong, posting a 59-52 record after June 1 under first-year manager Brad Mills. The team entered major rebuild mode before the trading deadline, dealing longtime veterans Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman to restock its pool of young talent.

The Good:  Right fielder Hunter Pence hit 25 homeruns for the third straight season and batted .282 each of the past two years. He enjoyed a rise in RBI totals in 2010 and should approach the 100-RBI mark securely sitting in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. Brett Myers emerged as the ace of the staff with a 14-8 record and 3.14 ERA in 13 starts a year ago. Wandy Rodriguez is a nice compliment to Myers and was as good as any pitcher in the league following the All-Star Break.

The Bad: Outfielder Carlos Lee endured one his worst season of his career during 2010 as he hit .246 with 24 HR and just 89 RBI. It snapped a five-year streak of 100-RBI seasons for the veteran. The Houston debut of Brett Wallace was far from spectacular after the first basemen came to the team a trade midseason. He finished with a .222 batting average and had just 2 HR and 13 RBI in 144 at-bats.

Biggest Loss:  The Astros dumped many of their veterans during the 2010 campaign, but waited until December to deal closer Matt Lindstrom to the Rockies for a pair of prospects.  The team needed to save money somewhere and appears to be confident with Brandon Lyon to nail things down at the end of a game. He converted 20 of 22 save chances last season.

Best Addition:  After finishing 15th in the National League in HR and runs scored the Astros added some offense to the middle infield spots. Former Brewer Bill Hall figures to take over at second base and former Rockie Clint Barmes is expected to take over at shortstop. Both have some pop in their bats and are capable defenders.

Fantasy Slant: Center fielder Michael Bourn has led the NL steals each of the past two seasons and can help any owner contend in the stolen base category. Both Myers and Rodgriguez are nice arms to round a fantasy staff, but keep your eyes on young hurlers J.A. Happ and Bud Norris. Both are capable of breakout seasons and could have nice value, particularly in NL-only and dynasty formats.

Final Take: The Astros have some nice talent, but too many what-if-type players. It seems that .500 in the best-case scenario for Houston this season in an improving NL Central, but a traditional slow start will likely hold them back from being a factor for long…2011 Record: 77-85, 5th place in the NL Central

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