All Astros team position players

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While I went back to 1965 for other teams, I didn't make that qualifier with the Astros. While the Astros were originally known as the Colt 45s and came into existence in 1962, nobody from the first couple of years would be on this team anyway. While the Astros were really stacked with starting pitchers, they've had some pretty good positional players. Here we go.

Catcher: Craig Biggio While most of us probably think of Craig as a second baseman or outfielder, he actually came up to the team as a catcher. After a brief stint with the Astros in 1988, Craig spent most of his games as the Astros catcher from 1989-1991. His WAR for those three years was 9.9. His bat was better than his defense as a catcher. That's in marked contrast with the guys who have generally held down this position for the Astros. Guys like Brad Asmus, John Edwards and Alan Ashby have filled the post over the years. Craig spent 20 years in all with the Astros. Craig's overall WAR with the Astros was 65.1 His longevity, in large part, helped him get to the Hall of Fame. Craig led the NL in HBP five times in his career. Of course he made good use of the elbow pad he wore on his left arm, leaning into pitches and boosting his OBP.

First base: Jeff Bagwell Another of the Astros Killer Bees, Jeff swung a big bat for the Astros from 1991-2005. I don't like to recite a lot of stats, but some of Jeff's stats jump off the page. Jeff had 8 seasons of 100 or more RBIs. In three of those seasons, Jeff had 130 or more RBIs. Jeff also had 40 or more home runs twice. He had 30 or more home runs 6 more seasons. Five times Jeff had an OPS of over 1.000. He peaked out in this category at 1.201 in 1994. It all adds up to a Hall of Fame career. In addition to Bagwell, the Astros had some other right handed power/RBI guys man the position. Guys like Glenn Davis, Lee May, and Bob Watson were run producers, but none of them were of the magnitude of Jeff Bagwell.

Second base: Jose Altuve What is it about Houston and small second basemen that are really, really good? Joe Morgan was really good for the Astros from 1965-71. Since 2011 through now, Altuve has been working on a Hall of Fame career. Jose has twice led the NL in hitting and is currently leading the league in that category. Four times he's led the league in hits. Jose currently has a WAR of 27.3. He 's going to add on to that total quite a bit. Before I leave this position, Billy Doran deserves a mention. Billy was with the Astros from 1982-89 and put together a WAR of 30.3. He was good at the plate and in the field, just not Altuve good.

Shortstop: Carlos Correa Normally, I like a guy to have been with a team three years before he makes one of these teams, but Carlos is close enough. Plus he is clearly going to be the choice. Carlos is on the DL now, but already this season he has a WAR of of 4.9. That runs his total WAR for his three years with the Astros is 14.9. Carlos is a near .300 hitter already and as hit 20 or more home runs in all three seasons. And he's getting better. His defense metrics are pretty good too. After Carlos, there's a pretty big drop off. Craig Reynolds and Adam Eaton were both good glove guys who weren't much offensively. Correa is the clear choice here.

Third base: Doug Rader This hasn't been one of the Astros strongest positions of the years. Ultimately the Red Rooster edged out Ken Caminiti and Morgan Ensberg. Rader's offensive stats are just a little below Caminiti's, but he played at a time when there was a little more offense and therefore had a little higher WAR. Ensberg a had a huge season in 2005 to help the Astros get to the world series, but was unable to maintain it. Rader gets the call.

Left field: Moises Alou I really thought I was going to go with Jose Cruz for this slot. Jose was a steady force in left field for the Astros for over a decade. He had doubles power, hit .292 and put together an OPS was .789. Moises Alou played only three seasons for the Astros, but they were huge seasons. His average for that time was .331, he hit 95 home runs and had an OPS of .998. Carlos May gets a mention here because of his big bat. His iron glove gave some of away some of his value, but he still gets a honorable mention. It's Moises Alou by a nose over Jose Cruz.

Center field: Cesar Cedeno Cesar Cedeno was one of the most exciting players to ever wear an Astros uniform. Cesar was a five tool. Player. His home run totals were suppressed by playing in the old Astro Dome. Still, from 1972-74 his home run totals were 22-25-26. He also led the NL in doubles in 1971 and 1972. Six times Caesar stole 50 bases or more. Cedeno spent 12 seasons with the Astros and finished with a WAR of 49.6. In second place was one of the Astros early power hitters, Jimmy Wynn. In 11 seasons with the Astros, the Toy Cannon hit 223 home runs. Jimmy finished with an OPS of .806. He was also, to some extent, a three outcomes guy, striking out a lot, while also walking a bunch and hitting home runs. Jimmy was one of my favorite Astros.

Right field: Lance Berkman George Springer could wind up on this team in a few years, but for now Lance Berkman nails down right field. Lance played all three outfield positions and a little first base, but his bat played everywhere. Lance had 12 years with the Astros. From 2000-2009 Lance hit 20+ home runs every season. Twice he hit over 40 home runs, peaking at 46 in 2008. Six times he had over 100 RBIs. He led the league in 2002 with 128 RBIs. In 2006 Lance had his career high in RBIs with 136. Three years he had an OPS of over 1.000. You get the idea, this dude could hit. Before closing out, I'll give a quick mention of some other Astros right fielders of note, Kevin Bass, Derek Bell, Terry Puhl, Richard Hildago and Hunter Pence. Of course, none of them have stats in the same ballpark as Berkman.

There it is, my all Astros team. Agree? Disagree? Let me know.