Look for big years from Tuve and Breg. I'm not sold on our SP or BP. Hopefully, the plan is to shore those up before the trade deadline. As it stands now, we don't have the arms to beat either the Yanks or Bosox in a 5 or 7 game series. Maybe James or Whitley step up in a big way, but I'd rather trust proven arms come October.
I understand what you're saying.
Verlander is certainly proven.
Cole is close to be proven and is a terrific #2.
McHugh. It will be interesting how his season turns out. Certainly in '15 he was an acceptable #2 starter and will most likely be a decent #3.
Now for #4 & #5. Could come from a bushel basket full of potential starters like James or Whitely who both have electric stuff.
The Astros are transitioning and need to transition. The fact is they need at least a couple guys in the starting rotation who they can control for the next several seasons. And those guys need experience this year because I would still expect the Astros to be contenders for at least a couple years beyond 2019.