00:00I just want to remind you, hey, baseball is back.
00:04Opening day and opening night live on Netflix this Wednesday, March 25th.
00:10Tyler's favorite, Aaron Judge, and the captain of Team USA.
00:14Not my captain.
00:15And the New York Yankees clash with Raphael Devers and the San Francisco Giants.
00:21Monday, or Monday, Wednesday, MLB opening night, Yankees-Giants,
00:27live on Netflix, 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific time.
00:33So get ready for that as baseball is back.
00:35And Thursday, the Astros get going.
00:40By the way, I'm looking up here watching this women's college basketball.
00:45I was really surprised here.
00:46I know the nickname for the Virginia Cavaliers, they're Wahoos and sometimes shortened to Hoos.
00:53But I really find it interesting, fellas, that the Virginia women's basketball team has hooves just running across their chest.
01:04With two big capital O's right in the middle, huh?
01:06Two big capital O's right in the middle.
01:08H, two big capital O's, and an S running right, right.
01:12That's it.
01:13It's like they're straight out of Cat in the Hat.
01:15That's an interesting decision to roll with there.
01:20The old hooves.
01:21I mean, go ahead.
01:22Right there.
01:22As you said.
01:23Traced out of Whoville.
01:24The two big O's right there.
01:27Center cut right there.
01:29Interesting decision there.
01:31But baseball's back.
01:34Astros are back.
01:35They're back in town already.
01:36And they will get this thing going.
01:39I was looking at the athletic, kind of looking at things, Clint and Tyler, about previewing this baseball season and
01:47seeing where they have a lot of teams.
01:48And I think one of the things that really intrigued me was they ranked everybody's top lineups.
01:59One to 30, whatever.
02:00They ranked the top lineups.
02:04And the Astros came in at 15.
02:07And when you just say, you know, some of the names that you know that they have at their disposal,
02:13when you say Jordan and you say, you know, Altuve and Correa and Paredes and, you know, even Walker in
02:22his history, Yiner Diaz in his time, Jeremy Pena, who was a top 10 MVP finisher last year.
02:29You just start saying some of those names, and maybe we're too close to the situation, but 15 sounds off.
02:39I'll give the explanation here that they give in a second of why they have the Astros.
02:44But doesn't you get that feel?
02:45Doesn't 15 sound high to you, Tyler?
02:48Like when you start saying, I know.
02:51Yeah.
02:52No, no, no, no.
02:52For sure, it seems too high.
02:54I'm just trying to caution myself with any kind of over-optimism.
02:58Yeah, I'm not – God, what is wrong with you?
03:01What the hell happened to you to caution yourself to over-optimism?
03:05That goes out the window for you.
03:07No, no, they're entirely too low here.
03:09Absolutely.
03:10I don't know if – just when I heard it and I read it, I said, hmm, the A's in
03:15front of them?
03:16Like I just – when you start reading – and I'll give the explanation, but for me, maybe we're too
03:20close.
03:21But, Clint, it feels like that – the list of those names are better than middle of the past.
03:26I mean, unless there's an expectation that Joe Espada's not going to play – he's not going to put his
03:31best bats in the lineup, you know, night in, night out.
03:34I mean, maybe that's some kind of justification for it.
03:37But, yeah, it's hard for me to believe that there's 14 lineups better than the Astros when they're healthy and
03:43they're getting all their bats in the lineup.
03:45Yeah, that is – because you start going down the list.
03:48Pena's going to lead off.
03:50You've got to believe that Paredes, if he's healthy, is probably going to be two.
03:55You've got Jordan at three.
03:56You've got Altuve at four, right?
03:59I mean, your five, six, seven hitters are going to be Correa, Walker.
04:07I mean, you've got some – you've got – I mean, that's a pretty deep lineup.
04:10Yeah, when you said – this is where they – this is why they had them ranked where they were.
04:17They had, you know, started off with saying the straw that stirs the drink offensively for the Astros is Jordan
04:21Alvarez,
04:22who had an injury-plagued 20-25 season, but should be one of the game's best hitters and run producers
04:29if he can stay healthy.
04:30Obviously, that's a big – you've got one of the best hitters in the game.
04:33But they say the Astros do have some age and decline risk on the right side of the infield.
04:39At first base, Christian Walker.
04:42And at second base, Jose Altuve will be playing most of the season at age 35.
04:48Third baseman Carlos Correa is also an injury risk, but they have depth there with Isak Paredes.
04:54Shortstop Jeremy Pena currently recovering from a broken tip of his right ring finger.
04:58He has become their best overall player, hitting for average power, stealing bases, and playing well defensively.
05:05Catcher Yiner Diaz is coming off a 20-home run season, which is repeatable for him.
05:10Ultimately, how well would the Astros hit this season will come down to what they get from their outfield,
05:16which has a lot of potential with young players like Cam Smith, Zach Cole, and Joey Loprofito.
05:21Their farm system features some ready-to-contribute prospects as well with Bryce Matthews and Lucas Spence.
05:28Jake Myers just took him right on out of it, didn't they?
05:32I mean, they went Cam, Zach, and Joey and didn't even mention the guy that appeared to arrive last year.
05:40Clearly, they see the age as something.
05:43And I'm not saying that's crazy.
05:45That's why I did let it off with, like, maybe we're too close.
05:48I get that, but I don't know, man.
05:50Jose Altuve and maybe Christian Walker did some last year.
05:54But Jose Altuve and Correa, like, I don't feel like they're about to just drop off the map.
05:59You know what I mean?
06:00The other thing, Ron, that really sticks out to me is the line where they talk about,
06:04but they have depth with Isak Paredes.
06:06He's got to be more than that.
06:07He does provide a level of depth that is really, really strong, but he's got to be in this lineup.
06:15The conversation before you talk about Isak Paredes' depth,
06:18but the conversation has to be how deep this lineup is with a DH in play
06:23when you can play Yordan in left field and you can get Isak Paredes in the game
06:26and how much better your defense can be if it is Altuve that ends up being the DH, right?
06:33I mean, however you slice that, like, the conversation around the Astros, I hope anyway,
06:38I hope we're not looking at a situation where this is how the brass over there in, you know,
06:45at Dyken, that's where this information is coming from.
06:48The conversation absolutely has to start with, boy, how good can this lineup be
06:52if Isak Paredes is in it every day?
06:54Yeah.
06:55Yeah, it does feel different if he's not, right?
06:57If he's not.
06:58If he's just using a depth piece.
06:59Yeah.
07:00If he's.
07:00Your defense is worth.
07:02Your lineup isn't as, yeah.
07:04Next line coming in, definitely a top 10 lineup.
07:06Could make an argument for top five.
07:08One through six is going to be crazy.
07:10I wouldn't say top five, not with, I mean, your outfield is at least unproven.
07:15Right now, you're looking at Jake Myers, Joey Loperfito, and Cam Smith right now,
07:20potentially.
07:22That's going to probably hold you back when you look at what the Dodgers bring to the
07:25table, teams like the Braves, you know, other teams around Seattle.
07:29Well, if Jordan plays more than expected and then Jake can be more of what we saw through
07:34the injury-plagued 2025 season, then now you're on to something with your outfield, right?
07:39And Cam's coming.
07:39So, I mean, you're on to something there, but the key is how much does Jordan play and
07:44then who in the hell is Jake Myers?
07:46Yeah.
07:46And I just don't, for me, and maybe again, too close.
07:49I just don't get the feel of their aging players are like about to take a big drop.
07:56Yeah.
07:57Right.
07:57Like Jose was still one of the best offensive second baseman in the game last year.
08:02Right.
08:02So I don't, I don't, I don't know that he's going to drop like that.
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