Houston Astros add new talent to usual cast of stars with Pena, Mancini, more
By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer
Welcome to Season 6 of everyone's favorite — or least favorite, depending on who you ask — fall drama: "Astros In October."
Yes, for the sixth consecutive season, the Houston Astros are back in MLB's postseason. Their quest for a sixth straight ALCS appearance and fourth AL pennant begins this week against the red-hot Mariners in the ALDS.
While we've all grown plenty familiar with star cast members such as José Altuve, Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander over the past half-decade, you can always count on a handful of new characters worth getting to know each year.
The ability of the producers to consistently refresh the cast around its core members while maintaining the overall effectiveness is rivaled only by their top competition in this genre of postseason television, "Postseason Dodgers."
With the Astros' latest run at a championship beginning in earnest Tuesday, here are the players to know who haven't played starring roles for Houston in seasons past.
How the Astros were going to replace Carlos Correa at shortstop was one of the biggest storylines entering the season. And for the first couple months, Peña did a tremendous job making Correa a thing of the past with his excellent defense and surprising power production.
It seemed almost impossible that anyone could replace a player of Correa's caliber that seamlessly, yet Peña appeared to be doing it with ease, putting himself squarely in the AL Rookie of the Year of the conversation. He then hit something of a rookie wall from June to August, as the strikeouts piled up and his OBP plummeted, but Peña rebounded well down the stretch with a .790 OPS in September.
If his bat is indeed waking back up, there is legitimate star potential for Peña in his first postseason, as he is capable of delivering both jaw-dropping defensive highlights and game-changing hits on the game's biggest stage.
Since homering in his first start as an Astro, Mancini has struggled to find his groove at the plate as he adjusts to life after Baltimore.
The good news is this lineup is so good that Mancini's production isn't as critical to the team's success as it was with the Orioles. However, it's safe to say he hasn't made quite the impact the team envisioned when they acquired him — at least not yet.
For as much as Mancini has struggled, his offensive upside is still far greater than that of the other guys at the bottom of Houston's lineup, such as Yuli Gurriel, Jake Meyers or Mauricio Dubón.
If Mancini can turn it on when the lights are the brightest, he'll be yet another problem for opposing pitchers to deal with in this ultra-deep lineup.
Vázquez's strong first half at the plate made him one of the more appealing trade chips at this year's deadline. A catcher who knows what he's doing defensively and doesn't completely stink at hitting? That's a damn good player.
However, the bat hasn't translated much at all since Vázquez's arrival in Houston, with a .585 OPS as an Astro compared to the .759 mark he maintained with the Red Sox before the trade.
Vázquez is still a quality defender at the game's most demanding position, but this is clearly Martin Maldonado's job, regardless of his own offensive ineptitude, so Vázquez has settled into more of a backup role with Jason Castro out for the season following knee surgery.
Vázquez already has one signature postseason moment to his name with last year's walk-off dinger in the ALDS against Tampa Bay. Could he have another one in store for his new team?
It was honestly a bit strange to see the Phillies finally end their postseason drought without Neris, who made his MLB debut (against the Astros!) way back in 2014 in a game that featured Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard batting 2-3-4. Had Neris returned to Philadelphia this season, he'd have been their longest-tenured player.
Instead, he departed for Houston in free agency for what has turned out to be one of the more under-the-radar signings of the offseason. Fortunately, as his old buddies in Philly celebrate a Division Series appearance on the National League side of the bracket, Neris will get to make his long-awaited postseason debut this year with his new team.
It's not just that Neris has waited a long time to reach the playoffs — it's that he has pitched so much without getting there. No pitcher in baseball has appeared in more games than Neris' 442 since the start of the 2016 season.
Known for his dastardly splitter, Neris has eased off the reliance of his signature pitch a bit since joining Houston, throwing a higher percentage of fastballs than splitters for the first time in his career. He'll still go to the splitty for whiffs, but he has learned how to get outs with both his four-seamer and sinker as well.
Most importantly, he has become far less susceptible to the long ball, allowing just three homers all season, a quarter of the 12 dingers he surrendered a year ago. His 2.35 FIP ranked 17th-lowest among qualified relievers. Expect to see him utilized as one of the primary bridge guys to closer Ryan Pressly.
This is actually the fourth season in which Abreu has appeared in relief for the Astros, but this version of Abreu is practically an entirely new addition.
While his pure stuff has warranted inclusion on Houston's top prospect lists for years, it had yet to translate into big-league results. Abreu posted a 5.75 ERA as a rookie in 2021 and did not appear for the Astros at all during their run to another AL pennant.
This season, it all came together for the 25-year-old right-hander, as he excelled to the tune of a 1.94 ERA in 60.1 IP with a 35.5% strikeout rate that ranked eighth among qualified relievers in the regular season. It's one of the better fastball-slider combos you'll see from any bullpen arm left in the postseason, and Abreu throws a quality curveball 10% of the time for good measure.
The eighth and ninth innings usually belong to Neris, Ryne Stanek and Pressly, but Abreu is another excellent weapon for Dusty Baker to call on in a high-leverage spot.
Another reliever! For all that was made of the Kendall Graveman/Abraham Toro trade with the Mariners last year, Graveman ultimately left for the White Sox in free agency, while Houston retained Montero.
The right-hander has reaped the benefits in what has been by far the best year of his career. Although he never panned out as a starter the way many hoped during his days as a high-profile Mets minor-leaguer, Montero is now one of the rare relievers with a legitimately deep repertoire, regularly utilizing a four-seamer, sinker, changeup and slider in his outings.
He has stayed healthy and delivered for the Astros in a variety of situations all season; his 2.37 ERA ranks in the top 30 of qualified relievers, and he has appeared in more games (71) than all but four relievers in baseball.
With such a solid rotation in place, Houston has been able to slow-play Brown's transition to the majors as the organization's top pitching prospect. But even as the former fifth-round pick from Division II Wayne State University has acclimated to a bullpen role, he has continued to deliver the kind of results he brought as a dominant starter in the minors.
The Justin Verlander clone has a ridiculous arsenal headlined by a 97 mph fastball and wonderfully wicked curveball.
The big question here: If in a bind at some point, could the Astros run Brown back out as a starter? Or is he strictly in the bullpen for this run, and we'll see him fighting for a rotation spot next spring?
Either way, Brown is another electric arm Dusty Baker will be able to turn to this postseason.
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
