*Scott Feldman will arrive to Spring Training at 100%.
I don't think I realized how bad I felt [last year] before I hurt my arm. Playing catch and throwing, I feel better than I have in years
Luhnow:
The last thing we want is to get to the end of May and have an injury or two and realize we didn't prepare ourselves. I think we're prepared in the rotation.
*SI's Jay Jaffe gave the Astros' offseason a C+:
The Astros certainly upgraded their closer, but they did so at a cost of considerable rotation depth both in 2016 and beyond...the team does have an enviable base of young talent, but it still feels as though a contender ought to do more instead of resting on last year's laurels.
*Francis Martes, one of the Astros' top pitching prospects, is even more motivated this season thanks to the Astros' willingness to promote young guys. Between Quad Cities, Lancaster, and Corpus, Martes struck out 98 batters in 101.2IP.
Minor-league pitching coordinator Doug White has Martes working on a cutter with former Astros minor-leaguer and current GCL pitching coach Erick Abreu.
*MLB.com's Jim Callis predicts that Alex Bregman will stay at SS and could be the Astros' 3B as early as 2017. Colin Moran: you're on notice.
*Pitchers and catchers don't report until February 18. But here's pitching prospect Joe Musgrove...17 days early.
*Owners started talking about the league-wide ramifications of the Astros model of
*Former Astro Mike Foltynewicz has lost 20 pounds since undergoing surgery to remove part of a rib to get to the life-threatening blood clots in his shoulder.
*So the Astros officially won't be trading Lance McCullers to the Yankees for Greg Bird.
*More than 100,000 people are stranded at a Chinese train station
