4. Houston Astros
One common water-cooler conversation is the age-old debate as to whether or not the best college team in a given sport could win a single game against the worst professional team. While the two are relatively difficult to compare, what happens if the teams in question both stem from the same organization? Considering a Minor League club directly feeds its Major League counterpart, it is conceivable that the better talent — at least, the next crop of talent — exists in the compilation of each level of the Minor League system.
This was arguably the case of the 2014 Houston Astros, and little appears to have changed. At least, for the early stages of the upcoming season.
Outfielder George Springer made his Major League debut a few short weeks into the ’14 campaign, and remained a mainstay in the middle of the lineup until his season was cut short by injury. Even without Springer for half of the team’s games, Houston found its own homegrown bright spot when second baseman Jose Altuve exploded for a league-leading 225 hits to win the American League batting title.
To think, Houston’s best player might not even contribute on the Major League roster this year, as the farm system — anchored by shortstop prospect Carlos Correa — remains as deep as ever.
The Astros may enter 2015 with a similar mindset as last year, but if the team remains competitive – given the expected growth of the aforementioned Springer and Altuve, it is not without basis – they have the cavalry waiting at a moment’s notice. If the time comes when Correa and company are needed to help make a late season playoff push, the Astros would instantly become must-watch baseball.
