Steven Okert dominates the Mets lineup to solidify his claim for a spot on the OD roster
It was the most consequential game the Astros have played all Spring.
Not because it was played flawlessly in all aspects. It was encouraging to see newly-forged outfielders JOse Altuve and Cam Smith make great plays in the field. Or Luis Guillorme imitating Ozzie Smith at shortstop.
Another home run from THE rookie, Cam, was nice. And another two-hit game from Jeremy Pena….Will this be his breakout year?
But what makes this game consequential? The Astros have important holes to fill, and need some new faces to fill those holes. One of those holes is relief pitcher. This Spring a few arms have seemingly stepped up to fill those gaps. But can you trust the early returns of Spring competition? Today, some of those arms competing for slots on the OD roster had stand-out performances against a realistic, quality MLB lineup.
Let’s start with Steven Okert. Who?
A 33- year-old journeyman with 229.2 innings of major league ball, he has now completed 8.2 innings of Spring Training competition without allowing a hit while striking out 14. He started today against the real live Mets team that went to the NLCS and K’d four of the five batters he faced.
Pencil in Okert on the 26-man roster starting today.
Another player on the bubble is Rafael Montero. The $33 million, three-year contract he signed two years ago is one of the biggest busts in Astros history. But it looks like he’ll get a chance to redeem himself in year three of that contract. He added another scoreless inning to his Spring total and has a 3.00 Spring ERA. He may get one last chance at redemption if he keeps this up.
Then there’s Luis Contreras. This 28-year-old rookie pitched six innings with the Astros last year, but so far in the Spring has 7.2 innings of scoreless baseball, including one inning today. He was a little lucky. He started a second inning and allowed a double and a walk with no outs, but his relief extinguished the fire.
Which brings us to Logan Van Wey. This undrafted, non-roster invitee has thrown 11 innings this Spring, allowing only one run with 10 Ks. Today, he not only bailed out Contreras but had his own clean inning, striking out two in two innings pitched.
As the Mets kept a strong lineup in throughout the game, these pitchers were all facing legitimate batters.
The Astros’ “Nerd Cave” has a history of resurrecting pitchers. Is that trend accelerating in 2025?
Position players on the bubble made a strong statement as well. Zach Dezenzo had a two-RBI single and a walk. His Spring OPS is 1.005 for a player who can play infield and some outfield.
But then there’s THE rookie Cam Smith, who looked good in the outfield today and added an oppo taco homer to his Spring resume. It’s getting harder and harder to keep this kid down on the farm, but Zach Dezenzo might just end up being the excuse they need to give Smith the extra seasoning he needs in the minors.
Good day for the Astros. They beat the Mets 5-0