I am doing a series where I offer up three fantasy baseball questions for every MLB team. I look at under-the-radar stats, playing time projections, projected roles, and off-season news to try and highlight the issues facing you in your 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We’ll do this thing in divisional order, and this time around I’ll consider three questions for the 2025 Houston Astros.
3 Fantasy Baseball Questions for the 2025 Houston Astros
When Will We See Cam Smith?
Trading a superstar is never easy. A lot went into the Astros’ decision to trade Kyle Tucker this offseason, but acquiring Cam Smith certainly helped ease some of that sting. And then watching Smith so far this spring is only serving to help along the healing process that much more.
Smith has been the Astros’ best hitter in Spring Training while moving between third base and the outfield. Regardless of Houston’s plans regarding Smith, he’s certainly forcing their hand and moving up draft boards. The question is no longer if we will see Smith in the big leagues in 2025, but when?
Drafted in the first round after a prolific career at Florida State, Smith hit 313 in 32 games last year. He began the year in college and then ended at Double-A finishing with seven home runs and 20 RBI. He has continued that success this spring, hitting .407 in his first 32 plate appearances with three home runs and nine RBI.
The Astros are in need of offense, and Smith is providing some defensive versatility as well. Moving Jose Altuve to the outfield should also help Smith find some playing time. He could be one of the more productive fantasy rookies this season.
Should Lance McCullers be on Our Radar?
After Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, there are some potential questions in Houston’s rotation. While they do have some strong options in Spencer Arrighetti (more on him later), you can never have enough pitching.
Lance McCullers was once a key member of Houston’s rotation and long-term plans, but injuries then took hold. We haven’t seen the right-hander at the major league level since 2022, but we shouldn’t write him off just yet. When healthy, McCullers was a strong option. After all, he has a 3.48 career ERA with 800 strikeouts over 718.2 innings.
Earlier this week, McCullers made his return and threw a perfect inning against Washington needing 13 pitches. It’s going to be a lengthy process for McCullers to work his way up to being a viable option for the rotation, but we can’t ignore his potential or talent.
Will Spencer Arrighetti be a Trusted Member of the Rotation?
After the Astros saw Hunter Brown emerge last year, could Spencer Arrighetti be next? In reality though, you could argue it’s already in flight after the right-hander had a strong second half of the season.
It almost wasn’t fair for Arrighetti as he was thrust into Houston’s rotation almost by default. He struggled with both results and control and finished the first half of the season with a 5.63 ERA. In the second half of the season though, things looked quite different as Arrighetti improved to a 3.18 ERA over 65 innings.
On the season, Arrighetti struck out 10.61 batters per nine innings which gives up instant upside. Overall, his ERA was 4.53, but luck wasn’t always in his favor as evidenced by a 4.05 xERA. Before we go any further, Arrighetti does need to address 4.03 walks per nine innings, but he certainly showed some potential.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
