Houston organizational preview

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The future success of every Major League team lies in its Minor League system. With that in mind, each preseason, MLB.com takes a top-to-bottom look at all 30 organizations, from top prospects to recent draft picks.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/n...milb&fext=.jsp

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

For several years, the strength of the Houston Astros' system has been its pitching. During the offseason, though, the Astros used that depth to bring in big-league talent, sending Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz to Colorado for established starter Jason Jennings. That, of course, left a gaping hole in the system, shifting the organizational depth from pitching to ... pitching.

That's right, there are still plenty of arms down on the farm, starting with Troy Patton and filtering all the way down. Many of the young pitchers at the upper levels are competing for jobs in Houston this spring. Those who don't make the club will create a trickle-down effect of depth at Triple-A, a cadre of arms for Phil Garner and Co. to choose from. At any given level in 2007, you can see some starters and relievers who have futures in the organization -- at least as trade bait.

The news on the position player front isn't quite as promising. They will get a very promising position player in Hunter Pence in Houston very soon, perhaps the best homegrown bat they've had in a long time. Beyond Pence, though, the bats are still a bit away. If the Astros have a strength, it would be behind the plate, with a couple of interesting bats who catch. At the very least, it gives the Astros some interesting options to catch all of those pitching prospects.

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