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TCB's Astros Fan Favorite March Madness Tournament is underway. From now until the end of Spring Training 64 players will spend the next several weeks facing off in a head to head public vote to determine who advances to the next round and who will eventually be crowned the communities favorite Astros player. For more details click here for the introductory post.
The rules are simple determine which player you want to advance to the next by voting for that player. Any excellent arguments made for an advancing player in the comments below may be used in the players description for the next round. Vote subjectively, objectively or by using your trusty magic eight ball. Votes will last exactly 24 hours.
In this match-up
3 - Jose Altuve
Altuve blazed away at the plate in April and in September, but those two months bookened a lot of mediocrity during the rest of the season, including a rock-bottom month of August where the keystone man compiled a pathetic .490 OPS. Altuve dealt with some injuries at times last year, as well as a death in the family, so there could be some improvement on the horizon. He'll never be a walk machine, but he continued to make excellent contact and his defensive metrics were noticably better. If the improvements keep up, Altuve could become a rock-solid 2.5 - 3.0 WAR player. -Ashitaka
vs
14 - Collin McHugh
If we're looking for a true sleeper for the Astros pitching staff this Spring, it has got to be Collin McHugh. His results at the major league level are less than ideal, however, he's had tremendous success at the minor league level and given an opportunity he could replicate that success for Houston. He's not going to blow anyone away, but he struck out nearly a batter an innings, walked less than three batters per nine innings and produced an average groundball rate. He also blogs, which gives him extra blogger points (and maybe a few extra votes). If you're looking for a true darkhorse this Spring that could solidfy the Astros pitching staff next season, McHugh is your guy.
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