TCB Astros March Madness 2014: Jason Castro vs Jose Altuve

The sweet sixteen of the TCB 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 check out the tournament introductory post.

The rules are simple, determine which player you want to advance to the next round and then vote. Vote subjectively, objectively, using your trusty magic eight ball or any other set of criteria. It's totally up to you how you want to vote! Votes for this round will last exactly 24 hours.

In this match-up

2 - Jason Castro

While not the "face" of the franchise, Castro is certainly the most productive player on the roster, until someone else proves otherwise. After setting the Astros' all-time record for single season homers by a catcher, the oft-injured backstop will look to continue improving on both sides of the ball while staying off the DL. A contract extension may be in the works, and perhaps even a trade. He will once again be one of the biggest names to follow on the team, regardless of which high-end prospects are promoted. -Ashitaka

vs

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