20th Best Team in FCM History: Blasphemously Good

The Team: Houston Astros

The Year:  2028

W/L Record:  112-50

Run Differential:  883 RS vs. 618  RA  +265 Runs

Awards:  NL Strikeout Leader: Brian Colley, OF Gold Glove - Matt Bryant

All Stars:  SS Peter Conwell, RF Elvis Velorde, CF Matt Bryant, 3B Ramon Nufio, SP Brian Colley

League Leading Stat Categories:  56 Away Wins

                  Lineup/Bench                                                           Rotation/Bullpen

               SS Peter Conwell                                                           Brian Colley
               RF Elvis Velorde                                                           Kurt Woodcock
               LF Frank Prywes                                                           Chris McDaniel
               3B Ramon Nufio                                                           Eric MacBeath
               1B Clinton King                                                            Norberto Pladera
               CF Matt Bryant                                                             CL James Threadgold
               C Marc Ramming                                                         SU Zach Tapani
               2B Carlo Elizarraraz                                                      SR Kevin Higson
                                                                                                     SR Alex Pincay
                                                                                                     MR Derrick Heins
                                                                                                     LR Clay Manning
              C Joaquin Vidal
              OF Owen Bingley
              1B Max Gleason
              OF Kevin Mullins
              IF Alex Entzana  
              IF Sam Varela                   

The Key Players:  The success of the 2028 Astros was achieved through a balance of hitting and pitching.  The key players in the lineup were lead by the eventual HOFer Peter Conwell.  In my opinion Peter Conwell was the best SS in FCM history - his do-it-all approach made him invaluable to the Houston Astros for over a decade.  It's also of little surprise to me that as he faded in his abilities, the team faded with him.  Conwell was an elite defender, with elite speed, and a strong combination of power and contact.  In short, Peter Conwell had no weaknesses.  In 2028 he hit .272 with 24 HR, 75 SB, 145 Runs scored (Third best in FCM player history, behind his own record of 163 just two years prior) 84 RBI, a .341 OBP, and an .800 OPS.  In almost 1400 innings he made only 12 errors at short.  The guy was a flat-out stud.

He wasn't alone in the Houston lineup.  They sported three players with over 30 HR - Ramon Nufio, Clinton King, and Matthew Bryant.  Before that group of sluggers came up, the Astros had two excellent on base guys in front of them - future HOFer Frank Prywes and Elvis Velorde.  Velorde had a .413 OPS supported largely by his robust .357 average in 2028.  He also added 25 HR, 82 runs, and 81 RBI.  Pretty much an ideal #2 hitter.  Prywes actually had the second worst season of his 12 seasons to that point but still had an OPS of .809 and hit .288, with 20 HR, 79 runs, and 95 RBI.  

The boppers had an excellent year, Ramon Nufio was the All-star starter at 3B with a .282 Avg., 38 HR, 102 runs, 111 RBI, and a .401 OBP.  In his second full season the switch hitting Matthew Bryant put up a .296 Avg, 37 HR, 114 runs, and 105 RBI with a .374 OBP.  King had 31 bombs but was the least impressive of the bunch, but still a solid contributor.  Rounding out the lineup was rookie Marc Ramming - a catcher with huge on base skills and an excellent defender.  He hit .316 as a rookie with a .388 OBP.  Carlo Elizzarrarz rounded it the lineup with a .293 Avg, 14 HR, 5 SB, 81 Runs, and 71 RBI while playing a great 2B.

Leading the rotation will be a familiar name - the oft-traveled Brian Colley was fronting the 2028 Houston rotation and he had a HOF worthy season.  He pitched 217 innings and had 233 Ks with a 2.70 ERA and 14-5 record.  He was an all-star that year and a contender for the Cy Young.  Supporting him (and the inspiration for this title) was the often XAT bleeped righty Kurt Woodcock.  Ol' Woody pitched 203 innings with 123 Ks, a 15-5 record, and a 3.06 ERA.  The rest of the rotation as filled out by some less impressive talents - Chris McDaniel had a 2.60 ERA in 152 innings, but Eric MacBeath (4.31 ERA 14-6) and Norberto Pladera (4.64 8-7) were not as helpful.

In the bullpen, speaking of familiar names, was lead by closer James Threadgold.  Threadgold had 49 saves and a 2.63 ERA and pitched 78 innings with 103 strikeouts.  Along with Threadgold was Zach Tapani, a reliever who chipped in a 3.93 ERA in 75 innings with 82 strikeouts and an 8-4 record.  The rest of the bullpen was problematic, with two guys (Pincay and Heins) with ERAs over 5 and another with an ERA over 4.  (Though Higson went 9-4 with that 4.05 ERA)

What Sets Them Apart:  This wasn't even the best team of 2028 (more to come from that team later in our list), but they were still damn good.  The 2028 NL Central may have had one of the strongest divisional talent levels in FCM history.  The Cubs were a near 100 win team with a lot of talent, Pittsburgh as on the rise, and the One Man Band was still leading a tough Cincy squad.  Despite all that the Houston Astros won their division by 14 games and had the best record in the National League. They ultimately were beaten in the NLCS in Game 7 by a score of 4-2.  The series had four of the seven games decided by two or less runs and three of those games went to Chicago.  They had an amazing year and proved how capable they were against a brutal division.

Interview with the Owner: None

Coming Next:  19th Best Team in FCM History: How Many Polacks Does it Take to Win a Title?