Carlos

Correa

Correa’s three balls in play tonight came in at 107, 102 and 104 mph, giving his 38 percent hard-hit rate a boost. The homer off Ryan Weathers was his second of the year. He’s back in a considerably better run and RBI situation in Houston than he was in Minnesota, but as only a modest source of homers and a zero in steals, his fantasy ceiling remains rather low.

The Astros announced that Allen is available to play, so it appears that Houston just wants to add some more offense into the lineup for Saturday’s game. Carlos Correa will move to shortstop, and Shay Whitcomb will handle third base and hit ninth in Allen’s absence.

It’s a positive sign to see Paredes in the lineup at all following an early exit from Friday’s game against the Cardinals due to a leg issue. The 27-year-old third baseman will likely be limited to DH for the remainder of the weekend with Carlos Correa at third base and Nick Allen at shortstop.

Correa was back at third base and hitting sixth on Friday evening in Seattle following a two-game absence due to illness. The 31-year-old infielder is batting .261 (12-for-46) with one homer, nine RBI and one steal through 12 games.

It sounded like it was just a day off when he sat Tuesday, but the Astros had to come clean upon holding him out for a second straight game. Correa’s absence keeps Yordan Alvarez in the DH spot, opening up left field for Joey Loperfido.

Correa mustered just 13 homers last season and hasn’t finished with 20 since 2022, but he hit a big one today to break a 2-2 tie in the fifth. He’s off to an 8-for-27 start while splitting time between short and third with Jeremy Peña limited.

Peña takes a seat for the third time in five games to open the regular season as Houston continues to closely manage his ramp-up after missing the final few weeks of spring training with a fractured finger. It’s a tough situation for fantasy managers but the positive is that he’s healthy and able to contribute at all. It’ll be Carlos Correa back at shortstop and Isaac Paredes at the hot corner for Monday’s series opener at Daikin Park.

Peña went 2-for-5 with a stolen base on Friday during his season debut after sitting out Thursday’s opener. Fantasy managers should anticipate the Astros continuing to closely manage his workload after missing a couple weeks earlier this month recovering from a fractured finger. It’ll be Carlos Correa handling shortstop with Isaac Paredes at the hot corner to face Angels lefty Reid Detmers on Saturday night.

Espada told reporters that Peña took swings on Friday and will do so again this weekend. The 28-year-old shortstop hasn’t officially been ruled out for next week’s season opener. It would be Carlos Correa taking over at shortstop if he requires a brief trip to the injured list. He’ll need to progress to taking on-field batting practice before he’s cleared to return to game action. There should be a clearer picture concerning his availability in the coming days. This decision might come down to the wire.

Correa tagged Jake Irvin for a solo shot in the third inning, ambushing a first-pitch slider for a 392-foot (105.3 mph EV) solo shot that increased the Astros’ advantage to 2-0. Correa started at shortstop once again in this one and that’s where he’ll play primarily to start the season while Jeremy Peña (finger) is sidelined.