Breaking Down Potential Opening Day Lineup for Houston Astros in 2026

The Astros starting lineup in March could look quite familiar from 2025.

Sep 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (3) reacts after a play during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It might seem too early to start looking at potential starting lineups for when opening day rolls around, but ultimately, it is crucial to see where a ball club stands throughout the offseason. The Houston Astros have done nothing but bolster their pitching staff, so the position players look eerily similar to 2025.

One MLB insider, Joel Reuter (via Bleacher Report) has released his predictions for all 30 teams on what their starting lineup could look like, at least as of right now.

Projected Lineup per Reuter

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• SS Jeremy Peña
• LF Yordan Alvarez
• 2B Jose Altuve
• 3B Carlos Correa
• DH Isaac Paredes
• 1B Christian Walker
• C Yainer Díaz
• RF Cam Smith
• CF Jake Meyers

"Expect Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes to all play multiple positions on a semi-regular basis, rotating between second base (Altuve and Paredes), left field (Altuve and Alvarez) and designated hitter (Alvarez and Paredes) to account for the return of Carlos Correa as the everyday third baseman," said Reuter.

The Astros have only made significant moves to the starting rotation, including Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows to complement their Cy Young Award finalist, Hunter Brown. It seems likely Brown will be the arm that starts their season off and these athletes will be the guys behind him.

Something To Watch Out for in the Outfield

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It is important to note that the outfield is anything but solidified, as there are four players who will be headed to spring training that will all be battling to be named a starter: Jake Meyers, Jesús Sánchez, Cam Smith, and Zach Cole.

As of right now, Smith and Meyers are the front-runners, but that does nothing to guarantee them a heavy workload when 2026 rolls around.

Meyers definitely feels more of a shoo-in than Smith does after his breakout year in 2025, where he batted .292, but the Astros need production, and 24 RBI with three home runs in over 100 games of action isn't going to be enough at the plate.

Good morning to Jake Meyers…

You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want Jake on that wall-you need Jake on that wall.

pic.twitter.com/XM7EbCIQfI

— RobnCypress (@robncypress) January 2, 2026

Ultimately, it will be interesting to see what the Astros decide to do in the outfield once spring training comes to a close as their infield looks about as solid as they can get barring any injuries. The offseason isn't quite over so there still could be some late additions to shake things up but as of right now this is what it is looking like for Houston.

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