From identifying Houston's best players to the team's biggest surprises, we address the biggest issues on the roster.

But, for every negative surprise the team has had ... an OPS+ under the league average of 100. The Astros were taking a huge risk coming into the season with their defensive alignment.

Signed to a minor-league deal last winter, Steven Okert has a 1.90 ERA with Astros and has improved his whiff rate to 36%.

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros face the Seattle Mariners, leading the series 2-1. Houston has a 27-25 record overall and a 17-10 record at home. The Astros have the eighth-best team ERA in the majors ...

Early season swoons for the Houston Astros have become an annual fixture ... Report highlighted this unit as the biggest negative surprise of the year thus far in the American League West.

Christian Walker and Jeremy Peña had two hits apiece and the Houston Astros scored two runs in the first on errors by Seattle ...

Later in the day, the Astros posted video of Smith learning he was headed to the big leagues, as Houston manager Joe Espada had Smith's family make a surprise ... get their season started against ...

The Astros will host the New York Mets in their season opener at Daikin Park on Thursday. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events ...