Brian McTaggart posted his latest inbox at Astros.com Saturday. Included in the series of questions he answered were Drew Locke, Koby Clemens (both of whom are already in Kissimmee) and Chia-jen Lo.

We interrupt this unofficial break to inform you that, according to Hardball Talk (via the Examiner), Feb 18 is the date for Tal Smith to get his argue on in the Case Against Hunter Pence.

The Oklahoma RedHawks have announced that J.P. Shadrick will be their new radio play-by-play announcer for the 2011 season. Shadrick, who most recently called games for the Jacksonville Suns will also handle media relations for the Astros new AAA affiliate.

Brian McTaggart made this post on his blog about the players the Astros have stockpiled in the past seven to eight months via trade and the Rule 5 Draft.

Richard Justice has a really good post about Hunter Pence’s development, and whether he will ever be an elite player:
He’ll turn 28 shortly after Opening Day, and there’s not a single number that indicates he’s even close to being a special player. Solid player? Yes. Contributor to a winning team? Absolutely. Star? No.
Well done, Justice, well done.

There are going to be people who go to every single Astros game, no matter what. There are others who will buy the mini-packages, and the packages that include games against the Rangers, inter-league series, and other higher-profile games.
Lower-level dugout box seats at Minute Maid Park are $53. The most expensive ticket is in the 2nd-level Club I section, at $55. The average ticket price (not including Dynamic Pricing) …

The Astros agreed to one-year deals with four players yesterday:
Jimmy Paredes: $414,000Brian Bogusevic: $416,500Enerio Del Rosario: $417,000Wilton Lopez: $442,000

A few days ago, I ran across a job posting on the Astros website that made me wish I was bilingual in Spanish instead of Japanese. The club is currently looking for a COORDINATOR, PLAYER ACCULTURATION AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. The coordinator oversees the program that assists all the players in the system as they adapt to living in the USA. The program includes ESL and culture training …

The Caller-Times’ Joel Roza (a buddy of Astros County) has a new article up on Jordan Lyles, and it’s well-worth your time, given Roza’s proximity to Lyles through much of 2010.
Your money quote:Lyles typically reached the 80 pitch mark by late in the 4th or early in the 5th inning, depending on how many hits he’d given up. While these concerns are all fixable (much like Castro’s throwing to second …

Voting for Farmstros pre-season Pitcher of the Year will begin the morning of Wednesday, February 2. To encourage educated voting, I will post a link on Tuesday to the ten candidates and a summary of their 2010 season accomplishments. Polls will be open through February 8. Voting for the Pre-season player of the year will begin on February 9.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram has an article about how, surprise! people who came to the Rangers Caravan dates are…wait for it, Rangers fans!
One Palmeiro jersey-sporting fan in Selma:“I’ve been a huge Rangers fan, but the Rangers never came down here. I told those guys they’ve got to start coming down here more often. The Houston Astros have always controlled this area, but there are lots of Rangers fans down …

Many thanks to April Sandefer with the Oklahoma University Medical Center. She forwarded me this picture of Jordan Lyles doing some art at the Children’s Hospital on his recent visit to OKC, as part of the Astros’ caravan.

Continuing Keith Law Day, he posted his (Insider-Only, natch) Astros top ten prospects:
1. Jordan Lyles, RHP 2. Delino DeShields, Jr., CF3. Ariel Ovando, OF4. Austin Wates, OF5. Tanner Bushue, RHP6. Jiovanni Mier, SS7. Telvin Nash, LF8. Jonathan Villar, SS9. Vincent Velasquez, RHP10. J.D. Martinez, RHP
Interesting…

Keith Law’s been a busybody. And he has a new article up (Insider-Only, of course) identifying a sleeper prospect from each organization who could end up on the 2012 Top 100. The Astros’ prospect is Ariel Ovando:
Outfielder Ariel Ovando has — to use the technical term — some “big whack” at the plate, a loose frame with room to add and already some feel for hitting.

Profile season is underway, and McTaggart caught up with Jason Castro, as he prepares for the 2011 season with his name penciled in as C1 (until J.R. Towles does his yearly Babe Ruth impression until March 31):
“I’ve put a lot of work in and ironed out some things mechanically. I’m in a place right now that I feel really comfortable. That’s the best part is feeling comfortable up there, and …

Sure, it’s an exhibition game that means absolutely nothing. But the people who show up, and I would bet that an exhibition game against the Red Sox in March will be better attended than a regular season game in September, would be spending real money. So when MLB decided to schedule regular season games throughout March 31, the Astros and Red Sox were forced to cancel the March 31 exhibition …

Brian McTaggart has your payroll estimate for 2011. Carlos Lee will account for 23.75% of the Astros payroll. /tears up

McTaggart tells us that the Astros have agreed to terms with Chris Johnson and – yes – J.R. Towles $424,000.

Over at Big League Stew, Alex Remington was asked “How many games will the 2011 Astros win?”
Quoting Dan Szymborski:Of the players predicted to make up the Astros’ 25-man roster, Szymborski only sees four players likely to achieve production above league average: hitters Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee, and starting pitchers Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers.
So this isn’t going very well.
The Astros don’t have a single player as good as Pirate …

Alyson Footer has the breakdown of Wandy’s contract:
Signing bonus: $1.5m2011: $7m2012: $10m2013: $13m2014: $13m (vesting or club option)