ROUND ROCK, Texas — The Houston Astros organization is approaching perhaps one of the franchise's best five-year stretches of success.
86, 84,101, and 103: those are the number of regular season wins beginning in 2015.
Of course, 2017's World Series championship was the club's first World Series title. With tremendous success brings "ASTRO-nomical" expectations. Houston fell in the American League Championship Series to the eventual World Series champs, the Boston Red Sox.
"With everybody healthy, Vegas has us tied right now with the Red Sox for the odds on favorite to win," said Astros' President, Reid Ryan.
Ryan visited Round Rock with a few Astros: Chris Devenski, Josh James, and Kyle Tucker as part of the team's Winter Caravan stop at the club's Triple-A minor league affiliate's home, Dell Diamond.
There was a sense of disappointment from last season, but each of the young Astros who spoke along with Ryan delivered a sense of optimism with the current roster in place, including the depth of the pitching rotation.
"We have a lot of good internal guys that are going to battle in spring training, whether it's him (Josh James), Framber Valdez, Cionel Perez, Forrest Whitley," Ryan said.
Ryan mentioned that the front office continues to evaluate possible pieces to add to the spring training roster.
"Jeff's (Jeff Luhnow, Astros' General Manager) still looking at everything that's out there in the market, both free agent-wise and trade-wise," said Ryan.
The interview session included a sense of trust by Ryan as he allowed a few media members to view, hold, and try on his 2017 World Series ring.
The Astros begin spring training when the pitchers and catcher conduct their first workout at Palm Beaches in Florida on Valentine's Day.