WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When you have this many stars and this much talent, you can’t help but have visions of playing baseball deep into October. And considering it was only a year ago the Astros were talking about defending their World Series title, their window to win another one remains wide open.

Those crisp late October nights are a long way from the sun-splashed back fields of Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where Astros pitchers and catchers reported Wednesday morning with their gear and expectations in tow. Spring Training is underway for the Astros, a loaded club that followed up its 2017 World Series championship with a club-record 103 wins last year.

Astros pitchers and catchers will work out for the first time Thursday, with position players slated to report Monday. The first full-squad workout is Tuesday. The Astros open Grapefruit League play on Feb. 23 against the Nationals at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

“The bar is set incredibly high, and we need to have a good, productive spring,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said.

By Brian McTaggart MLB.com @brianmctaggart Feb. 13th, 2019

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