Porter confident in Astros' core of young players

ST. PETERSBURG -- Astros manager Bo Porter believes that his team can answer several questions about the future of the organization during the second half of the season. The Astros (33-60), will enter the All-Star break with the worst record in baseball regardless of the outcome of Sunday's game against the Rays.

Despite the numbers, Porter is optimistic that his young players will continue to develop and improve in the second half.

"We definitely want to capitalize and turn our goofed performances into wins," Porter said. "But more importantly, we want to continue to monitor the development of these players.

Porter can draw a handful of positives out of the first half of the season, and he's seeing a core of young players beginning to take shape. Jose Altuve's four-year extension shows that the organization is committed to the club's long-term success.

"I've said this for the entire time I've been here -- the most important aspect of any organization is to properly evaluate your players," Porter said. "You don't want to go into the offseason with the number of questions we had last year.

"We have answered a lot of questions [this season], because we've allowed guys the opportunity to go out and show us exactly what they are able to do at the Major League level."