JUPITER, Fla. -- With the start of the regular season three weeks away, the Astros have cleared some of the major questions they had early in camp. Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve have completely recovered from their offseason surgeries, Carlos Correa is crushing the ball and Brad Peacock has emerged as the leading candidate for the fifth starter spot.

Things have gone rather smoothly for the Astros this spring, but I know you still have questions. Let's get to them:

Jake Marisnick, who struggled to make contact at the plate early last year, has made some significant adjustments this spring. He's changed his posture at the plate to not stand so upright and be more athletic, and that's helped him get some clearance on the inside part of the plate and stay off the high pitch. He's swinging at fewer balls up in the zone, which is a common area for teams to pitch him. His discipline and contact have been good, as well. As you know, Marisnick brings so much as an elite defender in the outfield he's an asset on the roster, especially if he can bring a little bit of offense and hit with the power he did a couple of years ago.

Right-hander Peacock and lefty Framber Valdez are the two remaining candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation, and I would give Peacock a leg up because he's pitched better this spring and has a recent history of being superb in that role. Josh James was in the mix, but a right quad strain early in camp meant he wouldn't be able to pitch the innings required to get built up. He'll be in the bullpen for sure, along with Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, Chris Devenski, Hector Rondon and Will Harris. The Astros are going to carry seven relievers, so the final spot will go to either Valdez, Cionel Perez or Reymin Guduan. Peacock is a lock for the bullpen if he doesn't make the rotation, but that's not the case for Valdez.

The Astros addressed their bullpen shortcomings last year by trading for Osuna from the Blue Jays and setup man Pressly, who might be one of the top five relievers in the American League. Their bullpen should be really good. Relief pitching isn't a need, especially at the price it would take for Craig Kimbrel.

I think all three of these teams are pretty equal and clearly the best three teams in the AL. I honestly think, assuming all three teams make the playoffs, that it's going to come down to health and which team gets the breaks. The Astros weren't healthy when they faced the Red Sox in last year's American League Championship Series -- Correa had a bad back, Altuve was playing on one leg and Lance McCullers Jr. was pitching through a torn ACL. Plus, the Red Sox got every break imaginable in that series. Remember Andrew Benintendi's diving catch with the bases loaded to close Game 4? And the Altuve homer that was ruled fan interference by Joe West in Game 3? Those are the kinds of things that went the Astros' way during their run to the World Series title in 2017.

Well, the Astros traded for Aledmys Diaz in November, and he can play third base, shortstop and second base, as well as some outfield. Also, the Astros signed Michael Brantley as their starting left fielder -- the position where Marwin Gonzalez made most of his starts last year. Astros manager AJ Hinch always said having Gonzalez was like having two players on the roster because of his versatility, and I guess you can say it took Diaz and Brantley to replace him.

Correa wasn't healthy last year, and it showed. He struggled to make consistent contact. When he's healthy, Correa is a force who is every bit capable of hitting in the No. 4 hole. He didn't look comfortable last year hitting anywhere because of his back. Correa is still an MVP-caliber player who could lead the Astros in overall run production as long as he stays healthy.

As I expected, I got several questions about Dallas Keuchel's future. I'm not completely ruling out his chances of coming back to the Astros, but I would say it remains unlikely. I'm sure Keuchel’s camp is getting more restless as the season approaches and that could open up some doors to a deal. If he's going to return to Houston, it's probably going to have be on a shorter-term deal. Whether Keuchel's up for that remains to be seen.

I think Forrest Whitley is pretty much a lock to get called up later in the season, but his path to the Majors will depend on many factors. If Whitley puts together a solid first half of the season or so at Triple-A Round Rock, he'll put himself on the radar to be called up. But there will have to be an opening for him in the big league rotation, which could come from injury or underperformance. The chances are high the Astros don't make it through the first half of the season with five starters as they did last year. Also, the Astros won't call him up before they know he's not eligible for Super Two, which means an extra year of arbitration and the team saving money. Whitley's time will come, but when and how remains to be seen.

No, the Rays aren't going to trade Charlie Morton, who they just signed to a two-year deal. Plus, the Astros aren't in such need of high-end, top-of-the-rotation starting pitching that they would trade away the kind of prospects needed to make that happen. They have one of the best 1-2 starting combos in baseball with Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, and Wade Miley and Collin McHugh are solid starting options.