Houston Astros Season Keeps Getting Worse
The Houston Astros lost again Thursday afternoon to the Chicago Cubs by a 3-1 score. It's an unremarkable score for a getaway day game.
But the otherwise unremarkable loss dropped the defending American League West champs to 7-19. That's not a misprint, the Houston Astros have won just 27 percent of their games with just a few days remaining in April. What's happening in Houston?
The Astros aren't quite the Chicago White Sox, who lost again on Thursday to drop to an unimaginable 3-22. But at 7-19, they're three games behind the Oakland A's in the division. The A's. Who are spending $61 million on the entire team this year and have no players with guaranteed contracts for 2025.
They're tied with the Colorado Rockies for the second-worst record in baseball. This is a team that's won six of the past seven AL West titles, and reached at least the ALCS in seven consecutive seasons. How did this happen?
Washington D.C. - Houston Astros third base Alex Bregman stands on the dugout steps prior to batting against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on April 19. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Astros Have Plenty Of Problems, Not Many Solutions
The top of the Astros lineup has been exceptional: Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker have both performed at an MVP level through the first month of the season. But behind those two stars, some of Houston's other top players haven't been at their typical level.
Yordan Alvarez has been well above average as a hitter, but far below his career level. Alex Bregman though, has seen all of his power disappear; despite a career .482 slugging percentage, this season Bregman's sits at just .262. That's pitcher-hitting level.
The vaunted Astros pitching staff has also been extremely disappointing. Year after year, Houston has found a way to maximize the performance of unheralded starting pitchers, supplementing young starters with established veterans. They've extended that formula to the bullpen, putting together dominant reliever groups that helped them make deep playoff run after deep playoff run.
Heading into 2024, expectations were that, once again, Houston would have one of the best pitching staffs in the sport. Not exactly.
The Astros rank 27th in pitching so far, per Fangraphs, with the third worst teamwide ERA in the sport. Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu, expected to anchor the back end of the bullpen, have both had exceptionally bad starts; though with a bit of bad luck contributing to Hader's 8.38 ERA.
Framber Valdez is set to return this weekend, which should help stabilize the starting rotation. But teams that start this poorly rarely make the playoffs. Just two teams that have ever started as poorly as 7-16 have made the postseason. And Houston is now 7-19.
The Astros have dug themselves a massive hole, and have to hope that positive regression from key contributors starts soon. Or we'll all find out what it'll be like for the Astros to not win the division.