Are the Astros legit?
From 2011-13, the Houston Astros lost 324 total games, or 108 per season. The first two years of that stretch were in the National League, and in their first season in the American League, the Astros went a putrid 51-111 in 2013. Houston was bad again last year, but that win total jumped up by 19 as they finished 70-92.
Heading into this season, the general consensus was that the Astros would finish with a similar record, with perhaps some marginal improvement. So far, Houston is destroying those expectations.
32 games into the season, the Astros are on pace to win over 100 games with a record of 20-12. That’s good for first in the AL West by a whopping five games over the Los Angeles Angels. Just how the heck has this team that has been rebuilding for years gotten off to this good start?
The pitching has been strong, as the Astros are eighth in the league in ERA and third in BAA. Dallas Keuchel has been lights out, rocking a 4-0 record with a 1.39 ERA in seven starts. He has six quality starts out of seven starts total, and he has given up just 29 hits in 51.2 innings. Collin McHugh and Roberto Hernandez have both started six games and have an ERA under 4.
The hitting is really interesting to look at. Houston has a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the order with Jake Marisnick and Jose Altuve. Altuve is one of the best hitters in baseball, and he’s currently hitting .338 with four home runs and 21 RBI.
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But the Astros as a team have struggled in terms of average and OBP. Houston is only hitting .228, which is 27th in the majors. The .304 OBP is 24th in the majors.
Where the Astros have made up for these issues thus far are in the power and speed department. Houston has banged out 45 home runs on the season, which is good for second in the majors behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. Seven players have at least four home runs, with Luis Valbuena leading the way with seven dingers.
Meanwhile, the Astros are also second in stolen bases with 36, right behind the Cincinnati Reds. Altuve leads the way with 11, while George Springer has 10 and Marisnick has nine.
Who knows if Houston can keep up like this, and one has to imagine there will be some serious regression soon. But for now, this is a fun early story in this baseball season. And if you’re interested in possibly laying down some cash on the Astros, they currently have 18/1 odds to win the World Series and 10/1 to win the American League, per Bovada.
