Right now I would rank Houston somewhere between 8th and 11th in the league. I think the Yankees, Dodgers, Twins, Jays, Padres, and Braves clearly have better rosters than the Astros, and the Astros are in the 2nd tier with the White Sox, Rays, and Mets. Houston’s lineup has 2 weak hitters (Maldonado and Straw) but is overall as talented as any in the league. But for now Houston has serious question marks in their pitching staff. Until we start seeing some of their non-Greinke starters go 5-6 innings consistently it’s hard to say their rotation is on par with the top teams in the league. But the upside is there. Valdez and Odorizzi could come back and raise their profile very quickly. Same for when Baez gets added to the bullpen.
Why do people care about sports at all? Why do we talk about it on message boards? NONE of this **** means anything. We do it for entertainment.
The Astros were 4th in starter innings last year as only 8 teams averaged over 5 innings a start. Once Astros get Odorizzi and Valdez in rotation, starter innings shouldn't be a problem relative to the rest of the league. I expect Astros, health willing, to be an above average starting rotation, but without that top end talent to make them elite on a per inning basis. Though, my concern is how the pen is used. The Astros pen needs an extra long guy. Not sure when Pruitt will be available or if Astros will try to stretch out Abreu while relieving.
3. Houston Astros (4-1) Previous Rank: 13 (+10 spots) This was as high as the Astros could climb under the 10-spot rule, but they were as impressive as any team in baseball during the opening weekend with a dominant four-game sweep of the Athletics. Zack Greinke tossed six scoreless innings on Opening Day, and the rest of the staff did more than enough in support of an offense that piled up 35 runs. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...here-all-30-teams-stand-after-opening-weekend
Astros #2 The Astros swept the reigning AL West champs in a four-game series to open the season. Over 10 games in 2020, the Astros scored just 25 runs against Oakland. In 2021, Houston scored 35 runs against Oakland in just four games. https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/mlb-power-rankings-2021-standings-american-national-league
The Athletic for April 26 7. Houston Astros Record as of Monday morning: 10-11 Last Power Ranking: 10 This Astros season has been a rollercoaster. The only predictable thing about it so far is that they will receive a chorus of boos in literally every ballpark but their own. Because they’re the Astros, we all know somehow they’ll be in the ALCS in six months. Sorry, those are the rules. But in the meantime, there are some matters that need sorting, like who can hit in the leadoff spot now that their former leadoff guy is, maybe, finally going to debut for the Blue Jays? Manager Dusty Baker first tried Jose Altuve, but when he went on the COVID-19-IL, Myles Straw got the job, which was weird since he’s the team’s eighth- or ninth-best hitter. Now it’s Carlos Correa’s job until Altuve returns, which could be this week. But, the offence hasn’t really been the issue for the Astros. Jake Kaplan tells us the more concerning trend is their pitching. They’re not getting as much swing-and-miss as they used to and they’re relying on the bullpen too heavily. This is why it would be mighty helpful if Joe Smith could get back to being a reliable leverage reliever.
Paredes/Abreu/Stanek/Pressly (if all healthy and Abreu just slightly more consistent) has a far bigger upside than anything the 2019 Astros had. Joe Smith may thankfully not need to be as relied upon... as he was somehow needed to be a high leverage arm in those playoffs.
Joe Smith has the biggest dropoff in production for all players that opted out of the 2020 season... maybe pitching his way into shape still...
I heard the broadcast say that the Astros noticed that his delivery was slightly different from 2019. They said they were working on that and hoping he would get back to his old form.
May 3 Update for the Athletic: 4. Houston Astros Record: 15-13 Last Power Ranking: 7 The Astros are a perfect example of what I was talking about in the intro. They’re the only team in the AL West with a positive run differential (+32; second-best in baseball), and yet they trail the A’s (-6) and Mariners (-2) in the standings. Their contact rate is great (no surprise), but the bullpen could maybe use an arm or two, with Pedro Báez on the 60-day IL. That might come from one of the many veteran free agents still available on the market (how about a righty and a lefty all rolled into one?) or maybe they’ll ride it out until closer to the trade deadline and see if internal candidates fill the role. Either way, they’re not going to just sit back and not address it — not with the division being as winnable as it appears. ESPN for April 29: 12. Houston Astros Record: 13-11 Previous ranking: 15 The Astros seem to have weathered a downturn exacerbated by roster issues stemming from health and safety protocols. The pitching has carried the weight, with Cristian Javier building on his fine rookie season of 2020 to take on the look of a bona fide ace. All the metrics shine: 0.89 ERA, 1.46 FIP, 25% K%-BB% rate, average game score of 64. Houston dipped below .500 for a few days but still has baseball's second-best per-game run differential. It was rocky for a bit, but the Astros are just fine. -- Doolittle
I'm beginning to wonder if Baez is ever going to pitch this season. This is becoming one of those Weiland island deals.
Astros roster is built to win a lot of games in the regular season. Deep lineup, deep pitching staff with lots of good young arms to burn through in spot starts or short callups. In the playoffs their bottom of the order (Straw/Maldy) will hurt them, and they simply do not have a starting pitcher who other teams truly fear (in the 2018-2019 Verlander/Cole mold), although McCullers is still teasing that he could mature into that kind of pitcher. If they address CF at the deadline and if Valdez comes back as strong as he was last year, this team should be on par with the Yankees/Dodgers/Padres/Sox as favorites to win it all.
The Athletic on 6/7/2021 7. Houston Astros Record: 33-26 Last Power Ranking: 8 The Astros bullpen isn’t very good, and their glove-first catcher and speed-first center fielder aren’t hitting much. Otherwise, they don’t have many holes. Losing utility man Aledmys Díaz to a broken hand is a problem because he’s crucial to their depth, but there’s a reason the Astros consistently finish this high in our rankings. Their front-line hitters are awfully good, and even without Justin Verlander, they have an overabundance of starting pitchers (which could ultimately solve their bullpen issues). They’re still chasing the Athletics in the division standings, but after series wins against the Red Sox and Blue Jays — with another Red Sox series coming up — they clearly have our voters’ attention. One big question eight weeks before the trade deadline: Do they have the financial wiggle room to make a big move for another championship push? From Jake Kaplan’s latest mailbag: “Well, they could go ahead and exceed the luxury tax threshold. There is no rule that says they absolutely cannot spend $210 million or more in payroll in 2021. It will be a conscious decision the Astros make if they don’t exceed the threshold.”
The Athletic 6/14/21 7. Houston Astros Record: 37-28 Last Power Ranking: 7 Maybe they’re not the actual darlings of the baseball world, but the trash pelting has decreased in volume and intensity during their travels over the course of the season. And in terms of the team run differential statistic that many power rankings voters just simply sort the whole league by before voting, the Astros have been media darlings since the very start, and maybe a light schedule going forward will allow their record to reflect that soon. The Astros are clubbing the baseball at a time when almost everyone else isn’t, which is not a loaded topic at all and won’t lead anyone to withhold sympathy from the Stros as they navigate the loss of potent bench bat Aledmys Díaz. None of your bad feelings about the Astros should get in the way of commending the impressive rookie season of large-trunked right-hander Luis García, which is why beat reporter Jake Kaplan has written something new about him seemingly every time I have to do these rankings.
6/21/21... after sweeping the White Sox... The Athletic has the Astros at #3. 3. Houston Astros Record as of Monday: 43-28 Last Power Ranking: 7 The Astros have a plus-112 run differential, best in baseball, and have ridden a seven-game win streak to land back atop the AL West. The Astros are quietly winning this year and maybe they’re purposely trying to stay under the radar because, you know, everyone hates them outside of Houston. But, our writers have taken notice, propelling them to No. 3 in our rankings, the highest they’ve been since back in Week 2. The Astros offense has few holes and, even with Alex Bregman hitting the IL, the team should be able to cover for him offensively. If anything, it gives the team a chance to see what they have in Abraham Toro, especially in advance of the trade deadline. With a healthy rotation again, if the Astros can figure out how to fix their bullpen — maybe Cristian Javier is the solution — they might just start getting comfortable up here in the top three.
This is the dumbest thing I'll read today. How do you win "loudly"? How do you intentionally "stay under the radar" WTF does this even mean? How do you win more loudly than leading MLB in Rdiff? What does he want them to do, hire skywriters in each MLB city "**** You B!tches, We're Coming. Sincerely, The Houston Astros"
