Over the past month of the season, the Houston Astros have been struggling to meet their standards, whether you look at the fact that their bullpen has a 4.64 ERA (earned run average per 9 innings), or their lack of ability to win games in certain scenarios, such as being 1-8 on the season in one run games. By looking at some reasons to why the Astros are currently 12-20 (as of May 4th), their bullpen is something to point out, but when watching these games, some fans have also noticed the fact that the players on the team don’t seem to have the same amount of drive as they used to before they won the World Series in 2022. Nevertheless, there are also many positives to come from the start of the season so far and some excuses for injury to the slow start. These positive attributes should be reasons why fans should stay optimistic even with this sluggish start.

The Bats are Batting

When looking at the Astros offensive stats, they are still playing at a very high level that could propel them to win another World Series this year. According to ESPN analytics, the Astros rank tied for second in team batting average (.263), fifth in on base percentage (.329), fifth in slugging percentage (.416), and fifth in on base plus slugging percentage (.745). Numbers don’t lie, as the Astros are known to be one of the toughest lineups to pitch against in baseball. This can be attributed to the headliners of the Astros lineup such as veteran sluggers Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. On the contrary to these absurd numbers, according to teamrankings.com, the Astros are leaving an average of 3.88 runners left in scoring position. This ranks fourth most among all major league baseball teams, which is not something that the Astros are accustom to. Over the past near decade, the Astros have been known as the clutch hitting team, whether you look at Jose Altuve’s walk-off home run against the Yankees in 2019 or Yordan Alvarez’s go-ahead 3 run home run in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies that helped them ultimately seal the deal on the 2022 MLB World Series. The fact of the matter is that despite the struggles in clutch scenarios this season, the Astros have historically shown that they can chug through the season and be a top-tier contender in the playoffs.

What’s With the Injury Bug?

Many of the Astros pitchers such as Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, and Luis Garcia have been sidelined due to injury for most if not all of the start of the season. These six pitchers were all involved in the effort to beat the Phillies in the 2022 World Series, and their injuries have shown tremendous effect throughout the start of this season. This slow start to the overall season can be partially pointed out to less experienced pitchers like JP France (who just recently got sent down to AAA) and Spencer Arrighetti having to take steps in adjusting to the harsh, unforgiving environment of the MLB. Arrighetti currently has an ERA of 8.27 through four starts and France has an ERA of 7.46 through five starts. France and Arrighetti have had a combined record of 0-6 in those eleven games; however, on the bright side, Verlander and Valdez are back pitching in their regular schedules for the season with the other pitchers making strong strides to returning to the field, such as Javier’s start in Corpus Christi today. Only time will tell if the Astros can fix the injury situations with their pitching rotation, but the recovery of these pitchers is necessary for the Astros to turn their season around.

Bullpen Issues?

The Astros bullpen has been subpar, to say the least. They rank twenty-second in team ERA at 4.52, which has been a key factor in losing leads that the offense had built up for the first half of the game. After the playoffs had ended in 2023, the Astros had a 3.99 ERA accumulated over their bullpen, something concerning to the organization due to the bullpen’s 3.56 ERA regular season. To deal with this issue, the Astros signed former San Diego Padre star closer Josh Hader to a 95 million dollar contract that spans over five years. They believed that Hader was where they could fix that hole in their ball club, as he had a 1.28 ERA the previous season. 

Contrary to many MLB fans’ expectations, Hader has had a 5.93 ERA to start the season. In his past three appearances, however, Hader has not allowed an earned run, a promising hope for Astros fans that he may be turning his season around. If the veteran play of Hader continues to rise to the occasion, then there is a high possibility that the Astros will have a more in-tune bullpen that will build better chemistry over time and lead to wins across the season. As the games go by, it will be easier to assess the actual bullpen, as we will have a larger sample size to base their play on; however, it seems too early to blame the bullpen for the overall struggles of the team.

So What Is the Struggle?

As a fan who has watched nearly every game to start the season, there is no reason to be concerned with the Astros. If you look at the previous decade of winning seasons, the Astros always have a slow start at the beginning of the year. This year could be due to chemistry constraints or the implementation of new manager Joe Espada to the dugout. Whatever the case may be, the sample size is too small for fans to freak out over the struggle of the Astros. This has been a team of historic success and there is too much evidence to prove that there is no reason for why the Astros shouldn’t be contenders once again this year.