Former MLB Executive Thinks Houston Astros Can Still Contend For AL Pennant
The Houston Astros look like a complete shell of themselves after being just one win away from getting to another World Series in last year's playoffs.
They sit with a 12-22 record and are seven games out of first place.
Pitching continues to be the issue for this roster as they have eight blown saves on the season and rank 26th in the MLB entering Tuesday with a team ERA of 4.75.
All good things must come to an end, and it feels like that's what could be happening for the Astros.
But, former MLB executive Jim Bowden isn't quite ready to close the book on the "Golden Era" despite their slow start to the year.
"Once this pitching staff is healthy and pitching at full strength, the Astros should get back in the pennant race, no matter how difficult that looks right now," he wrote in an article for The Athletic.
That is quite the optimism considering how few teams make the playoffs when starting out as poorly as this team has.
Sure, the return of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, and Jose Urquidy to their rotation should certainly stabilize things and allow them to not rely on the struggling arms they've had to call up, but there are other issues present as well.
Houston's bullpen has been a complete liability with those eight blown saves and 11 credited losses.
Josh Hader looks like a totally different pitcher than what he's shown to be throughout his career as he sits with a 6.14 ERA. He isn't the only one struggling, though. Ryan Pressly has a 5.27 ERA with two blown saves.
That's not even mentioning the offense who looks way less potent than in years past, sitting with the 17th-most runs scored entering Tuesday.
But, the good news is all the Astros have to do is win their division to earn a spot in the playoffs, and with there still being over 100 games remaining, there's a good chance they figure things out and start looking like the team they were expected to be entering the year.
Then, once they're in, anything can happen.
BRAD WAKAI
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai