MLB Exec Reveals Whether Houston Astros’ AL West Run Is Over
The Houston Astros have put together one of the best runs in baseball the last decade.
Since 2017 the Astros have made seven straight playoff appearances, won six division titles, reached the American League Championship Series seven straight times, made four World Series appearances, and won the World Series twice.
It’s an exceptional run of baseball. But is it over?
Houston is not off to a good start this season. With their 10-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday, the Astros are now 4-7 for the season. Only the Oakland Athletics are worse off in the AL West.
This week, former MLB general manager and now-analyst for The Athletic, Jim Bowden, wrote about 10 questions to start the season and whether those questions were overreactions or not.
He asked if, “The Astros’ run in the AL West is finally over.”
His thoughts?
It’s an overreaction. In fact, he summed it up in two words — “stop it.”
He still considers them to be among the top three teams in the American League, including the Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles.
While the Astros have had some trouble offensively to start the year, he points out that the lineup is still loaded and should start clicking soon. That lineup includes Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Yainer Diaz.
Bowden wrote there are two things Houston needs to do.
First, get healthy in the starting rotation. Justin Verlander is on a rehab assignment, Jose Urquidy is working his way back from an injury and two other pitchers, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., could be back in the middle of the season.
Second, he wrote that closer Josh Hader should stop listening to the Astros’ analytics department and get back to throwing fastballs.
The takeaway is that Bowden is not buying their overall vulnerability in the AL West right now. He believes it is just a slow start.
MATTHEW POSTINS
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.