One Astros Superstar Is Struggling While Another Might Be Better Than Ever
The Houston Astros 9-19 start has been well documented and examined, but it doesn't tell the whole story of their season.
As David Schoenfield of ESPN examined the standout players of baseball in April, two Astros stood out as the best in the AL and one has been a top dissapointment.
Alex Bregman, much like the team's record might suggest, is having the worst season of his career at the plate. On the other hand, hidden by the slow start, Jose Altuve might actually be a better hitter than ever before.
Bregman is in a contract year slump that might cost him a lot of money. He is set to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career after this season and was certainly hoping to cash in on a solid career. Team's might be wary now, though.
Now over 100 plate appearances for the season, Bregman is slashing just .216/.287/.268. The former MVP candidate has just lost a step so far.
He's still very disciplined at the plate as he has similar chase, strikeout and walk percentages to previous seasons. He just hasn't been able to hit the ball very well at all.
The most similar season in his career was 2020, but that year was an exception for a lot of players. He's historically been a very good player and should be able to pull out of the slump at some point, but his contract situation will be an interesting one to watch after this season ends.
Altuve on the other hand, fresh off of a huge contract extension, is having one of the best years of his career at the plate.
The 34-year-old is currently leading the league in batting average while slashing .342/.414/.522.
He's showing more power than ever. His seven home runs so far is already equal to or more than he has had in five season. He's on pace to shatter his career high with 41 homers in 2024. Even if he does regress a little bit, the former MVP has been one of the few bright spots so far.
The other Houston batter that was given the title of 'All-Star' for this past month was, unshockingly, Yordan Alvarez.
The 27-year-old superstar is one of the best designated hitters in the league, and even in a year with a slight decline in numbers, he should be headed for his third-straight All-Star appearance.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders