Astros Lead MLB in One Key Stat That Should Also Raise Some Flags

This one stat is good, but also concerning at the same time.

Dana Brown | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

When the season began, there were questions surrounding just how good the Houston Astros pitching was going to be this season after they lost Framber Valdez in free agency to the Detroit Tigers.

General manager Dana Brown added Japanese star Tatsuya Imai in free agency and traded for veteran Mike Burrows from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team trade. However, there was some news before the regular season began, with closer Josh Hader beginning the year on the injured list.

That left manager Joe Espada looking to piece things together on the backend of the bullpen late in games. So far, the results have been good, but the numbers are concerning when it comes to the rest of MLB.

Astros Lead MLB in One Category but the Numbers Should Concern Fans

Bryan Abreu | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

According to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, the Astros bullpen has the fewest blown saves. That's great, but the numbers are a little concerning. They have just one blown save, but that's only been in eight chances. Their seven saves have been made by four different pitchers. Enyel De Los Santos leads the way with three and Bryan Abreu has two.

Houston has been good with the lead late in games and save situations, but the concern is that they have only gotten it to the backend of the bullpen just eight times in that situation. That's not good, the first week of May and a big reason why they are 14-22 and five games off the pace in the American League West.

There are games where you could point to the offense as part of the reason for the low save chances, but you can point a bigger finger at the starting rotation that has been devastated by injuries.

During a 10-game road trip in April, the Astros won just one game on the trip, but lost three starters on the trip alone: Hunter Brown, Christian Javier, and Imai. They haven't recovered from that and it's starting to take its toll. According to Miller, entering Monday night's game against the Dodgers, Houston had a team ERA of 5.75 through 35 games. They also lead MLB in combined walks and hit batters. All of that adds up to not many leads late in games.

Those are numbers that Colorado Rockies fans are used to, not Astros fans. It compounds how injuries can affect a club and until they get healthy, it likely isn't going to get better. Houston can't get Hader back quickly enough, but if they get him many leads late in games, it may not matter.