Houston Astros Star Slugger Among 'Biggest Busts' of 2025 Season Thus Far

The Houston Astros have started to bounce back a bit from a slow start to the season, and there is reason to believe they could continue to get better.

Coming into the year, it was hard to judge what the Astros might be.

In 2024, they were one of the best teams in the American League, but were upset in the AL Wild Card round in a defeat that snapped their record of seven straight ALCS appearances.

That loss in the postseason might have been what set up a wild winter for the Astros. The franchise elected to make some major changes to their roster, with notable trades leading the way.

Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly were both sent to the Chicago Cubs in separate deals. Furthermore, they also saw third baseman Alex Bregman leave in free agency.

The loss of Tucker and Bregman in the lineup was the real shakeup, and since they are two of the best in the league at their respective positions, it was always going to be hard to replace that production.

So far this campaign, Houston has struggled overall on offense.

While this isn’t a shocker after losing two key pieces, the struggles of one of their normal stars has been a surprise.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the biggest bust for the Astros so far this season being their star slugger, Yordan Alvarez.

“That slugging superstar has yet to make his arrival this season, though, with just five extra base hits through his first 25 games played ... All the same, he is off to a brutal start and has plummeted from one of the top candidates for AL MVP down into the stockpile of intriguing buy-low options ...”

It has been a tough start to the year for Alvarez, and the timing of his slump hasn’t been ideal.

As the new face of the lineup, the struggling slugger has been a major reason for the offensive issues in Houston.

He has slashed .213/.312/.360 with three home runs and 16 RBI entering play on Monday. For someone who is regularly an MVP candidate in the American League, these numbers about a month into the campaign, are a massive disappointment.

However, with his advanced analytics looking good, the results should be coming soon for Alvarez.

Throughout the course of his career, he has been a very consistent hitter, and one of the best in baseball.

Even though a month of struggles seems like a long time, there is still a lot of season to be played.

While the star slugger might be struggling, he will surely turn it around soon. That has to be encouraging for a team that finds itself with a record over .500 and is playing well despite offensive struggles.

Once Alvarez gets going, the Astros might be ready to take off.

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