MLB Analyst Reveals Key to Fixing Astros' Offensive Woes

In a 2025 season that saw the Houston Astros regress offensively across the board, one stat stands out that helps explain it all.

Aug 27, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) hits a home run during the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros were quite far from their usual selves on offense throughout the 2025 season. A team that has slugged its way to division titles and World Series championships over the years never really got off the ground with the bat in its hands last season, and the result was a disappointing 87-75 campaign that saw an eight-year postseason streak get snapped.

Injuries played a huge role, as the star designated hitter Yordan Alvarez missed most of the season, but there is one concerning statistic that stands out above the rest when digging through the rubble of the worst year of this era of Astros baseball.

Astros Must Improve Upon Dead-Last Ranking in Average Exit Velocity

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Writing for ESPN, analyst David Schoenfield broke down one number for every team in the American League that told the story of its 2025 campaign. For the Astros, he went with 88.4: their mark in average exit velocity that put them last in the league.

"The Astros ranked last in the majors in average exit velocity," Schoenfield wrote. "In related news, the Astros averaged just 4.23 runs per game, their fewest since 2014, the last of their "tanking" seasons. In other related news, the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. While much of the focus was on injuries to the rotation -- only Framber Valdez and Hunter Brownmade more than 14 starts -- the offense just didn't hit the ball hard enough often enough, and that's the name of the game in this era of baseball.

Schoenfield noted Alvarez's prolonged absence as one of the causes, but also singled out Jose Altuve, who ranked in the fourth percentile among all MLB hitters with a mark of 85.1, according to Baseball Savant.

It wasn't just Altuve.

Christian Walker, who was above the team's average mark to his credit, slipped from the 82nd percentile with Arizona in 2024 to the 69th in his first season with Houston.

Chas McCormick, Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith all came in below the team average as well. Especially in the cases of the latter two, it's a concerning reality considering the power element that they are supposed to be providing to the team's lineup.

In addition to failing to hit the ball hard, the Astros didn't draw walks well either, ranking 27th in walk rate. Houston finished above league average in batting average and slugging percentage despite the leauge-worst exit velocity, but it's not clear how sustainable that is if the underlying issue is not addressed this winter.

For general manager Dana Brown and his staff, finding more consistent power has to be priority number one, and they would be wise to not solely rely on a healthy season from Alvarez as their answer.

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