Yordan Alvarez's MVP Pace Can't Hide Astros' Pitching Problems

Coming into the All-Star break, the Houston Astros are 47-51. The standings show the team is in third place in the American League West and three games back from the division-leading Texas Rangers.

Truthfully, this is not the record anyone in Houston expected when the season started, but an evaluation of the numbers tells a better story than just looking at the standings alone.

This season has been carried by one hitter and undermined by a pitching staff that just hasn’t performed or had the support they needed.

Alvarez Doing Alvarez Things

Houston Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest storyline coming out of Houston this year is, without a doubt, Yordan Alvarez. Through 96 games, he is slashing .318/.426/.633 with 31 home runs, 70 RBI and a 1.059 OPS. By anyone’s standards, that is an MVP season.

Christian Walker has chipped in 20 homers of his own and Isaac Paredes has certainly pulled his weight with a .766 OPS.

Beyond that trio of players, though, this team is inconsistent.

Cam Smith is hitting .218 with 85 strikeouts in 321 at-bats. Jose Altuve has only appeared in 74 games and is slugging .404. Rookie Brice Matthews is trying to find his way and struggling. He is hitting .197 with a .582 OPS.

The bottom line? Alvarez is doing enough to keep Houston afloat. But he hasn’t had enough support.

Where the Reinforcements Fell Short

Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Burrows | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Looking across this team, it is evident that the bigger issue here is the pitching staff. More specifically, the arms Houston counted on to stabilize things.

Peter Lambert is a legitimate bright spot after going 8-5 with a 3.14 ERA over his 15 starts and emerging as the rotation’s most consistent player.

Spencer Arrighetti has been the cause of 81 strikeouts in 82 innings, although his 4.50 ERA shows some inconsistency along the way.

The disappointments start with Tatsuya Imai. He was added to this team to bring some rotational depth and has instead brought volatility and question marks. He has a 6.06 ERA over 13 starts.

Mike Burrows? Well, the story gets worse here. He is 4-9 with a 5.99 ERA across 17 starts. Things finally got so bleak with Burrows that the team demoted him to Triple-A, but then nullified that assignment and placed him on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 7 with right elbow neuritis.

The good news is that maybe they have pinpointed why he wasn’t performing, and he can come back and surprise everyone when healthy.

Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier have both been very limited by injuries and when they have taken the mound, it hasn’t been good.

As for the bullpen, Bryan Abreu has a 5.81 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP across 34 appearances. This is a stark change in comparison to his 2025 ERA of 2.28.

The Race Isn’t Over

Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The important thing to note is that even with all these struggles, the race isn’t over for Houston. It would be easy at a quick glance to determine that the Astros must be buried and need to start playing for next year, but that isn’t the case.

There isn’t a strong team in the AL West. The Rangers lead the division at 49-47, and the Mariners are just 1.5 games back at 48-49. The three-game deficit facing Houston can easily be made up.

The Astros need to find health and consistency. Hunter Brown gave some spark when he returned and has put up respectable numbers. Josh Hader has been nearly unstoppable, and if he could get some more support, the bullpen could surely carry its weight.

Houston has plenty of talent to allow July and August’s storylines to be made up of victories and comebacks. This doesn’t have to be about next season already.

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