With the acquisition of Josh Hader for the back of the bullpen, the Houston Astros have an elite relief corps if we include dominant performers such as Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly.
Their lineup, after retaining Jose Altuve, is still magnificent and features the likes of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Chas McCormick, Jose Abreu, Yeiner Diaz, and Altuve himself.
If there is a unit that could potentially hold them back in 2024, it’s definitely their rotation.
It’s not that it’s bad, because it isn’t: it’s just that it appears to be a bit underwhelming in comparison to some of the staffs they have had in recent seasons.
The folks at Talkin’ Baseball agree with that notion.
The biggest thing that could hold the Astros back is their rotation pic.twitter.com/KFA4goPqYn
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 6, 2024
“This is, I think, the weakest Houston rotation I’ve seen since they became the Houston Astros we know and fear,” one of the podcasters said.
The “Houston Astros we know and fear” have been around since 2017, when they won the World Series championship with Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton, Dallas Keuchel, and other top arms.
They have, through the years, enjoyed some dominant hurlers such as Gerrit Cole, Cristian Javier, Zack Greinke, and others.
Their current group includes a banged up Verlander, the reliable Framber Valdez, Javier coming off one of his worst seasons, and the promising but unreliable trio of Jose Urquidy, JP France, and Hunter Brown.
Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers are injured, which doesn’t help things either.
In a best-case scenario, the Astros’ current group is capable of supporting the incredible offense and bullpen and going all the way.
They will have important competition in the AL West, though, starting from the reigning World Series champs.
NEXT: Justin Verlander Offers Honest Opinion On Current Status