The Astros are 51-54, not exactly the record of a quality team. I sound like a broken record at this point, but the truth is the truth. The record, good or bad, counts, even if the pitching staff’s April implosion has skewed how one views this season. It happened, and, to be honest, I am not entirely sold that it won’t happen again.
It is easy to see why this year’s team has generally struggled to win, even if this current four-game win streak provides a brief sense of optimism. Mostly, it is the Yordan Alvarez show in Houston, with his MVP-caliber performance thus far carrying the club’s offensive production. We all caught a glimpse of life without Alvarez in 2025, and it wasn’t fun. They also missed the postseason by one game, with Alvarez missing 124 games. Even another 10 to 20 games from the star slugger, perhaps, would gain them that extra win or two to qualify for October.
Other than Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, and Jeremy Peña, this position player side has been light on production. Jose Altuve’s peak has passed, and Carlos Correa has been out since May 5. Christian Walker had a strong start to his 2026 season before regressing in recent months. Cam Smith has shown flashes of potential, with some of his batted ball data improving compared to last year. But after those guys, the talent drop-off is rather glaring.
The roster construction issues extend past the hitters. Well, other than the bullpen, which has shown some considerable improvement this summer. But the starting rotation, headlined by Peter Lambert, has been one of the worst in baseball this season. A healthy Hunter Brown likely changes some of this narrative, but the reality is that last season’s AL Cy Young contender hasn’t looked like one yet. It is possibly a matter of shaking off the rust entirely. Alas, in a season with essentially no margin for error, a less-than-hundred-percent Brown is far from ideal.
It is damning to the starting rotation when six of the top ten in cumulative WAR for the season are relievers. Perhaps five-and-a-half if you account for Kai-Wei Teng’s time in the rotation, but you get the point. Look at the bottom of this list, and you’ll find the following names: Cristian Javier, Mike Burrows, and Ryan Weiss, costing the Astros at least a couple of wins.
Ultimately, this roster isn’t good enough to compete, even with Alvarez putting up MVP numbers. That’s sad in its own right and an indictment on the organization failing to put a roster together around him to capitalize on his season. Of course, there is the injury factor to consider, which matters. But there have been some big whiffs on the pitching acquisition side, with Tatsuya Imai, Burrows, and Weiss all struggling in noticeable ways. If Dana Brown and the front office weren’t on the chopping block, this season would be an ideal time to flip some relievers for prospects at the least. Even if this team doesn’t truly “buy” at the trade deadline, standing pat looks like the more likely path at this point.
Astros @ White Sox Game Information and Gamethread Details
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We have good players and a bad team. Yordan doesn’t need any analysis, the man is a monster. JP3 is solid hitting first and defending the SS. I like Paredes, he is a solid all around player. I forgot where I saw a comparison between Bregman and Paredes (I have my senior moments, you know). I like Paredes. Then you have Walker, he can help, he is a threat. Altuve, leave the man alone. He should be hitting second and Yordan third. Altuve knows what to do and he can do it. He can lift the ball, make contact when needed, bunt, take one for the team, appeal a strike, fire up the team, show the ump his bare foot…the man is a first ballot! Then you have Espada, the land where nothing happens, the sleep, the catatonic, the stupor, and the biggest Yordan fan, “please win games for me.”
Correa being fifth on this list this late into the season makes me depressed