The Astros WILL Make the Playoffs in 2015

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Sep 10, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; The Houston Astros celebrate after defeating the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Houston defeated Seattle 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

On an earlier article of mine in December, I said the Astros would be playoff contenders this season. I’m going to take it a step further than what Jim Crane said recently, and officially say that the Houston Astros will be in the 2015 Playoffs. I ended that article stating if the Kansas City Royals could make a World Series run in 2014, then why couldn’t the Astros be a playoff team in 2015?

I was confident when the team upgraded the bullpen and shortstop, but to then see them upgrade third base and claim another big power bat set my expectations higher than most. It doesn’t help seeing articles claiming the Astros to be the 2015 surprise team of the year, but my optimism is at an all-time high.

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There isn’t a weak spot on the team now. Yes, some people might not agree with Colby Rasmus being on the team, but he is a legitimate MLB player. You now see players at the AAA level again because there is simply no room for them on the 25-man roster, and that is a great problem to have.

I know we’re all excited this year as fans to see how the team does, along with some anxiety just waiting for the season to start. But we aren’t the only ones excited. At the Bloggers Roundtable, you could see and feel the excitement coming from Reid Ryan, Jeff Luhnow, and A.J. Hinch. They might not come out and state that they expect the Astros to be in the postseason, but you can tell that they feel it.

And I know for a fact that Jeff Luhnow is thinking along the lines I’ve been thinking, as well as most people covering the Astros are: there will be a lot of runs scored. He confirmed these thoughts at the Bloggers Roundtable. With that said, let’s look at three reasons why the Astros will be in the 2015 Postseason.

Jul 9, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Houston Astros center fielder George Springer (left) celebrates the victory with first baseman Jon Singleton (28) against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The All-Around Improved Team

The Springer-Carter-Gattis trio will wear out the Crawford Boxes, along with the (assumed) rise of Jon Singleton also hitting bombs. Those four guys alone could legitimately combine for 120+ HR’s. Rasmus will give you 15-20, along with Valbuena and Lowrie hitting around the same. Castro should have a bounce back season as it’ll be hard to replicate the terrible 2014 season he had, and his HR total will be in the 15-20 range as well. Altuve will give you a handful, as will the bats off the bench. I fully expect the Astros to hit more HR’s than last season with this lineup, and they finished 4th in the majors in that category a year ago (163).

I also expect their BA to be better than 25th in the league, as well as their OBP which was 21st. Altuve will lead the way and do what he always does, and that’s get on base. Singleton is not going to hit .168 again and whiff 134 times in 94 games. He’s going to rise, and again, so will Castro. And if any of these guys fail to produce, they will be replaced by players who are producing.

Then thinking of the rotation providing 6-7 innings a vast majority of the time with a legitimate bullpen only needing 2-3 innings of work makes me smile. And if that happens, the bullpen won’t get overused this year. With the ML level arms throughout the entire bullpen, this team won’t blow nearly as many games as they did the last couple of years. I’ll say what I’ve said before, and that is that the 2014 Houston Astros would have been just below .500 (by 3-4 wins) with a ML-average bullpen. And that is with the terrible hitting team they were a majority of the season.

Sep 16, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Fans hold signs after Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (not pictured) gets his 211th hit of the season during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Minute Maid Park

When you think of what the team should be able to do, they’re going to be fun to watch. Even the more pessimistic outlooks to the season have them finishing around .500 this year. But Houston has something now that they haven’t had in quite some time: a talented team that will be able to be seen on TV.

Yes they were on TV the last couple of years, but not for a lot of people. This is going to help the fan base in a big way. The die hard fans were going to follow no matter what, but this is huge for the casual fan. When they see the team is winning a lot more often, they’re going to want to witness it in person. They’re going to show up with friends and family to have good time.

And when the team keeps winning, the fans will keep going. We can remember how loud and packed Minute Maid Park was in it’s early years, especially during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Even the 2006-2008 seasons had a good crowd where there was a clear home field advantage. Those days are about to happen again, and when the roof is closed with the team winning, Minute Maid Park is one of, if not, the loudest stadium in all of baseball.

Aug 8, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor (12) is out at second base as Houston Astros shortstop Marwin Gonzalez (9) throws to first to complete a double play that ends the game at Minute Maid Park. The Astros defeated the Rangers 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Division

If you combine the factors of the talent and the home field advantage, there is no reason why the Astros can’t make a run. Plus, am I the only one who thinks the AL West isn’t all it proclaims to be? It’s not going to be a death trap like in 2013, which is how it is made to seem.

The Texas Rangers won’t be as bad as they were last year, but that doesn’t mean they’ll finish with more wins than the other teams in the division. The Oakland Athletics lost a lot of players that helped them be successful the last few years, but you can never count out Billy Beane and his squad. Still, I see the Astros finishing above both of these teams.

Now it gets a little tricky with the Settle Mariners. They were expected to be in the playoffs last year, and just missed out. Still, they improved, and should be a legitimate playoff contender again. Or they could be like the Los Angeles Angels who were supposed to make the playoffs the last five years, but didn’t piece it together until last year. And as fellow Climbing Tal’s Hill writer Kennon Riley likes to point out, they went 26-12 against the Astros and Rangers last year, the two teams who finished with the worst records in the AL. And then they got bounced in the first round, not winning a single game. They won’t get that kind of success to add to the win column this season.

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