3 Astros who have fallen flat and cost the Astros another division title

All things considered, the Houston Astros' season has gone about as expected. Jim Crane and Dana Brown may have tried to sell you on the idea that ridding themselves of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman wasn't going to have a significant impact on the stranglehold they've had over the AL West for the last several years, but it's unclear if even they believed that.

In many ways, Houston is fortunate to be where it is today. After all, sustaining two devastating injuries to Yordan Alvarez in addition to all the other maladies that have plagued the club, it's somewhat remarkable that they're in the playoff picture at all.

However, for much of the season, the Astros did occupy first place in the division, just as the brass would have you believe they drew it up. Unfortunately, the club has seen those dreams mostly die, as a few key lynchpins in their plan failed miserably.

These 3 players have majorly disappointed and cost the Astros the AL West title

First baseman Christian Walker

In an offseason of departures, the Astros thought they got everything they were looking for, signing Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract, which represented the only big-money expenditure of the offseason.

The hope was that Walker, who had slugged 30 or more homers in two of the last three seasons would provide the power to offset some of what they lost due to the departures of Tucker and Bregman, while also solving first base for once and for all after years of futility.

Instead, with the exception of his August power surge when he hit eight homers, Walker has been a total liability at the plate. The 34-year-old has slashed an anemic .232/.294/.399 on the year, leaving everyone looking for an escape hatch.

Walker was supposed to be a big bat in the middle of the order, and his failure to come anywhere close to that expectation has been a major reason why Houston is coming up short in the division race.

Starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.

To be fair to Lance McCullers Jr., pinning your hopes on a pitcher who last took the mound in 2022 was something that was a long shot to begin with. The Astros knew they had a good duo at the top with Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, even if they didn't know that Brown would ascend to the stratosphere of a Cy Young-caliber pitcher, but they didn't have much behind those two.

The original plan was for Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, and Spencer Arrighetti to support the top two starters, a proposition that was risky to begin with. Blanco was coming off a strong 2024, even though the peripherals didn't quite agree with the results, but that represented the only sustained success for the 30-year-old in his career.

Wesneski, acquired as part of the Kyle Tucker trade, had failed to establish himself as a viable rotation member over parts of the prior three seasons in Chicago. Arrighetti posted a 4.53 ERA in 2024, his rookie season. So it was no surprise that the Astros were going to be hoping McCullers Jr. could return to his pre-injury form when he finally returned from his injury odyssey in May, and that was before Blanco and Wesneski both wound up needing Tommy John surgery.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, McCullers Jr. has struggled mightily for the vast majority of the season, while also struggling to stay on the mound. At this point, his entire Astros career is in jeopardy.

Again, this is a little unfair to McCullers Jr., but this was the position the Astros put him in, and he did not rise to the moment.

Right fielder Cam Smith

Similar to McCullers Jr., blaming Cam Smith is a little unfair. After all, the rookie had played just 32 minor league games between his selection as the 14th overall pick of the 2024 draft and his inclusion on the 2025 opening day roster.

However, by throwing him right into the fire, the organization placed high expectations on him immediately. Maybe it was hubris in trying to justify the Kyle Tucker trade as some sort of steal, or maybe, and more likely, it was a failure to adequately plan, but Houston was counting on Smith from day one.

And with that, there were flashes. Smith took to right field, a position he had never played before, and looked like a natural with his athletic gifts shining through. He seemed to hit his stride in May and June, batting .307 and then .303 in each of those two months, respectively.

Then the adjustments came. The book was out on him, and pitchers started attacking his weaknesses. Smith struggled to adjust, batting just .195 since July 1, and he has become essentially a part-time player down the stretch.

The Astros expected Smith to be a Rookie of the Year contender. They needed him to hit those highs, fair or not. When he didn't, the lineup began to falter, and in the midst of everything else going on, the division slipped away.

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