3 big Roadblocks to the Astros Continuing their streak as Division Champs post trade deadline, and 1 hope

This years road to the championship will be tougher. Let's look at why.
Chicago White Sox v Texas Rangers
Chicago White Sox v Texas Rangers | Ron Jenkins/GettyImages
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Roadblock 2 - The Angels are buyers

In a spin no one would have predicted the Angels are buyers for the trade deadline and have acquired another arm to help them compete.  The Houston Astros offense is potent but so are the Angels, led by Ohtani.  The Astros pitching staff will have some trouble against the stacked lineup led by the home run hitter Ohtani and Mike Trout.  If the Astros staff can get the most out of their young bucks it will be no problem, but there is little room for error. 

The bigger worry now is the tough rotation the Angels have created now after making a major trade at the deadline.  The Angels rotation was decent but was vastly improved by the acquisition of Giolito. The Astros lineup will now have to face Ohtani, Sandoval, and Giolito for the rest of the season and potentially in the playoffs.   Giolito vastly improves their average rotation and makes it more difficult for the Astros to make progress in the AL West and to catch the front runners the Rangers.  

The Astros have one series remaining against the Angels and two against the Rangers.  If the Astros are to remain in the division and wild card mix they will need to compete and do well against now two very improved teams.  CJ Cron, Randal Grichuk, and Giolito will prove challenging for the Astros on the new look Angels squad. It won’t be easy but the Astros are virtually a new team with superstars Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez returning to the lineup as we approach August.  

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