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3 Reasons to Believe in the Astros Despite Their Poor Start
The reigning champs currently sit at 5-7. Chances are, if their name isn’t Kyle Tucker or Yordan Alvarez (or even Mauricio Dubon), they aren’t hitting. If they’re a starter, they’re erratic. If they’re not named Abreu or Maton in the bullpen, they’ve been touched up.
The sky is falling in Houston.
Or maybe not. The reigning champs are the reigning champs for a reason.
Let’s take a look at three reasons to still believe in the Astros despite their slow start.
1) They're historically slow starters
Getting off to a slow start is nothing new for the Astros. The 2019 Astros set the franchise record for wins in a season, with 107. They did this despite starting the season 2-5. They then ripped off 10 straight wins and never looked back.
The Covid shortened 2020 season began with a 7-10 start. In 2021, Houston started 7-10 with a six game losing streak built in. They went to the World Series and won 95 games.
Just last year Houston was still below .500 17 games in. They won the second most games in franchise history (106) and won the World Series.
It’s a seasoned and veteran team that has proven to start slow and then finish the season like a runaway freight train. History is repeating itself early this season for the Astros.
2) Reinforcements are coming
The Astros are missing Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley. They’re piecing things together with Chas McCormick batting leadoff and a rotation of outfielders every day.
The hope is that Michael Brantley will return from injury in early May, which will immediately give the Astros a high contact bat and help with their strikeout woes.
Altuve will likely be back in late-May or early-June. His accolades need no introduction. Once the Astros have arguably their best player in franchise, their offense will erupt.
There is plenty of time for the Astros to straighten things out and will have plenty of chances to win the division. Getting two .300 hitters back in the next month-two will go a long way towards making that happen.
3) They're the reigning champs for a reason
It sounds too simple, but sometimes we don’t need to complicate what is simple. The Astros have been to the ALCS six straight years. They’ve won four American League pennants and two World Series titles in that time.
Of the last five full seasons, the Astros have won 100 games in four of them.
They’ve got a roster littered with All-Stars, Gold Glovers, Silver Sluggers, ALCS and World Series MVPs, regular season MVPs. They have one of the 10 winningest managers in MLB history.
162 games is a long, long time. Over the course of a full season, the best rosters tend to win out over time. Houston is a roster that knows how to win. They will do just that.