5 reasons the Astros defied the odds and won the AL West

The Astros won their sixth-straight AL West division title yesterday, defeating the Diamondbacks 8-1 while the Mariners defeated Texas 1-0. The Astros and Rangers finished the year with identical 90-72 records, but by way of a head-to-head record tiebreaker, the Astros took the division.

There were plenty of ups and downs throughout the year, and plenty of people wrote them off, but when the lights shone brightest, the Astros once again got it done. A lot has to go your way to win one division title, much less six straight. Like any division champ, the Astros had plenty go their way.

Let's look at the five reasons the Astros won the AL West.

#5: The emergence of Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz

We've written about Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz at length on this site. McCormick, named one of MLB's top breakout players by The Athletic, finished the season with 22 home runs, 19 stolen bases, a .273 average, an .843 OPS, and a 3.8 fWAR.

Yainer Diaz hit .282 with 23 home runs, 60 RBI, an .846 OPS and 3.2 bWAR. Had Yainer gotten more playing time, he'd have made a very serious push for AL Rookie of the Year.

McCormick helped the offense stay afloat as the Astros battled injury, and when he got his chances behind the plate, Yainer Diaz more than made up for the offensive and defensive regression of Martín Maldonado.

Dusty Baker didn't play either nearly as much as he should have, but the Astros wouldn't have been able to overcome the missed time of Altuve and Alvarez, the repeated rehab pauses of Michael Brantley, and the offensive woes of José Abreu and Maldy had it not been for Chas and Yainer.

#4: Dominating the Rangers head-to-head

The Astros and Rangers finished with an identical 90-72 record. In years previous, they'd have played Game 163 for the tiebreaker. Now, the tiebreaker is awarded to the winner of the head-to-head season series.

The Astros dominated the Rangers this season, winning nine of the 13 games between the two teams. Texas took the first three-game series between the two in April, but the Astros won seven of the final nine.

The final nail in Texas' coffin came in the September 4-6 series. Houston swept the Rangers, outscoring them 39-10.

Had the season series been even one game closer, Texas takes the division. But the Astros handled business against their little brother, ensuring they controlled their own destiny.

Reason #2: The Leverage Arms

Hector Neris and Bryan Abreu, take a bow. Anytime Houston had a lead this year, those two made sure it was game over.

Neris finishes the season with a 2.5 bWAR, 1.71 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10.1 K/9. Anytime Dusty summoned Neris out of the bullpen, whether it was a clean inning or a bases-loaded jam he was inheriting, it felt like Neris was guaranteed to get out of the jam without surrendering any damage.

His exuberance motivates the team, and when he struck out Julio Rodriguez and talked trash in the penultimate series of the year, it felt like that finally woke the team up. What a walk year for Neris.

Bryan Abreu can be summed up in one word: untouchable. He wraps up his 2023 with a 2.5 bWAR as well, a 1.75 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 12.5 K/9. Abreu hasn't allowed a run since July 15th, an almost unfathomable stretch of 27 straight scoreless appearances.

He finished the second half with a 0.31 ERA. Abreu should be a prime extension candidate this offseason.

Those two especially were dynamite, and Ryan Pressly was again a great closer and Kendall Graveman was fantastic as an Astro. Their bullpen as a whole wasn't as dominant as last season, but the leverage arms are a massive part of why the Astros are division champs.

#1: The Trade Deadline

For the second time in seven seasons, the Astros acquiring Justin Verlander at the trade deadline changed everything. After losing Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. to season ending surgeries, the Astros rotation was in shambles. Cristian Javier was regressing and Hunter Brown and J.P. France were blowing past their previous career high workloads as their performance waned.

In stepped Justin Verlander to save the day.

JV made 11 starts in his second stint as an Astro, finishing 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA. He was especially dominant in his last two starts, both must-win games. In 13 innings of work, Verlander struck out 13 and allowed only five hits and one run. If Houston loses even one of those games, they're out of October.

He may not ever win another Cy Young, but he was elite when it mattered, salvaging a rotation that desperately needed a workhorse and helping keep innings off of an already taxed bullpen.

And while Verlander was obviously a massive get, don't sleep on the acquisition of Kendall Graveman.

Graveman, also in his second stint with Houston, appeared in 23 games, posting a 2.42 ERA. His high walk rate is a little scary, and he may find himself an odd man out in October as Ryne Stanek did last year for the same reason, but he got the job done down the stretch and was huge in helping lessen the workload of a taxed bullpen.

Great work Dana Brown. Your showing at the trade deadline is the main reason the Astros are division champs for the sixth time in seven season.