5 storylines that will decide the fate of the Astros season

No. 4: What happens with center field?

Center field has been quite a hot topic for the Astros since George Springer left ahead of the 2021 season. Their best and most consistent option has been Chas McCormick, but due to rumored beef with his previous manager, a completely indefensible "personal center fielder" for Justin Verlander's starts, and a hope for Jake Meyers to return to his 2021 pre-injury form, the center field position has largely been a revolving door.

In 2023, Chas McCormick was worth 3.6 bWAR, hitting .273 with 22 home runs, 70 RBI and an .842 OPS. But due to the aforementioned playing time split, Astros center fielders hit .255 with a .754 OPS on the year.

Dana Brown has already alluded to Jake Meyers getting more of a crack at the center field role in 2024 after being left off of the ALCS roster, but Houston also intends to play Yordan Álvarez in left field more to free up DH starts for Abreu and Altuve.

If Houston just commits to playing McCormick in center any time he's not spelling Álvarez in left, their lineup will be lethal. If they continue trying to force Meyers or Dubón into the role and again have no continuity, they'll be leaving runs on the board.

No. 3: Can Yainer Díaz handle the full-time workload?

Yainer Díaz was everything the Astros could have asked for as a rookie in 2023. In only 355 at-bats, Diaz hit .282 with 23 home runs, 60 RBI and an .846 OPS. His defense was better by every publicly available metric than incumbent starter Martín Maldonado, but even with his fantastic debut, Díaz still had room to grow both at the plate and defensively.

How will the 25-year-old adjust as a game caller? He's never caught Framber Valdez or Justin Verlander, two notoriously finicky starters, and in the case of Verlander, one with a devout routine. Díaz will have to put in a great deal of work to build rapport with Houston's top two arms.

Additionally, for as great as he was at the plate, Díaz's free-swinging approach does leave some holes that were exposed in the postseason. He finished 2023 in the first percentile in both walk rate and chase rate. While he doesn't need to start working walks and pitch counts like Alex Bregman, he can stand to evolve like the also free-swinging Jose Altuve, who went from a 2.1% walk rate in his first season to 10.7% last year.

If Díaz can handle the workload, the Astros' offense and defense will be vastly improved over 2023, and they'll no longer have an all-but-assured out in their lineup.

No. 2: How many games do they get out of Jose Altuve and Yordan Álvarez?

Injuries are unavoidable over the course of 162 games. Every team battles injury, and by league standards, the Astros were actually remarkably healthy in 2023. They didn't miss a great deal of games as a team in 2023, but those that did miss time were vitally important.

Jose Altuve broke his thumb in the WBC and played only 90 games for the Astros. Their offense just isn't the same without their catalyst batting leadoff. Álvarez has been plagued with knee troubles and various ailments throughout his career, and he missed 48 games.

Since debuting, Álvarez holds a 162-game average line of .295 with a .978 OPS, 43 home runs and 128 RBI. Those numbers are outrageous, but the big man has only topped 140 games played once.

If Altuve and Álvarez are both hitting top-four in the lineup, the Astros still possess one of the best offenses in baseball. If they aren't, their lineup has enough holes for opposing pitchers to navigate. If Houston gets a fully healthy season out of both, another AL West title and yet another deep playoff run looks incredibly likely.

No. 1: Do Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez bounce back?

No greater storyline surrounds the Astros in 2024 than what happens with Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez. The Josh Hader signing was massive, and the extension of Jose Altuve was a big deal. They could have bolstered their lineup even further, hired a different manager than Espada, and handed the starting catching reigns to Victor Caratini instead of Díaz.

No one question will impact the Astros' fate more than which versions of Javier and Valdez show up. In 2022, a very real case could have been made that Cristian Javier was the best pitcher in the game. Whether he was a starter or reliever, he was totally un-hittable, holding the opposition to a .170 batting average, recording a 2.54 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 11.7 SO/9. He started two combined no-hitters, including one in the World Series, and was untouchable in October.

Framber Valdez was just as good, going 17-6 with a 2.81 ERA, starting three complete games, throwing a league best 201.1 innings, and finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young voting.

Neither came close to replicating their 2022 form in 2023. Javier lost his mechanics amidst a battle with fatigue, and finished with a 4.56 ERA. His slider regressed mightily, making his previously dynamic "invisi-ball" fastball much more hittable. Valdez still finished ninth in AL Cy Young voting, largely due to his dominant first half, but in the second half, Valdez imploded.

Over his last 14 starts, Valdez posted a 4.66 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP. He suffered multiple break-downs on the mound, throwing at multiple batters, getting ejected from rivalry games, and topping it off with three nightmarish playoff starts.

With the pitch clock being shortened even more, can Valdez get himself settled down when things don't go his way on the mound? Will he trust Yainer Díaz and Victor Caratini catching him in the place of Maldy?

If Houston can get the Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez of 2022 back, they could walk to the World Series. If they can get an ERA between 3.3-3.5 from both and limit the implosions, they should win another AL West title.

If both remain 4+ ERA pitchers, the Astros could be in trouble. If Houston makes any noise at all this year, it will come down to which editions of Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier show up.