Yearly Review: Houston Astros

It's time to look back at every team from around the MLB and what they showed us during the 60 game sprint!

We are going to explore a few things for each team: Review in-season transactions, what we learned, what we loved, what we didn't love, the most significant need(s), and lastly, the biggest takeaways.

Let's jump over the AL with the Houston Astros today. We talked about the Padres, A's, Marlins, Yankee's, Cardinals, Whitesox, Cubs, Twins, Reds, BlueJays, Brewers, Indians, Giants, Phillies, Braves, thus far; you can find all posts on the homepage https://www.theballboyblog.com/.

What moves did the Astros make in 2020?

Cincinnati Reds traded LHP Brooks Raley to Houston Astros for Player To Be Named Later.- Raley pitched 16innings posting a 3.94ERA and a 0.75WHIP, posting 21K-4BB. The Astros got themselves a solid RP.

What did we love about the 2020 Astros?

I personally really enjoyed the season OF Kyle Tucker had for the Astros as he slashed .268/.325/.512 and posted a 1.6WAR. Good stuff from the young OF. We loved what was probably the last season as an Astros from George Springer as he hit 14HR and slashed .265/.359/.540 and posted 1.9WAR. Another soon to be former Astro, Michael Brantley, had a great season slashing .300/.364/.470 and posted 1.5WAR. The seasons of Framber Valdez, he posted a 3.57ERA, 112WHIP, and 1.2WAR. Christian Javier had an excellent season posting a 3.48ERA, 0.99WHIP, and a 1.3WAR.

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What did we not love about the 2020 Astros? As a whole unit for the Astros offense wasn't significant, slashing .240/.312/.408 and a team .702OPS. The offense led them to a 29-31 record. The pitching also did not help the Astros win more games as they posted a team 4.31ERA, 1.31WHIP, while they only allowed a .239OBA. I wouldn't say we loved the season of Zack Greinke as he posted a 4.03ERA, 1.13WHIP, and a 1.2WAR.

What was the biggest takeaway from the 2020 Astros?

The pitching wasn't great and didn't help the Astros win a lot of games. They gave up over 4R a game while the offense couldn't even get on base enough to make the games even slightly more competitive.

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What is next for the 2020 Astros in 2021?

With Springer(QO extended), Brantley, Reddick, Osuna(option declined), all not expected to be with the club in 2021. Filling the OF with Kyle Tucker, Myles Straw, Aledmys Diaz, and whoever else they end up signing to fill these holes will be critical in 2021. Re-tooling or re-building will be something that will develop over the winter. The pen and the rotation will set the tone for which direction the Astros will head to 2021 and beyond.

Thank you guys so much for reading. I have a piece I put together regarding the Astros sign stealing and how that impacts Pete Rose. Please check that out here. https://www.theballboyblog.com/post/imo-pete-rose-and-astros-scandal

As always, I am so grateful for all the support, and you guys are amazing! Stay safe out there!