The Astros have had a rocky start to the 2020 season being 10 and 4.5 games out of 1st in the AL West. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2020 Astros Season so far.
Offense
The Astros offense has been, for the most part, very disappointing. The Astros rank 18th in Batting Average, 9th in Weighted Runs Created Plus, 17th in Isolated Power, and 11th in weighted on-base average. However, things could be on the turn-around for the Astros as they had a 57.7 Hard Hit %. The star Astros players breaking their slumps could give the team the success they’ve been searching for. Springer (.185/.333/.370) and Altuve (.181/.253/.313) have all played worse than their 2019 selves. If these players can break their slumps then the team could see new levels of success.
Starting Pitching
The Astros starting pitching has been amazing with a 3.57 combined ERA as well as a 1.07 WHIP. Lance McCullers Jr, who is pitching in his first games since having Tommy John surgery back in 2018, has been hot and cold so far to start off the 2020 season sporting a 6.10 ERA while on the contrary both Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier have both been making their bids at being the Astros’ future ace. Framber, coming off an up and down 2019, has impressed so far with a 1.90 ERA, 2.55 FIP and a 0.7 WAR. Cristian has also impressed putting up a 2.91 ERA, 0.813 WHIP and .153 Batting Average Against. If Lance McCullers returns to Pre-TJ form then the Astros starting rotation could be one of the best in Major League Baseball.
Relief Pitching
Relief pitching has easily been the biggest issue for the Astros so far. A select few pitchers in the Astros bullpen have been really solid. Blake Taylor, acquired in the Mets Marisnick trade, has been lights out sporting a 1.76 ERA over 15.1 IP. Enoli Parades, Brandon Bailey, and Brooks Raley are also trusty relievers. However, some pitchers in the Astros bullpen have been nothing short of disappointing. Cy Sneed (5.87 ERA), Josh James (12.00 ERA), and Chris Devenski (13.50 ERA) have all been terrible coming out of the pen. If the Astros are able to fix the bullpen issue then they could definitely make a run deep into the postseason.
