Houston Astros - The Covid-19 Years (2020-2029)

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2020

Decade

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106

Titles:

Top Astros Players of the Twenty Twenties

2020 - WC def Twins, ALDS def A's, ALCS lost to Tampa

2021 - Won Division; ALDS def Chicago; ALCS def Boston; WS Lost to Atlanta

Pitchers:

2022 - Won Division; ALDS def Seattle; ALCS def Yankees; WS def Phillies

Framber Valdez (18.66) - 54

2023 -Won Division; ALDS def Twins; ALCS lost to Texas

Ryan Pressly (3.07) - 27

2024 - Won Division, Lost WC to Tigers

Hunter Brown (6.1) - 25

Justin Verlander (7.17) - 19

Ballpark:

Josh Hader (2.3) - 17

Minute Maid Park

Cristian Javier (7.78) - 17

Luis Garcia (4.28) - 15

Team Name:

Lance McCullers (5.2) - 13

Astros

Zack Greinke (2.32) - 10

Jose Urquidy (4.01) - 10

Owner:

Ronel Blanco (4.54) - 9

Jim Crane

Bryan Abreu (4.57) - 8

JP France (1.5) - 6

General Managers:

James Click (2020-2022)

Catchers:

Dana Brown (2023-25)

Yainer Diaz (9.03) - 24

Martin Maldonado (1.09) - 11

Managers:

Dusty Baker (2020-2023)

First Basemen:

Joe Espada (2024-2025)

Yulieski Gurriel (3.37) - 13

Christian Walker (0.2) - 4

Hall of Famers:

None

Second Basemen:

Jose Altuve (16.08) - 45

Rookie of the Year:

None

ShortStop:

Jeremy Pena (18.4) - 39

MVP

Carlos Correa (10.2) - 19

None

Third Base:

No Hitters:

Alex Bregman (16.74) - 32

2022 - (Javier, Neris, Pressly) Mets

Isaac Paredes (2.3) - 7

2022 - (Javier, Abreu, Montero, Pressly) Phillies

2023 - Framber Valdez

Outfield:

2024 - Ronel Blanco

Kyle Tucker (22.98) - 47

Yordan Alvarez (19.77) - 36

Cy Young:

Chas McCormick (7.22) - 22

2022 - Justin Verlander

Jake Meyers (7.53) - 19

Michael Brantley (5.41) - 12

Notable Events:

Mauricio Dubon (5.4) - 8

George Springer (1.91) - 7

2025 - For the first time in the decade, Houston fails to make the playoffs and

for the first time since the covid season of 2020, the Astros fail to win the Division.

Notable Events:

Houston didn't miss by much. The 'stros won 87, Seattle won the Division with 90

and the Red Sox made the Wild Card with 89.

2020 - The sign stealing scandal dominated the 2020 covid season for the

The Astros are good enough to compete in the AL west because all of the other

Astros. The scandal seemed to affect Houston's performance during the season

teams are flawed. It's there for the taking. This version of the Houston team is a

but even tho' they finished under .500, the Astros made the playoffs and then

shell of the team that was dominating over the past decade. The pitching is

made it to within one game of the World Series. The playoff run seemed to

nowhere near those teams and there are a handful of the same hitters around

vindicate the Astros hitters who everyone was questioning how good they really

but not nearly the dominating lineup of the past.

were because they knew what pitch was coming.

All that being said, Houston should be able to squeeze another couple of years

of contention out of this team. Losing Framber Valdez was a huge loss on the

2020 - Houston fans love owner Jim Crane. And with good reason.

pitching end of things. They are getting Alvarez and Correa back plus they

Under his stewardship since '12, the Astros have become a true powerhouse.

have some of the younger guys should be getting better - so the offense

Crane's an athlete and a competitor. In college, he was a Division II All American

should improve. The Astros won 87 last year and they figure to be

pitcher. His competitiveness went a little overboard with the sign stealiing

around the same this year which would put them in the mix for 2026.

scandal. Altho' Crane never got officially charged with anything in the

scandal (in today's America, the big boys always go scot free), it's

Starting Pitchers:

impossible to believe that his fingerprints weren't all over it. That being

□ RHP Hunter Brown, 26, '19 5th round pick, '25 12-9 2.43

said, I don't take nearly as dim a view of what was done as most.

□ RHP Tatsuya Imai, 28, '26 IFA from Japan, '25 Japan 10-5 1.92

The 'stros crossed the line, for sure, but non electronic sign stealing

□ RHP Cristian Javier, 28, '15 IFA, '25 2-4 4.62

is considered an art form and tech stuff like analytics is worshipped in

□ RHP Mike Burrows, 26, '26 Trade from Pirates, '25 2-4 3.94

this day and age. The sign stealing scandal was just a matter of

□ RHP Spencer Arrighetti, 26, '21 draft 6th round pick, '25 1-5 5.35

going a little overboard on both fronts.

□ RHP Lance McCullers, 32, '12 draft 1st round pick, '25 2-5 5.61

□ RHP Jason Alexander, 33, '25 FA from A's, '25 4-2 2.66

GM Jeff Luhnow was the architect of the great Astros teams of the late

□ LHP Colton Gordon, 27, '21 draft 8th round pick, '25 6-4 5.34

was suspended for the '20 season for his part in the sign

□ RHP Hayden Wesneski, 28, '25 Trade with Cubs, '25 1-3 4.50

stealing scandal, but that doesn't take away from his truly masterful

□ RHP Ronel Blanco, 32, '16 IFA, '25 3-4 4.10

accomplishments. Luhnow is currently suing saying that he had no

The pitching staff did well last year giving up 56 runs less than the league

knowledge of what was going on and was a scapegoat.

average. However, they lost Framber Valdez off of the top of the rotation to

James Click is the new GM. He's got a tough act to follow.

free agency. That's going to hurt. Houston picked up FA Tatsuya Imai from Japan

but he's not Valdez. Hunter Brown is the only sure thing in the rotation right now.

AJ Hinch had guided Houston through their bludgeoning of the opposition

The Astros are a quality organization so if anybody can get this group right

from '15 thru '19. He obviously did a good job, but was banned from baseball

it would be Houston.

in '20 for his part in the scandal. As soon as his suspension was over, the

Detroit Tigers signed him to a three year contract. Houston didn't do so bad

Relief Pitchers:

either, signing Dusty Baker as his replacement. Dusty is top of the line.

□ LHP Closer Josh Hader, 32, '24 FA from Padres, '25 6-2 2.05 28sv

□ Righty Reliever Bryan Abreu, 29, '13 IFA, '25 3-4 2.28 7saves

2020 - Coming into the decade, the Astros had a tremendous circular

□ LHP Bryan King, 29, '23 from Cubs, '25 5-4 2.78

lineup whose reputation was sullied by the sign stealing scandal.

□ LHP Steven Okert, 34, '25 FA from Twins, '25 3-2 3.01

Here are the OPS of the best team of the decade long run 1999 when

□ LHP Bennett Sousa, 31, '23 FA from Detroit, '25 5-1 2.84

Houston won 107 games and before the scandal became known:

□ RHP Nate Pearson, 29, '26 FA from Cubs, '25 0-1 9.20

C-Chirinos 794; 1B Gurriel 888; 2B Altuve 905; SS Correa 931;

□ RHP Kai-Wei Teng, 27, '26 Trade from SF, '25 2-4 6.37

3B Bregman 1020; OF Springer 977; OF Brantley 877; OF Reddick 733;

□ RHP Ryan Weiss, 29, '26 IFA, '25 Korea 16-5 2.87

DH Alvarez 1069. They scored 138 runs over the league average

□ RHP Enyel De Los Santos, 30, '25 FA from Atlanta, '25 3-0 4.03

□ RHP Roddery Munoz, 26, '26 Rule 5 draft from Reds , '25 0-0 8.18

2020 - The 107 win 1999 pitching staff coming into the season was just as

□ RHP AJ Blubaugh, 25, '22 draft 7th round pick, '25 3-1 1.69

awesome as the starting lineup as they gave up 142 runs less than league

Nice bullpen. Hader is a stud closer and guys like Abreu, King, Okert, Sousa

average: Justin Verlander 21-6 2.56; Gerrit Cole 20-5 2.50;

are quality. Also Ryan Weiss, back from a long stint in Korea, and young AJ

Wade Miley 14-6 3.98; Zach Grienke 8-1 3.02; Will Harris 4-1 1.50 4 saves;

Blubaugh have a good chance of making a strong pen even stronger.

Ryan Pressly 2-1 2.32 3 saves; Robert Osuna 4-3 2.63 38 saves

Impressive.

Regulars:

□ C Yainer Diaz, 27, '21 Trade from Cleveland , '25 20 70 .256

After the high point of 1999, the Astros slowly lost stars due to attrition during

□ 1B Christian Walker, 35, '25 FA from Arizona, '25 27 88 .238

the beginning of the decade but that didn't stop them winning the Division

□ 2B Jose Altuve, 36, '07 IFA, '25 26 77 .265

from 2021 thru 2024 and making it to the post season from 2020 to 2024.

□ SS Jeremy Pena, 27, '18 3rd round pick, '25 17 62 .304

□ 3B Carlos Correa, 31, '12 draft 1st round pick, '25 6 21 .290

2020 - Kyle Tucker, 23, plays his first full season with Houston, albeit a covid

□ OF Zach Cole, 25, '22 draft 10th round pick, '25 4 11 .255

shortened one. He will be dealt away in his contract year to the Cubs at

□ CF Jake Meyers, 30, '17 draft 13th round pick, '25 3 24 .292 16sb

the end of the 2024 season.

□ OF Cam Smith, 23, '25 Trade from Cubs, '25 9 51.236

□ DH Yordan Alvarez, 29, '16 trade with Dodgers, '25 6 27 .263

□ C Cesar Salazar, 30, '18 draft 7th round pick, '25 0 1 .231

□ 3B Isaac Paredes, 27, '25 Trade from Cubs , '25 20 53 .254

□ IF Nick Allen, 27, '26 Trade from Atlanta, ' 25 0 22 .221

□ IF Cavan Biggio, 31, '26 FA from KC, '25 1 4 .174

□ OF Joey Loperfido, 27, '26 Trade from Toronto, '25 4 14 .333

□ IF Brice Matthews, 24, '23 draft 1st round pick, '25 4 9 .167

□ C Walker Janek, 23, '24 draft 1st round pick, '25 A 12 46 .253

□ SS Xavier Neyens, 19, '25 draft 1st round pick, '25 DNP

The Astros scored 35 runs less than the league average last year.

Their heyday as a strong circular lineup are way back in the rear view mirror.

That being said, Alvarez is back from injury and the addition of Correa will help.

Their two power guys last year, Walker and Altuve are thirty five and thirty six years

old which makes them a bit of a question mark. C Diaz, 3B Paredes, SS Pena,

and CF Meyers add some quality depth to the lineup. So, while its not

the lineup that bludgeoned the opposition back in the day, it is somewhat

circular in that they've got eight guys who can hit. On top of that, there are

several youngsters who have a possibility of contributing: Brice Matthews,

Cam Smith and Zach Cole. The offense should be in good shape.