Houston Astros 2024 MLB season recap: Turnaround season sets stage for uncertain future
Houston Astros
2024 record: 88-73
1st place, AL West
Team ERA: 3.74 (6th in MLB)
Team OPS: .740 (8th in MLB)
What Went Right
On June 18th, the Astros were 10 games back in the division, but Houston proved once again that it’s a long season. The Astros outlasted the Seattle Mariners and defending World Series champion Texas Rangers to win the division for the fourth year in a row and seventh time in the last eight years. The Astros’ offensive core of Yordan Alvarez (168 wRC+), Kyle Tucker (180 wRC+), Jose Altuve (127 wRC+) and Alex Bregman (118 wRC+) all had productive years, though a shin injury limited Tucker to 78 games. Framber Valdez (3.08 xFIP) had another ace-level season. Hunter Brown (3.47 xFIP) recovered from allowing nine runs in his third start of the season to have a 2.88 ERA over his last 27 starts of the year. Similarly, rookie Spencer Arrighetti (4.01 xFIP) had a 3.31 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 87 innings over his last 15 starts. Yusei Kikuchi (2.74 xFIP) was excellent in 10 starts after being acquired at the trade deadline.
What Went Wrong
The Astros’ streak of seven straight years in the ALCS came to an end as they were swept by the Detroit Tigers and former Astros manager A.J. Hinch in the Wild Card Series in two games in Houston. The Astros’ prize addition from last offseason closer Josh Hader coughed up Game 2 of the series by allowing a three-run double to Andy Ibanez. In a way it was a microcosm of Hader’s season as he had a career-high eight losses despite a 2.93 xFIP. Two offseasons ago, the Astros gave a big contract to first baseman Jose Abreu, who was released after having a 0 wRC+ in 120 plate appearances. In his stead, Jon Singleton had a 105 wRC+ in 405 plate appearances, which is fine but not enough to justify the money Houston gave Abreu. In 2023, Chas McCormick hit 22 home runs with 19 stolen bases and had a 133 wRC+ in 457 plate appearances, but he was hurt and had a 66 wRC+ in 267 plate appearances this year. That led to Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubon getting a lot of playing time. Meyers (86 wRC+) and Dubon (87 wRC+) had 513 and 428 plate appearances respectively and that was too much for players of their caliber.
