This year, for the first time since 1994, the American
League West is going to be getting a new team. It will no longer be a four team race. The Houston Astros will be
joining the Mariners, Athletics, Angels and Rangers to challenge for the coveted playoff spot. As Mariners fans and longtime
members of the AL West we should celebrate the arrival of our new rival. Unless
something goes total terribly disastrously wrong, for the first time in years the
M’s won’t be the worst team in the division. We should also spend some time
getting to know our new opponents. After all, we are going to see them 18 times
this year.
So, first let’s state this simply, the Astros are
terrible. They have lost 105+ games each of the last two seasons and haven’t had
a winning record since 2008. During that time the team has consistently traded
away all their players that show potential (Michael Bourne, Hunter Pence, Wandy
Rodriguez, Jed Lowrie, the list goes on and on). This has basically left them with a roster absent of major league talent.
So, what about the players? There must be some of them that
are worth knowing. Well maybe one. Last year their lone all-star representative
was 2B Jose Altuve, who had a wRC+ of 104 and played pretty mediocre to bad
defense. That performance is very exciting, but like I said before, the Astros have basically traded away everyone
worth knowing. However, as a fellow AL West member, we should still take a look
at the roster.
In the starting rotation the most notable names are Lucas
Harrell and Bud Norris. Harrell is the better of the two, with a lower ERA and
xFIP, but Norris gets more of the press. This is because Norris does a good job
striking people out, while Harrell doesn’t. They also signed Phil Humber, the guy that
threw a perfect game against the M’s last year and ended the season off a major
league roster. So, who knows what they have in him. After those three they are
definitely going to have other players starting games.
In the bullpen the situation is no better. Last year’s best
reliever, Wilton Lopez, is now with the Colorado Rockies. Like I said before
everyone leaves Houston. The best players left is Wesley Wright, who strikes
people out at a good rate, minimizes walks and minimizes home runs. So,
hopefully he will be a bright spot. In other hilarious news, Bill Bavasi draft
bust Josh Fields, is on the roster.
The position players finish up this terrible roster the way
it began, with a bunch of nothing. The aforementioned Jose Altuve should be
solid enough and probably an All-Star again (because of the every team has to
have one rule). After him the team does have Chris Carter and Carlos Pena (both
former A’s, weird) who should provide Homers and strikeouts in abundance.
Infielders Tyler Greene and Marwin Gonzalez, managed to compile 0.0 WAR last
year in a combined 500+ PA, so that is something. Not just anybody can play at
a perfectly replacement level for an entire season, and the Astros have two such palyers!
There you have it. The Houston Astros are the new team in
the AL West. I would call them a competitor, but that might be too strong of a
word. Unless something changes or some players pop in an unexpectedly good way
they look to be awful yet again. Take comfort Mariners fans there is finally
somebody worse off than us!
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