Houston Astros on the Rise

Attention American League West: Houston may cause you problems. While a record of 31-37 and a last-place (10 games out) standing in the A.L. West may not look all that impressive, the Houston Astros are starting to make themselves very well-known.

On May 24, the Astros had a Major-League worst record of 18-32 and sat 12.5 games out. Since then, they have had the Majors Leauge’s best record of 14-5 according to MLB Network’s Heidi Watney on the June 13 edition of Quick Pitch. That run included a seven-game winning streak from May 24-30 and a 6-of-8 stretch from June 5-12. They currently stand at 31-37 as play begins on June 13.

What has caused this Astronomical surge? Offense, and plenty of it, has contributed heavily. Overall, the Astros rank 11th in the American League in runs scored, but in May, they stepped it up to 6th, and so far in June, they are tied for third. George Springer (12 HR, 36 RBI) and Chris Carter (13 HR, 30 RBI) have emerged as the offensive leaders, mostly since the middle of May. In addition, Jon Singleton ( 3 HR, 9 RBI) has added some punch since his call-up on June 3.

Veteran Jose Altuve is one of those lesser-known but very pesky players who does not do anything in a spectacular fashion — he does not hit 50 home runs or drive in 120 runs — but he always does something to help his team win a ball game. Altuve is hitting .319 with 2 HR, 22 RBI, 24 SB, and 33 R, and he makes the routine plays at second base with the best of them, making himself the easy pick for team MVP.

On the mound, Dallas Keuchel has come from nowhere to rank fifth in the A.L. in ERA at 2.38, leading to an 8-3 record. He has a strong chance of making the A.L. All-Star team. Collin McHugh (4-3, 2.92) and Scott Feldman (3-4, 3.98) have also kept the starting rotation strong.

With losing so much to start the season,  the Astros have not had many save opportunities. They had six save opportunities for all of May and four so far in June. On the season, the Astros are 13 for 22 in converting saves with Chad Qualls going 8 for 10. Matt Albers (0-0, 0.90), Darin Downs (1-0. 1.23), and Tony Sipp (1-0, 2.51) have really settled into their setup roles.

Manager Bo Porter keeps his team motivated after suffering through a dreadful 2012 in the N.L. Central and 2013 debut in the A.L. West. The young talent of Springer, Singleton, Carter, and Keuchel have started to blossom, and there is hope for the future in 2014 first-round draft pick Brady Aiken, who recently agreed verbally with the team.

The Astros will not win the A.L. West this year, but the near future looks especially bright. After a few very tough years rebuilding, Astros fans can finally look forward to a winning team within the next few years and at least some exciting baseball in Minute Maid Park for the rest of 2014.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Houston Area Council, http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/astros-scout-day-2014-06-29