Coming in with the same 70-92 record that Twins had is the Houston Astros, who finished the year 4th in the AL West.
Houston had a lot of good in a year 22 games below .500. Jose Altuve is a hitting machine, Chris Carter, George Springer, and Jon Singleton all showed glimpses of brilliance, and Collin McHugh and Dallas Keuchel pitched well in the starting rotation. However, their bullpen was a mess, as was the front office, who had many issues surrounding draft picks (see Mark Appel and Brady Aiken). Here's what we think will happen next season:
- George Springer will hit 40+ home runs. Springer only played 78 games this past season, but hit 20 homers in those games, including an impressive streak of 6 homers in 6 days. With Altuve hitting in front of him, Springer can easily reach the 100 RBI mark as well.
- While I'm at it, Chris Carter will also hit 40+ home runs. He hit 37 last year, which doesn't make this thaaat bold. But still, the Astros having 2 players hitting 40+ home runs?! That's crazy. But we think it will happen. FYI: The last time a team had 2 players hit 40+ homers? The 2006 Chicago White Sox. Jermaine Dye hit 44 and Jim Thome hit 42.
- The Houston Astros enter September play within 10 games of first place in the AL West. How much of an improvement is this? Well, the Houston Astros entered September play this previous season 25 games out of first place. How does this happen? 1. The hitters who impressed this year continue to impress last year. That means everyone I mentioned in the introduction paragraph above. 2. They step it up in the field. Houston ranked 24th of all MLB teams in errors committed. 3. The bullpen doesn't suck. Obviously, a bullpen can't just stop being unproductive. But the Astros blew 24 saves. If they somehow found a way to squeak out just half of those 24 games, they would have finished the year at an impressive 82-80.
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