With just over a third of the 2017 Major League Baseball regular season finished, the Houston Astros are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Maybe it took so long because they have a relatively young core. Perhaps credit was delayed due to the fact that they missed the postseason last year. Nonetheless, the Astros have had one of the best starts to a season in quite some time.
Houston’s current 11-game winning streak has them atop the majority of power rankings. Their 42-16 overall record is the best start to a season through 58 games since the 2001 Seattle Mariners (46-12). The Mariners finished that season with 116-46 record and lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. While being extremely similar to the Mariners, the Astros are hoping for a different fate.
The 2001 Mariners finished the regular season in the top-five in runs scored, batting average, earned run average, saves, strikeouts and batting average against. Currently, the Astros are following suit in all of these categories, but there is one specific stat that could put them over the top: home runs. The 2001 Mariners finished eighth in home runs, with 169. Houston is leading the league in home runs with 92. They are on pace to hit about 100 more home runs than the 2001 Seattle team.
Before the start of the 2001 season, Seattle made a few key offseason signings. They signed veteran Bret Boone, who had been somewhat of a journeyman throughout his career. They also signed the best player to have ever come from Japan, Ichiro Suzuki. Boone finished the season with a career high in home runs (37) and led the AL in RBI (141). He finished third in the AL Most Valuable Player race, behind the winner of the award, his teammate. Along with the MVP trophy, Ichiro also won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He led the league in steals (50) and finished tied for the league lead in batting average (.350).
While Houston made some nice acquisitions this past offseason – Nori Aoki, Charlie Morton, Josh Reddick, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran– none of them are the caliber of player that Ichiro was. Unlike the 2001 Mariners, today’s Astros have a much better, young core group of players. They did not need big signings to come in and transform the lineup. The Astros already have those players in Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer.
Last year, Houston was only a few wins away from making the postseason for consecutive seasons, for the first time since 2004 and 2005. After April, the Astros had the worst record in baseball (7-17). This year’s start has been the complete opposite. Houston has won 15 series and only lost three this season. They also have a total of seven winning weeks and have not lost one yet.
Houston looks destined to make the postseason this year, but how far can they actually go? The 2001 Mariners’ front office was content with the team they had put together, but they were eliminated in the playoffs. This year’s Astros’ team could add a player or two before the end of the trade deadline. Houston has the prospects to land one of the better available starting pitchers on the market. The question is, will they make the necessary move to get them over the hump in the postseason, unlike the 2001 Seattle team?
Harrison Howard covers the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Fantasy Baseball as a Staff Writer for OPSN. Follow him on Twitter @harryhoward54.
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