Strugglin' Stros Settle in Seattle
13 games in, the the Astros face reality
Well, that was quick.
In the span of 13 games, the Astros went from a team that couldn’t score (2 runs combined in their first two games) to a dominant offensive unit (the next 9 games) and back to a struggling offense that couldn’t stop anyone from scoring (the last two games).
What a ride it’s been, and there are 149 games to go.
But the Astros have real problems and real injuries to deal with.
As I type this, there have been no official moves on the Astros roster, but word is that J.P. France and Taylor Trammell are in Seattle, and it’s just a matter of time before they are added, with Cristian Javier and Jake Meyers being the unfortunate reciprocal moves to the IL.
As a result, I have included the anticipated moves below.
Updated Projections
We are now 8.0% of the way through the season, and it’s obviously still early and not time to panic, but it’s certainly a time to be concerned with Brown and Javier injured, not to mention Myers.
It will be interesting to see how the org navigates the pitching staff for the next little while, with two starters down and the bullpen ineffective.
Seattle is struggling, too, perhaps more than Houston, so it’s the movable force against the stoppable object in the next four.
Record by Starting Pitcher
Quality Starts
The same two lonely quality starts for a pitching staff that is nowhere near playoff-caliber.
The chart below is a big, gigantic flashing sign of not good things.
Game Scores
How bad has it been? Cristian Javier’s one-inning outing, where he had a score of 35, was the highest of his three starts.
Yikes.
The team average is 45.4, which is below the average MLB start (50).
Realizing those numbers may not mean much to some readers, I’m attempting to present them in a format that is easier to understand.
So, I’ve taken the scores and transformed them into a letter grade as you’d get in school.
This is a work in progress and not a final output, as you’re seeing me work through this in real time.
That said, look at the Fs.
Win Shares (not fWAR)
Add all these together, and you get 6, which is the number of wins the Astros currently have.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have to change the sentence above since the last update.
Astros Expected Wins
Early-season volatility is crazy. At this stage, this is nothing but laying the groundwork for a 162-game slog.
AL West Expected Wins
Rangers take the early lead.
Thanks for reading!