The Most Dissapointing Astros of 2024

This one hurts...

The 2024 season has been a very weird mixed bag for the Houston Astros.

After starting 12-24, many a man thought the Astros’ golden age was over. It hasn’t always been easy, and despite trailing the AL West by ten games on June 18th, the Astros currently lead the AL West by one game on the day that this is written.

Throughout the season, there have been good players, bad players, positive surprises, and massive disappointments.

In this article, we will discuss disappointments. The Astros that were expected to be good or decent, but utterly failed in 2024. 

Jose Abreu 

In the winter of 2022, the Astros signed a former all-star, and former MVP, Jose Abreu. With the White Sox, from 2014-2022, Abreu had a .292 batting average, and a 135 OPS+. He was a 3x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, and the 2020 AL MVP.

Although Abreu was entering his age 36-year-old season, many Astros fans thought that Abreu would be an at least decent bat in an already stacked lineup.

Abreu’s 2023 campaign wasn’t terrible per se. He did have a .237 average and a below-average 87 OPS+.

Abreu ended up hitting 18 home runs and produced 90 RBIs which wasn’t terrible. In the 2023 postseason, he performed well in eleven games, hitting .295 with a .945 OPS. While most people knew Abreu was getting older, nobody expected the drastic fall-off we saw from him in 2024. 

From March 28th through April 28th, Abreu had a pitiful .099 batting average, and a .269 OPS through 22 games. Abreu was so bad that he agreed to be sent down to the minor leagues.

After he was called back up, he hit a couple of home runs and had a few more hits, but ended up getting released on June 14th.

Abreu’s final season statistics had him hitting to the tune of a .124 batting average, a .361 OPS, and an OPS+ of 3.

For those who don’t know, an average OPS+ is 100. Lastly, the Astros are 14-21 in games he played in, and 39-28 in games that he didn’t. It’s safe to say that this big free agent signing has been a massive flop. 

Rafael Montero

In 2021, the Astros traded Abraham Toro and Joe Smith for Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero. Graveman was the main attractor to the Astros for this trade and Montero was somewhat of an afterthought.

He pitched four games in 2021 and gave up no earned runs before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.

In 2022, he came back and had the season of his life. That season he went off, appearing in 71 games, going 5-2, and finishing with a 2.37 ERA. He was a mainstay in the back end of the 2022 Astros bullpen. The Astros would win the World Series that year and Rafael Montero would earn himself a fancy three-year, 34.5 million dollar contract extension. 

Things have only been disappointing since then. In 2023, Montero went 3-3 with a 5.08 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.53 in 68 appearances. To begin 2024, he had a bit of a promising first month.

In his first twelve appearances, Montero only gave up two runs, good for a 1.50 ERA. It seemed like Montero was the only bullpen arm in April that hadn’t collapsed.

Unfortunately, while Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly, and Josh Hader have only gotten better as the season has gone on, Montero has gotten worse.

Despite his low ERA to start the season, he had a FIP of 4.73, showing that he had been getting pretty lucky to start the season. Fast forward to late July, and Montero’s ERA is now 4.58, and his FIP is up to 6.30, showing that he’s actually been overperforming by a little bit.

With no end to Montero’s recent struggles in sight, this is yet another contract that I imagine Jim Crane regrets from both a team and financial standpoint. 

Chas McCormick

This one hurts both me and my dad to talk about. In 2021, a little-known outfielder named Chas McCormick made the Astros opening-day roster.

A good surprise to begin his major league career, McCormick topped out at 22 home runs in 2023 and a 130 OPS+ in 115 games.

McCormick also had a highlight catch in the 9th inning of game 5 of the World Series in 2022, robbing JT Realmuto of a one-out double, or triple.

Controversy over his playing time compared to Mauricio Dubon was a massive knock on Dusty Baker last year. Chas has had pretty high highs with the Astros. 

Unfortunately, there have been low lows for him as well, especially in the 2024 season. Sidelined for a month and change due to a hamstring injury, and poor performance while he has been on the field, in general, has led to McCormick’s future with the Astros being questioned.

When he has been on the field, McCormick has not hit well as in 60 games he’s hit .211 with a low OPS+ of 72. Due to the lack of highly touted prospects in the Astros farm system, and the logjam in the outfield, along with the poor performance, the Astros are in rumors of shopping McCormick.

It would be a disappointing way for his Astros’ tenure to end due to how good he’s been for the Astros in the past, and the fact that this was supposed to be the year for him to take that next step. No matter what happens, we will always be thankful for his contributions to three World Series contenders, and one World Series win during his time in Houston. 

Those are the three most disappointing Astros in 2024. I decided not to add Pressly or Hader because they are now above average ERA+-wise.

Also, Bregman could’ve been on the list earlier this season, but just like Pressly and Hader, he has played up to his standards in the last few months.

Anyways, who do you think is the most disappointing Astro of 2024? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet your answers to us @astronomic1.