We’re about two months into the 2017 season, and one thing has become abundantly clear: the Houston Astros are on another level. This team has drawn comparisons to the 2005 squad and it’s perfectly justified. However, when you look into the data there are some things that many fans need to take notice of.
Here are just five of the things that have helped the Astros become the best team in baseball at this point of the season.
Reason #1: Hitting for Average
As of this writing, the hitting for Houston has become contagious as they currently have the third best batting average, behind the Washington Nationals and New York Mets. It gets even more intriguing for this team as only one player is below the current league average of .250. The last few seasons for the Astros has been a mixed bag when it comes to their performance on the plate. They were either hitting dingers all day or striking out.
Reason #2: Striking Out Less
Speaking of striking out, they haven’t done that nearly as much as they have the last two years. Looking back at the 2015 playoff season, they struck out 1392 times which was the second-most in the league last year. In the first two months of 2015, the Astros struck out 464 times. Looking at the Astros around the same time, they’ve struck out only 292 times. The discipline this team has at the plate is exactly what you want to see from this squad.
Reason #3: HR Hitting Still Consistent
While the home runs aren’t entirely a given for this team, the Astros can still knock the cover off the ball when needed. At this point of the season, they’re in the top 10 in the league at hitting the longball. Considering that this isn’t the same league as it was 15-20 years ago, it seems like it’s gotten more difficult to do. If the Astros can keep up this pace, they could very well be a playoff team when the season is over.
Reason #4: Consistent Pitching From Keuchel
Last season for Dallas Keuchel was a far cry from the man that had won an AL Cy Young the season before. He seems to be returning to his 2015 form with the second best ERA in the league (1.84) and a 7-0 record to boot. However, he’s not the only one who’s been doing a great job from the mound.
Reason #5: Pitching All Around Looks Solid
Outside of Mike Fiers, the pitching staff has been solid through the first two months of the season. They lead the league in strikeouts and are towards the top in a lot of other categories of note like ERA and WHIP. Mike Fiers is the obvious outlier because of the amount of home runs he has allowed this season, but it hasn’t entirely affected his win-loss record and will probably be in the pen after the All-Star Break.
-Clint Domingue