4 Reasons the Houston Astros Will Win the AL West

The Houston Astros are one of the best teams in baseball right now and are in search of yet anoth

Aug 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez (44) reacts to hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros have jumped ahead to a four-game lead for their division after their horrid start to the season. No longer playing catch-up, they need to stay in front of the pack.

Here are four reasons that they are destined to win the AL West for the sixth time in seven years:

They are the hottest team in the division

For a while it was a three-team race in the standings between Houston, the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.

So far in the month of August, the Astros sit at an impressive 11-4 record. The Mariners have fallen a bit behind at a 7-8 record and the Rangers are completely off the map at 5-11.

Texas has virtually no chance to climb back to take the crown, so it's now between Houston and Seattle. The two teams still have one series remaining at the end of September, the second-to-last of the year, and that could end up deciding it.

A Cy Young winner and a former MVP candidate are still coming back from injury

It's hard for a team to play up to their best ability when they don't have their best players around.

Justin Verlander has been out since the beginning of June and missed most of the team's resurgence. While he isn't the same pitcher that won a Cy Young just two seasons ago, he still will add to a winning formula.

Kyle Tucker was playing MVP-level baseball before he went down with a shin contusion also in early June. Adding his bat into an already Top-10 outfield group will be nice.

The Astros are 39-21 since the two have been on the IL at the same time. Once they are back, things should get even better.

Josh Hader has finally figured it out again

After signing a record-breaking contract in the offseason, Hader's career in Houston got off to an incredibly shaky start.

He had a 6.39 ERA after his first month in an Astros uniform and had fans calling for his head. Things smoothed out a bit after that, but he was due for a rough stretch for a few games.

Now, after months of reassurance that he would return to form, he seems to have settled in to his new home.

The 30-year-old has only blown one save since July 9 and has a 1.65 ERA over his last 16 games. Batters are slashing a measly .059/.186/.137 against him in that time.

Having a shutdown closer in the playoffs is a complete game-changer and he seems to be brimming with confidence now.

The top of the lineup is on fire

It's a good sign for the offense when the worst-performing of its star players is Jose Altuve.

Altuve isn't playing bad, to be clear, he's slashing .279/.340/.442 over his last 10 games. It's just the other players around him are seeing the ball as good as they ever have.

Over his last 10 games, Yordan Alvarez has gone yard five times with an absurd slashing line of .389/.511/.861. He finally looks to have the home-run power again after only hitting one over a stretch of 24 games.

The most surprising of all has been Alex Bregman. He also has five home runs over his last 10 with a line of .356/.396/.778. There was a point, over 50 games into the season, where he was still slashing just .206/.273/.317.

Houston's stars are playing well at the right time and it is screaming good things for the team down the stretch.