Houston Astros Receive Poor Marks in 2024 Report Card

The Houston Astros had a down year and received poor marks on their 2024 report card because of it.

Aug 1, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown speaks with media before the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros had their first real down year in a while in 2024 despite still making the playoffs, and they have received some criticism because of it.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently analyzed each MLB team's season, and with New Years just a few days away, he gave them all a grade.

The Astros received just a "C" mark.

Houston won the AL West for the seventh time in eight years with an 88-73 record, but following their elimination in the Wild Card round, the team has gone under massive changes this offseason.

The biggest things holding their grade down is obvious.

The Astros missed the ALCS for the first time in ages and are worse on paper after the losses of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman.

Even though they did add Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes, they will likely be a little bit worse in the immediate future. The addition of Cam Smith down the road could make them even better than before.

Walker was a longtime target who should finally provide above average production at first base. Paredes struggled in the second half last season, but seems to be a good fit with the dimensions of Daikin Park.

Houston's turnaround after the first couple of games was the only real positive listed by Rymer, but that also came with a couple of bright spots of its own.

Yordan Alvarez was as good as ever and has reinforced his reputation as one of the best pure hitters in baseball.

His incredible .308/.392/.567 slash line was second only to Tucker. He also hit 35 home runs with 86 RBI, so ass long as he is on the roster, they should be able to build competitive teams.

The other positives were on the pitching staff, namely Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti.

Brown showed ace potential after a rough start, putting up a 2.51 ERA over his last 25 appearances. If he can carry that into next year, he will create a lethal one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Framber Valdez.

Arrighetti wasn't nearly as good as that, but he still showed a lot of growth with a 2.72 ERA over the final two months of the season.

Even if the offense does take a step back next year, the pitching staff should be more than good enough to compete for yet another division crown.

A "C" grade is fair, but things might not be as bad as they seem for 2025.