Houston Astros See Huge Slip in MLB Power Rankings

The Houston Astros have began their season on rocky footing, as such they have seen their position in MLB's power rankings fall.

Power rankings don't carry any weight in terms of a team's performance, them making the postseason, or really any indication of future performance. 

But they do take into account the state of the team from benchmark to to benchmark. In this case, MLB.com's latest power rankings take into account team's performances after about 10 games. 

In this case, it can be a valuable tool to reassess where teams are, strengths, flaws, and where they can go from here. 

For the Houston Astros, they were ranked in the top spot ahead of the 2023 MLB season and have now fallen to sixth place after starting 4-6.

The offense has been okay, outside of third baseman Alex Bregman who has an abysmal .411 OPS. Bregman stated entering the season that he wanted to get back to MVP-level production and believed most people were sleeping on him as a player. 

Well, he needs to do something, anything to get back on track. Luckily the offense isn't suffering too badly due to his performance, so a rebound would make them that much more lethal.

However, what has let the Astros down is their pitching staff. 

Starter Luis Garcia has been downright awful to begin the season. He holds an ERA of 7.00 and a WHIP of 2.000. That's very high for those keeping up at home. 

Aside from Framber Valdez, every other pitcher has an ERA north of 3.50. That's not bad and an entire staff made out of those types of guys makes the postseason and probably makes some noise. 

But Houston has been an absolute juggernaut because their pitching has been unquestionably the best in the game. Every season. Without fail.

Now we are seeing cracks in the armor following Justin Verlander's departure, Lance McCullers Jr.'s injury and the subsequent introduction of Hunter Brown, Jose Urquidy, and Luis Garcia into the rotation long term. 

Still, Houston was ranked higher than numerous other teams with a winning record who have been playing very good baseball. It is a testament to Houston that many believe they have too much talent to maintain any type of mediocrity for too long. 

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