Slow Start Ended Up Hurting Houston Astros Greatly in 2024

The slow start in 2024 ended up hurting the Houston Astros

Oct 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader (71) waits for a mound visit by pitching coach Joshua Miller (36) during the ninth inning of game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros saw their season come to an end this week, as the Detroit Tigers were able to defeat them in the Wild Card Round in two games. 

Despite losing to the red-hot Tigers, it was a good campaign overall for the Astros. They won the American League West and made the playoffs. However, their expectations were likely much higher. 

To start the year, Houston was playing some pretty bad baseball. The Astros got off to a very slow start, as they were held back by injuries. For quite some time, it looked like they might even miss the playoffs, but in the summer, they got things turned around and went on a great run. 

Recently, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report spoke about one thing every team learned this season. For Houston, it was that their slow start ended up costing them. 

“That slow start still mattered, though, if for no other reason than because it cost the Astros a chance to nab a bye for the first round of the playoffs. Some may understandably see such things as unintentional booby traps, but a bye would have given Yordan Alvarez basically another week to rest his sprained right knee. It also conceivably would have allowed the Astros to miss Tarik Skubal, who dominated Game 1 of the Tigers' two-game sweep of Houston in the Wild Card Series.”

Considering the Astros went on a great run in the second half of the year and were one of the best teams in baseball, being eliminated this early in the playoffs was surprising. However, the Tigers were also a really hot team coming into the postseason, and in a three-game series anything can happen. 

A team like Detroit that had the Cy Young Award winner in Tarik Skubal and a deep bullpen was going to be a problem to face in what ended up being just two games. 

If the series was a best of five, the Astros would have been able to lean on their starting rotation more, as they would have had a nice advantage with Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Yusei Kikuchi, and Ronel Blanco. 

Furthermore, while their rotation is very good, Valdez was outperformed by Skubal in the matchup of the aces. Also, a few extra days off for Yordan Alvarez would likely have helped get him a bit healthier. 

For next season, Houston will surely be trying to avoid a slow start so they can get a bye and avoid the Wild Card Round after what happened this campaign.