3 weaknesses that could sink Astros in MLB 2024 Playoffs ft. closing pitching

In June, the Houston Astros sat approximately 10 games behind the Seattle Mariners in their division, the AL West. Since then, some tremendous play across the board contributed to Houston posting one of MLB's best records. They would eventually finish first in their division for the seventh time since 2017.

With that said, some issues remain on the radar for Astros fans. Today, we will be outlining some weaknesses that could spell issues for the club if they persist in the postseason.

Three weaknesses that could sink the Houston Astros in the playoffs

3. Streaky Hitting

While Astros hitters - mostly - recovered from early-season woes in 2024, streaky hitting was an issue for the team this year. For instance, Alex Bregman hit just .220 through April and May in a contract year, while Jeremy Pena hit under .265 for three out of the six months this season. Meanwhile, Jose Altuve has only hit a pair of homers since August 25 after doubling that number in the month before.

This feast-or-famine reality for the Astros pitching has not been too damaging during the 162-game season. However, should some of their big bats find themselves in a cold snap during a five-game series, that could be a big problem.

2. Stripped-down Rotation

The Astros will begin the 2024 postseason with four high-profile pitchers - Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, and Lance McCullers - on the IL. Meanwhile, former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander has allowed 19 runs in his last 18 innings.

"Jose Ramirez takes Justin Verlander DEEP for home run No. 39!" - Talkin' Baseball

These realities focus the scope on Yusei Kikuchi, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Ronel Blanco this season. Although all of these arms have performed well this year, the simple reality of the postseason is the fewer starters you have, the more limited your strategic options become.

Particularly with Verlander showing signs of slowing down, and names like Javier and McCullers - who have previously been postseason warriors for Houston - out of the rotation, opposing teams could exploit this over-reliance on a handful of starting pitchers.

1. Late Game Relief

Closing and set-up pitching was, without a doubt, the biggest headache for the Astros this season. In the eighth inning or later, the Astros posted a 4.01 ERA this season, while that figure slips to 4.38 in the ninth or later. The San Diego Padres are the only postseason-bound club to have posted a worse late-game runs number.

Closer Josh Hader was a part of this breakdown. Last season, Hader posted a 1.28 ERA in 61 games. This season, Hader's ERA expanded to 3.80. Even attempts to replace Hader with old reliever Ryan Pressly fell flat, as Pressly posted his worst WHIP in six years, and ranked third in MLB in blown saves.

"Just a middle-middle sinker that Cal Raleigh did not miss. Josh Hader has allowed 10 earned runs in his first 15 appearances as an Astro. He allowed eight earned runs all season last year." - Chandler Rome

When the game gets late, the Astros have shown weakness. This can be a death blow to a club in the postseason.