Houston Astros Bullpen Has Surprisingly Been Greatest Strength This Season

Despite a slow start to the season, the Houston Astros have been playing much better of late and are right in the mix in the American League West.

Coming into the year, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Astros. During the winter, Houston saw their roster get completely overhauled, which for a team that has been so successful for a long time came as a shock.

Losing players like Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, and Ryan Pressly sent shockwaves through the league, but it was the Astros who decided to part ways with two of the three on the trade market.

Houston seemingly decided to retool the team a bit, while being mindful of their payroll.

After losing so much talent, it wouldn’t have been too much of a surprise if the Astros struggled this year, but instead they have been playing pretty well.

While the lineup is certainly a problem right now, both the starting rotation and the bullpen have been very good. Coming into the campaign, the rotation figured to be the team's best strength, but so far, it has been the bullpen leading the way.

Andy McCullough of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the Astros bullpen being the greatest strength of the team so far this season.

“The back end of the Houston bullpen looks like a strength for a club still trying to find its footing. Hader, Okert, Bryan Abreu, and Bryan King offer manager Joe Espada some options for protecting a lead.”

Coming into the year, the rotation being the strength of the team certainly made sense. With pitchers like Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti leading the way, this unit looked strong.

Even though the rotation has been good with the seventh-best ERA in baseball, the bullpen has topped them, ranking fourth in ERA.

When talking about the bullpen for Houston, Josh Hader is usually the first person mentioned as the closer and one of the best relievers in the game. So far, he has been excellent this campaign, totaling eight saves and a 0.64 ERA.

However, it hasn’t only been Hader performing well. Fellow southpaw Steve Okert also has a 0.64 ERA and is proving to be one of the best value signings of the offseason.

Furthermore, both Bryan King and Bryan Abreu have been good for the Astros, helping to round out one of the best bullpens in baseball.

As the year progresses, the team will hopefully start to get a little bit more production out of their offense to pair with their excellent bullpen and rotation. If that happens, Houston could be a contender once again.