These Supposed Star Players Have Been Busts for Astros This Season

While the hopes for the 2025 season may not have been as high for the Houston Astros as they were throughout their recent dynastic reign, they were still expected to be much better than they have been to this point in the year.

That is not to say they are out of the race already as the end of May nears, but the Astros enter play on Monday with a 28-25 record and sit second place in the American League West, 1 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners.

The winter saw a flurry of moves ranging from new acquisitions, superstars going elsewhere and a contract for a long-tenured veteran coming into effect.

For one of those additions, and the long-tenured veteran's contract, the return on investment for Houston has been non-existent.

Jose Altuve and Christian Walker Named Busts for Houston Astros

A recent article from Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report ranked the 10 biggest busts from contracts signed over the offseason. Both Jose Altuve and Christian Walker were named on the list, though in different ways.

While Altuve's deal went into effect over the winter, it was signed in February of 2024, so he did not fall under the criteria and was a "bonus mention."

After a hot start to the year for Altuve, his bat has cooled off tremendously. The former second baseman comes into Memorial Day with a .257/.309/.376 line with six home runs, 18 RBI and a 94 OPS+ across 220 plate appearances in 51 games. If his current level of performance holds, it would mark the first time since 2020 that he finished a season with a negative mark in bWAR (-0.5 at the time of writing) and a sub-100 OPS+.

The bWAR figure is not all Altuve's fault.

The organization questionably decided over the offseason that they would move the not-so-fleet-of-foot second baseman to left field this year, and he has been dreadful.

In just 29 games and 55 attempts on the grass, Altuve has already tallied -2 Outs Above Average.

Walker ranked fifth on the list.

For him, expectations were much higher than what he has shown the team thus far. He was to be the fix for the Astros at first base, as his last three years with the Arizona Diamondbacks saw him become one of the best all-around at the position.

From 2022 through 2024, Walker batted .250/.332/.481 with 95 home runs, 281 RBI and a 123 OPS+ across 1,880 plate appearances in 447 games, while also winning a Gold Glove in each of those three years.

2025 has been a stark contrast.

Through his first 52 games, Walker has batted only .212/.275/.354 with six home runs, 23 RBI and a 77 OPS+ across 218 plate appearances.

It has also not been just his offense to suffer, but his defense as well.

The veteran first baseman has tallied an even zero in the Outs Above Average realm, despite having 58 at the position for his career, with 39 of those coming over the last three years.

The two veterans have failed to step up at the plate and in the field for Houston to this point in 2025, and so far they can only be looked at as major busts.

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