Bleacher Report’s scoreless Astros prediction seems far from reality

Even for the most optimistic Houston Astros fans, it becomes very difficult to imagine a situation in which the Astros can find a way to make a deep playoff run this year or even make the playoffs. Houston is 10 games below .500 with a very tough schedule ahead and now they are short another pitcher with JP France expected to be out for a while with a shoulder injury.

Is a turnaround possible? Of course it does, and this Astros team has at least some of the best players at multiple positions on their roster (and if you ignore how some of them play in 2024). However, at least one media outlet thinks the Astros will still make the playoffs this year against all odds.

The logic of B/R is quite simple. The betting markets appear to have the Astros still alive in the hunt for a playoff spot and, given the track record of the team and its players, a significant turnaround should occur. They acknowledged that usually when a team has a record as bad as the Astros’, a comeback usually never happens.

Still, B/R is betting that guys like Alex Bregman and Josh Hader will each figure things out and that will be enough for the Astros to make a run. However, their surface-level estimate here ignores some fundamental realities about the 2024 Astros and the position they find themselves in.

It’s no longer enough for the Astros to get back into shape given the hole they’ve dug. Not only should Hader earn his big payday and become a dominant closer again, but the rest of the Astros bullpen needs to get its act together and Alex Bregman needs to start hitting. The entire Astros lineup is going to have to start playing like the 2019 offense that completely broke loose, if we’re being honest.

If there were real signs that this was starting to happen, that’s a different conversation. However, the Astros have been mediocre at best as of late and have once again been dominated by the Yankees. Astros fans may be getting a healthy dose of copium from Bleacher Report’s take here, but the reality seems much more complicated.

More Astros news since Tal’s Hill climbed