Astros must consider lineup overhaul with star returns and struggles

Heading into the 2024 season, few expected the Houston Astros offense to be a problem. In some ways, this has proven accurate as they are top five in MLB in player position fWAR (9.5) and top 10 in runs scored (230) in 2024. All of these Things are great, but a closer look reveals some issues. , especially with some expected changes coming.

Kyle Tucker leading the way with 3.4 fWAR shouldn’t surprise anyone, as he’s been close to shutting down all heaters this month. Jose Altuve should also be expected to be third in team fWAR. However, things are starting to go a little off the rails as Jeremy Peña, Jake Meyers, and Joey Loperfido have all been better at the plate than superstars Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman, which is pretty crazy when you think about it.

At this point, the Astros are on a roll and need to maximize their chances of winning given the hole they dug themselves early in the season. In their case, this may involve changing their composition a little.

We’re going to ignore the fact that taking away playing time from Joey Loperfido, because Chas McCormick is healthy and Jose Abreu is coming back, objectively stinks for now. Starting with the top third of the roster, it can stay as is with Altuve, Tucker and Alvarez. There’s an argument for beating Tucker to the lead and moving Altuve to second to break up the southpaws, but that’s purely in the realm of nitpicking. Alvarez has yet to have the season the Astros expected from him, but he is still respected by opposing pitchers and is highly likely to do so again this season.

The cleanup spot is where the Astros might have their biggest problem. If 2024 Alex Bregman was anything like the Bregmans of years past, hitting him fourth would be nice. However, he hasn’t been that guy as Bregman has struggled all year to produce and has only three hits in his last eight games. Too many opportunities are being wasted right now with him hitting in this spot in the lineup, Joey Loperfido probably being the best candidate, but Jeremy Peña being a surprisingly acceptable replacement since Houston seems determined to not play Loperfido again.

As for the Jon Singleton/Jose Abreu spot, there’s no way either of these guys will reach the sixth spot on this team. Jake Meyers is simply better (again, against all odds). Of course, if Abreu comes back and rakes for a few weeks, move him up in the lineup and maybe he’ll go back to being the ideal cleanup hitter if the Astros find a way for him to Space Jam, a younger power hitter , over the past two weeks. By then, they should be literally at the bottom of the lineup behind Yainer Diaz.

The rest can be fluid depending on who is playing and what matchups arise. Dubon can trade ins and outs and hit in that 6-8 range depending on the day and guys can be moved around if there’s a particularly tough lefty or righty on the mound. Houston simply can’t keep doing what it’s doing over and over again and assume the results will improve.

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