Why Fans Should Still Go to the Astros

For the Houston Astros, after a dreadful 7-19 start in the Joe Espada era this season, things have improved, but not enough to make a significant dent in the AL West standings. In fact, when the Astros woke up Tuesday morning, they were facing their largest deficit in the standings behind the division-leading Seattle Mariners all year, nine games back.

At some point, sooner or later, we’ll probably have to figure out that the current title window is either closed or in serious need of a reset to avoid closing soon. In short, we could be facing our first baseball-irrelevant September here in a decade. So if that ends up being the case and you’re an Astros fan, what are the reasons to continue watching them for the rest of the 2024 season?

Good question! I have four reasons that make things happen for me:

4. Hunter Brown, future ace?
There is currently no pitcher in the organization who has more hope for the future. When Brown was struggling early in the season, with his ERA skyrocketing to over 9.00, serious consideration had to be given to sending him to Sugar Land to fix some things. However, somewhere along the way he started mixing in a sinker, and now his ERA is just above 5.00. It’s still not great, but in his last five starts, all quality starts of at least six innings, Brown has a 1.74 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5 to 8. The development of Brown this season is imperative, regardless of how the Astros finish. He still has four seasons left under contractual control.

3. Ronel Blanco, is this really real?
Blanco has easily been the Astros’ most consistent starting pitcher all season. When the Astros were swept in the season-opening series against the Yankees, Blanco earned the team’s first victory with a complete-game no-hitter against Toronto. Currently, Blanco is 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA, following a Father’s Day outing where he pitched another seven hitless innings against Detroit. His season included a ten-game suspension for illegal substances inside his glove, but he served his time and, aside from one poor outing, Blanco didn’t miss a beat. Like Brown, Blanco will be working on the cheap for the next few years. If that’s what it is, then wow, what a find.

2. Contract triggers to know
Dana Brown is certainly watching this, so why shouldn’t we? The Astros have two contracts for veteran pitchers whose use will depend on their return in 2025. In at least one of those two cases, it’s questionable whether Astro fans want him back. Let’s start here: Reliever Ryan Pressly’s $14 million 2025 contract kicks in when he reaches 50 appearances. Currently, it’s at $29.14 million for the current version of Pressly, not exactly money well spent. The other contract to watch is Justin Verlander, whose $35 million player option kicks in when he reaches 140 innings. Currently, he is on track for 130 innings pitched, but he has missed time with shoulder and neck injuries. If he stays healthy, Verlander should reach his inning goal. It’s worth noting that the Mets would pay $17.5 million of Verlander’s $35 million salary for 2025.

1. Alex Bregman Farewell Tour
We’ve had to do that too often during this recent period of dominance, with popular players like Charlie Morton, George Springer and Carlos Correa leaving in free agency. This offseason, it appears we’re headed in the same direction with third baseman and HEB trade icon Alex Bregman. Recently, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal predicted a “five to ten percent chance” of Bregman returning to the Astros. So enjoy it while you have it, Astro fans! It looks like the Bregman era is coming to an end in September.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6-10 a.m. weekdays. Also follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergaston Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.