Houston Astros Disappointed but Remain in Top 10 Despite Early Playoff Exit

Oct 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; members of the Detroit Tigers celebrate defeating the Houston Astros in game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs

It has been quite the decade for the Houston Astros, with an insane amount of success for the club along the way.

A dynasty that began to show flashes in 2015, finally broke through the wall with their 2017 World Series Championship, the first of two over the last eight years, and have continued to be contenders for the Championship year after year.

The Astros expected no different this year, nor did anyone else inside or outside of the baseball landscape with the amount of talent that fills the roster.

Then, the season commenced, and Houston stumbled out of the gates, 25-33 through the end of May, and many began to count the team out and call it the end of the dynasty.

All the Astros did in response was play 63-40 ball the rest of the way, finishing the year with an 88-73 record, good enough to win the American League West division for the seventh time in eight years, doing so in each of the full seasons since 2017.

The dynasty was not over, but neither was the 2024 campaign as Houston then had to face the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card round.

The October baseball was much shorter than the Astros have grown accustomed to, as they were unceremoniously swept by the Tigers to start their vacations early.

Despite the early exit in the playoffs, Joel Reuter of still ranks the club highly, placing them eighth in the latest iteration of his MLB Power Rankings.

“It feels like the organization is at a crossroads of sorts, and an aging roster could use an infusion of young talent,” writes Reuter, “The emergence of Hunter Brown and Yainer Diaz is a step in that direction.”

It is an interesting position that the club currently finds itself in, withAlex Bregman entering free agency, and top stars Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez slated to do so following the 2025 campaign.

Houston can still contend for the World Series, even without Bregman on the roster, as Yordan Alvarez still exists and, when healthy, is one of the most feared hitters in the sport today.

While the end of the season came much sooner than the Astros expected, it was another fantastic showing from a team that has proven time and time again that they can never be counted out.

The 2025 campaign looks to be more of the same for Houston, but many decisions need to be made between now and 2026 that will determine their future after 2025.