The Major League Baseball season is about a week shy of reaching the one-third mark, as good a time as any to take a peek at teams and see where they are. This is certainly true of the Astros who currently sit at 25-22 after splitting a series with the Rangers in Arlington over the weekend and taking the first game of a three-game set in Tampa Bay Monday night.

They are in a three-way fight for the AL West much like last year and there have been encouraging signs of late that the Astros are about to make a move in the division. They have faced one of the toughest schedules in baseball already and are about to enter their softest stretch of the season.

Let’s take a look at how the Astros have fared so far.

This is a team that should improve.
At 25-22, this team is already better than last year, but there is no reason to think they won’t get better. They have managed to stay above .500 despite being a very average offensive team and seeing multiple pitchers go down to injury. Yes, they have gotten some stellar contributions (more on that below), but when Jake Meyers has the second best batting average and third best OPS thus far, either he is hitting way over his head (he isn’t) or the rest of the lineup is struggling. As some guys return from injury and others to likely form, this could be a very solid ball club by the All-Star break.

The Astros keeping making the right moves with youngsters…
We all knew Cam Smith was a risky and dynamic choice to the make the roster, but when you look over what the young players have done, across the board they have excelled when the Astros have needed them. Zach Dezenzo has been a terrific addition slashing .244/.330/.359. And young pitchers Ryan Gusto and Colton Gordon have stepped in when injuries to Hayden Wesneski (now out for the season) and Spencer Arrighetti threatened to derail what was a promising lineup. For a team with one of the worst farm systems in baseball, GM Dana Brown keeps pulling rabbits out of his hat.

And veterans.
Huge parts of the Astros lineup turned over in the offseason, mostly on the infield with Isaac Paredes taking over at third, Christian Walker manning first and Brendan Rodgers playing second with Jose Altuve moving to left field. While Rodgers has struggled and Walker is just beginning to round into form, Paredes has been sensational slashing .265/.375/.435 and an OPS over .800 (one of only two players on the team with that mark). Defensively, all three have been very good as expected and all were new additions this offseason. And lest we ignore Stephen Okert, who has come out of nowhere to have the best WHIP on the team and an ERA (1.21) and WHIP (0.55) on the team.

Hunter Brown and Josh Hader have anchored the pitching staff.
Brown is quickly becoming one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. His 1.45 ERA is tied for second in the bigs and he shows no signs of slowing up. Meanwhile, Hader is erasing any weird thoughts fans had last year, allowing just four runs while going 12 for 12 in save situations. He has 29 Ks and just 5 walks in 21 innings of work and a WHIP of 0.81. They are headlining a squad that continues to produce despite injuries. The bullpen in particular has been insanely good and Hader is the crown jewel.

Jeremy Peña is the Astros best hitter so far.
There was a ton of speculation that Peña could have a bounce back season and that appears to be the case. After a stellar rookie campaign followed by a tough sophomore campaign and then a middling 2024, there were questions about whether the chiseled shortstop could become both the power hitter he was as a rookie and still hit for average with more walks (something he did much better in 2024). So far, so good. He leads the team in average (.309), slugging (.455) and OPS (.817). He already has six homers and 23 RBI having made the move to the leadoff spot.

The division is very winnable.
No one is running away with the AL West anytime soon. Seattle is just two games up on the Astros and the Rangers while the A’s and Angels flail around behind them. The Mariners still can’t hit the ball and the Rangers are a hodgepodge of players that don’t seem to fit together exactly. The Astros, even with their struggles and injuries, are likely the best team in the division and it’s just a matter of time before they take the lead back.