The Houston Astros are coming off one of their worst seasons in quite some time. After making the postseason every single year from 2017 to 2024, they would not find themselves playing October baseball for the ninth-consecutive time. 

Injuries played a big part, and the club parted ways with head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall, while also getting rid of a good chunk of the coaching staff. 

Now, the club looks to erase a year of mediocrity. However, they could have their work cut out for them this season. 

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The Astros’ rotation stands out as a glaring weakness on an otherwise solid roster 

Houston will now go into the future without its ace, Framber Vadlez. The Astros could not retain him, and he recently signed a three-year deal and will be joining Tarik Skubal on the Detroit Tigers. 

The front office did not believe they had a chance to re-sign Valdez, so they pivoted. They went out and signed Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows, and Ryan Weiss. 

That certainly is a step down, leaving the ace duties to Hunter Brown. Brown is coming off a fantastic season where he finished third in AL Cy Young voting, but he does not have much help behind him. 

ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle believes this starting rotation could be the club’s biggest problem. 

“The problem isn’t that Houston didn’t address its rotation. Since last season ended, the Astros traded for ex-Pirate Mike Burrows and signed overseas hurlers Ryan Weiss and Tatsuya Imai. The problem is that FanGraphs has Houston’s rotation forecast for the 23rd-best FIP in the majors. It’s a glaring weakness on a roster that otherwise looks pretty good, though I’d like to see a more dynamic situation in center field.”

Now, FanGraphs could be totally wrong about this group, and they can surprise many, but on paper, this rotation could struggle. It will be interesting to see how some of the international arms settle in after making the jump.

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