Astros 2022 season review

What a season, a 105-56 record, 1st place in the division and 1st place in the Al. It was a pleasure watching this team, unbelievable. We were expected to win so 90-92 games. An incredible performance by the team. Especially the pitching has been fantastic this season, it's the best in the AL! The Astros' team ERA is #1 in the AL. Unbelievable.

We'll start with the hitters:

Martin Maldonado

Even though his defense is so good, Martin Maldonado still had a so-so year. He had a 0.3 bWAR and hit .187 with a 70 OPS+ and a career high 15 home runs. Season Grade: D+

Yuli Gurriel

It's the most disappointing Astros of them all. An 84 OPS+ and a -0.3 WAR with a .286 OBP are not the best stats. However, Gurriel is still a great Astro in his career and I thank him for everything he has done for this organization so far. Season Grade: D

Aledmys Diaz

Diaz was a great utility player with a solid 96 OPS+ and 12 HR in only 91 games. Overall he has been very valuable to the team and has grabbed a 1.0 bWAR in 301 at bats. Season grade: C+

Chas McCormick

After Brantley was injured, the Astros needed a replacement. And Chas McCormick did his job. In 118 games, McCormick had a .327 OBP and a 107 OPS+ with good defense. Season grade: C+

Kyle Tucker

Extended him! PLEASE! A fabulous season with a 128 OPS+ combined with great defense and 25 stolen bases. He hit 30 HR and 28 doubles with 107 RBI. He had a great 5.2 bWAR and was so damn good for the Astros. Season Grade: A-

Alex Bregman

The old Bregman is officially back. What a season he had. He had a .365 OBP and drew 86 walks with a 133 OPS+. His defense is very consistent at 3B and he had played the most games for the Astros. He also has a 155 OPS+ since July 17 in a 93 game span. His 4.5 bWAR is really good and it's really nice to have the old Bregman back. Season Grade: B+

Jose Altuve

3rd best OPS in the AL, 5th best OPS in the mlb, an MVP season. I'm amazed how he had an MVP caliber season at 32 years old. In 2020 everyone said Altuve is not good and the contract is not worth it. Last season he proved everyone wrong with his 127 OPS+, but this season he showed them how much that contract was worth it for the Astros. A 160 OPS+, I'm not going to lie, 160!!! It's unbelievable. He has a 5.2 bWAR and has hit exactly .300. Fantastic season. Season Grade: A

Yordan Alvarez

In the National League he would have been the MVP, it was a remarkable season for Yordan. He had a .405 OBP with 37 HR and a 186 OPS+, that is incredibly insane. This season is one of the best in Astros history. There's no other way to put it. He also has an incredible 6.7 WAR and a .304 BA. I can't put it any other way than "Incredible." Yordan is a beast. Season Grade: A+

Moving on to the starting pitchers:

Jose Urquidy

Urquidy was pretty solid, but far from good. After a bad start he had a really good phase, but in the last starts he wasn't that good again. I expected more from him, I thought he had more potential with his ability to throw strikes. But he allowed too many HR, that was his problem. He had a 3.94 ERA in 164.1 IP. That would be a 97 ERA+, so he was 3% worse than average. Season Grade: C-

Luis Garcia

Home runs. The home runs are the main problem for him, yet he was very solid this season. He threw 157.1 innings and posted a 3.72 ERA with 157 K's. His stuff was great, but he threw a lot of pitches in the zone that were easy to hit out of the park. His ERA+ was 104, so he was 4% better than average. Season Grade: C+

Cristian Javier

Right now he has a 23 inning scoreless streak and has a fantastic 2.54 ERA in 148.2 IP on the year. His stuff is overwhelming and you can't hit a ball hard or well against him. His control issues are also under control and his 0.94 WHIP is excellent. What a season, I am proud of him. I expected a good season from him, but not such a brilliant one. His ERA+ is 152, so he is 52% better than average (Pretty outstanding). Season Grade: A-

Framber Valdez

Framber was outstanding. What a season. A 2.89 ERA in 196.1 IP, he had 25 quality starts in a row and his strengths include limiting HR (0.6 HR/9). I am still fascinated by his 25 quality starts, how can you do that? 25 times 6 innings or more in a row, Framber is truly a beast. He would be the ace of the Astros if it weren't for JV. His ERA+ is 133, so he is 33% than average, but since he has pitched many more innings than almost anyone else on the Astros, it is of course harder to have as really good an ERA+ as Javier for example. Season Grade: A

Justin Verlander

INCREDIBLE I CAN'T THINK OF WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS NON HUMAN BEING. What kind of season has this been? I can't put it into words. It was just IMPOSSIBLE. A 1.75 ERA. I'm not talking about a relief pitcher, I'm talking about a starting pitcher. He pitched 175 innings and had a goddamn 1.75 ERA, you've got to be kidding me. I will never forget that season and I will never see such a great season ever from an Astro. His ERA+ is 220, so he was 120% better than average (It's REALLY true, it's impossible, I know).

I didn't want to do the bullpen now too, otherwise the post would have been too long. (Sorry Stanek, Montero, Abreu and Pressly – you were all fantastic, especially Stanek).