Last year, the Astros won their second World Series title in franchise history. Now, the Astros will shoot for their third as Houston qualified for the playoffs for the seventh straight season and the eighth time in nine years. Here’s how the Astros look as Houston gears up for the MLB Postseason.

Related: How the Diamondbacks Stack Up Entering the 2023 MLB Postseason

A Look at the Astros Offense

The Astros were a top-ten offense in 2022 and that remained the case in 2023. Houston posted the fifth-best team OPS (.768) and runs scored (827) in the Majors this season. And as expected, the offense revolved around the team’s superstars.

Outfielder Kyle Tucker belted 29 home runs and drove in 112 for the Astros, while Alex Bregman overcame a slow start and batted .271/.365/460 with 22 home runs and 86 RBI from May 1 onward.

Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve both missed time on the IL this season, but both also mashed at the plate when at the plate. Alvarez hit 31 home runs over 114 games, while Altuve hit .311/.393/.522 with 17 home runs and 40 extra-base hits in just 90 games.

What makes this Astros team even more formidable than last year’s unit is the emergence of Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz.

McCormick became a household name in baseball after he made an incredible catch during the World Series to preserve a no-hitter, but his bat did the talking this year. The 28-year-old belted 22 home runs and added in 19 stolen bases for Houston this season. As for Diaz, the 24-year-old catcher hit 23 home runs in his rookie season.

Those two proved to have larger impacts on the Astros than former AL MVP Jose Abreu, who signed with Houston this past offseason after a standout career with the White Sox. Abreu posted an OPS of just .680 and didn’t supply the pop that many expected of the 36-year-old. Abreu hit 18 home runs this season, but one positive is that 17 of those came after June 1.

A Look at the Astros Pitching

The Astros rotation looked a bit different in 2023, as Lance McCullers Jr. failed to pitch this season thanks to flexor tendon surgery and Justin Verlander departed to Queens. The latter proved to be short-lived, as Houston re-acquired Verlander in August after the Mets opted to re-tool.

Verlander pitched very well in his return to Houston, as he won seven games and posted a 3.31 ERA over 68 innings.

Aside from Verlander, the Astros rotation had their fair share of ups and downs. Yes, the Astros did receive a pleasant surprise in J.P. France, who delivered quality innings for much of the year. The same can be said for Framber Valdez, who looked very good for most of the year but struggled at times in the summer.

Several of the Astros starters, including Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy, did not live up to expectations. Javier’s second half was particularly problematic, as he sat in the bottom 30 of the league in ERA (5.15).

However, arguably the biggest disappointment from the Astros’ second half was Hunter Brown. Brown was shelled after the All-Star break, and his 6.68 ERA as of October 1 was fourth-worst in the MLB (min. 50 IP). Only Trevor Williams, Carlos Rodon, and Lucas Giolito owned worse ERA figures.

Luckily, the Astros bullpen did their job in the regular season. Ryan Pressly notched 31 saves, while Bryan Abreu and Hector Neris were arguably two of the best relievers in the game this season.

How the Astros Can Win it All

Well, the Astros won it all last season, so it’s rather obvious that this core has the mettle to get it done in October.

Conceivably, the Astros’ road to the World Series got easier on October 1 when Houston beat out the Rangers for first in the AL West and a berth in the ALDS. But, just because the Astros have an automatic berth in the AL final four does not mean this will be an easy run.

For one, the Houston Astros will need to figure out their troubles at home during the MLB Postseason. The Astros went 39-42 at home this season, as opposed to a dominant 51-30 on the road. For reference, Houston won the third-most games on the road this season, behind both the Orioles and Braves (52).

Second, Houston will need the likes of Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier to look more like their 2022 versions as opposed to their 2023 versions. Both were critical arms for the ‘Stros last season, and Justin Verlander won’t be able to do this alone.