Blue Jays: What can be learned from each of the final four

Houston Astros

I said I would get to the topic of baseball’s rotation a little later, so I figured I’d talk about the Astros next.

If there is a team in baseball that has a better top three in their rotation than the Nationals, it would be the Astros with Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, and Zack Greinke. That’s about as good as it gets, and if I had to pick between the two, I’d likely lean toward Houston’s trio.

That said, it’s not just the rotation that has put the Astros two wins away from meeting the Nationals in the 2019 World Series. As much as I hate to say it, I think Houston has probably built the most balanced team in Major League Baseball, as they are a significant threat beyond just their starting rotation.

With an offence lead by Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, George Springer, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel and more, the Astros’ offence can be almost as devastating as their rotation when they’re all healthy, which has been the only problem over the last couple of seasons. That’s not an issue right now though, and the Yankees are going to have their hands full in stopping Houston from making another appearance in the Fall Classic.

The Astros’ bullpen is no slouch either, and they’ve been very solid throughout this year’s postseason as well. With a group that includes Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, Will Harris, Joe Smith, and more, there isn’t much of a break after the starter leaves the game.

It’s the type of team that can’t stay together forever, and we’re going to start seeing their window of contention close in the next few years. For now though, the Astros should still be considered as the World Series favourite, and there are plenty of reasons for it.