Houston Belongs to Alex Bregman

When the Astros won the World Series last year, if you were to pinpoint one specific star of the team, odds are it'd have been someone like Jose Altuve, George Springer or Carlos Correa. Now? Even when there are people like Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole surging, or if Altuve and Springer are still doing well...this is Alex Bregman's team. The man has come up in such a big way that nobody could have anticipated, making appearances in the All Star Game and Home Run Derby,

Bregman is leading the team in home runs, WAR, and RBIs. He's also leading all Astros that are not Jose Altuve in hits, which is a nice achievement. But also, he's excelling in a way that has outlasted any previous indication. Like, in 2017, he was alright, and had a very slow start, but here...he's just been fantastic from the getgo, and has been a strong, consistent presence on this still-amazing roster.

How do I sum up how great this team is? Uh...every starter has over 8 wins, the most being Charlie Morton's 11. Every starter has 100+ strikeouts except for Dallas Keuchel, who'll cross said mark with his next start. They have three relievers with lower than 2.00 ERA. 7 players have WAR higher than 2. It's late July. They're too good.

Being this good, the Astros run the risk of peaking too early, but...with talent like this, I don't see that happening. I honestly think they're a bit more well-rounded than they were when they won the title, and I think they're going to be dangerous in the playoffs.

Coming Tonight: The Braves' third baseman. Like everyone else, he's doing really well.