New York Yankees
Houston Astros 2025 Season Preview
The Astros have won the AL West seven of the last eight seasons. That is the good MLB news for Houston. The bad is that it has seen its win total drop from 106 to 90 to 88 over the last three seasons. As they say, what goes up must come down. Will the trend continue in 2025?
2025 Houston Astros Win Total Projection & World Series Odds
Houston has been one of the most difficult MLB matchups for teams in both leagues recently. However, its regular-season wins total projection is headed South again. BetUS has the Astros at 86½ victories for a totals bet in MLB predictions. That would mean if it goes under this would be a fourth straight season of falling. The World Series odds are +1800, which is a nice number if you think the team will bounce back and make the deep playoff run.
2025 Houston Astros Projected Starting Lineup
The projected starting lineup per MLB.com:
Lineup:
- Jose Altuve, LF
- Isaac Paredes, 3B
- Yordan Alvarez, DH
- Christian Walker, 1B
- Yainer Diaz, C
- Jeremy Peña, SS
- Chas McCormick, RF
- Mauricio Dubón, 2B
- Jake Meyers, CF
Lineup Strengths and Weaknesses
There is trouble at the top of the lineup and it isn’t because of what happens when Altuve comes to the plate. The perennial All-Star has been switched to left field and results in spring training have been troublesome. Switching positions is difficult at any time in a career. However, Altuve will be 35 in May and this is a late time to be doing it. He has been a menace to other MLB teams and is coming off a year that saw him hit .295 with 20 home runs. Houston can not take his bat out of the lineup.
Speaking of bats out of the lineup, Alex Bregman is off to the Boston Red Sox. He was a superstar for years in Houston and Isaac Paredes will have a lot to do to make up for what Bregman brought to the team on and off the field. Paredes’ best year was 2023 with the Rays. He has yet to show he will come close to the kind of MLB predictions people expected from Bregman.
Yordan Alvarez is a force at DH and is coming off a season where he hit .308 with 34 doubles and 35 home runs. He is going to have to do that and more if the Astros hope to live up to those making MLB playoff predictions for Houston.
The addition of Christian Walker from the Diamondbacks should help. He has hit 87 doubles and 95 home runs over the last three seasons. That bat packs a lot of pop for a team that needs it. Keep an eye on MLB injuries reports as Walker has been battling an oblique injury with the season approaching. Alvarez and Walker could be a good team for MLB baseball parlay picks to go deep in games on the prop market.
Houston Astros Projected Starting Rotation
Rotation
1. Framber Valdez, LHP
2. Hunter Brown, RHP
3. Spencer Arrighetti, RHP
4. Ronel Blanco, RHP
5. Hayden Wesneski, RHP
The top two in the rotation are set. Valdez and Brown combined for 26 wins last season. Arrighetti will have to improve on a 7-13 mark. Don’t be surprised if Blanco, who went 13-7 in 2024, surpasses Arrighetti in the rotation.
Then there is the loss of Justin Verlander. The veteran righty signed with the Giants. There is no way to replace all the factors the future Hall of Famer brings to the pitching staff and team in general.
Projected Bullpen
Per MLB.com: Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu, Tayler Scott, Bryan King, Forrest Whitley, Luis Contreras, Jalen Beeks, Rafael Montero
Shawn Dubin and Kaleb Ort are already battling MLB injuries. Hader is the lock as a closer while Abreu and Scott will be counted upon for many innings in the middle of games. The latter duo appeared in 140 games between them last year.
Houston Astros Schedule and Key Matchups
MLB matchups in the AL West will be the key to the Astros’ season. The Mariners only finished 3.5 games back in 2024. Expect the Rangers to improve and the Athletics have shown immense growth.
The Astros’ schedule is fairly balanced between homestands and road games. There is no extended stretch where the team is at home or away. They open against the Mets and Giants before moving on to a trip that will see them visit Minnesota and Seattle.
There is a 10-game homestand at the end of May with visits by the Mariners, Athletics and Rays. The first two series will be AL West opponents so those are important when it comes to division play.
One road trip of interest happens in August when a series with the Marlins is sandwiched by visits to Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. Those will be testing series so success in Florida should be key.
Fifteen of the final 21 games will be on the road. That could go a long way to seeing if MLB playoff predictions come true for the fans in Houston. The road trips are at Texas, Toronto and Atlanta, then following a six-game homestand series with the Athletics and Angels to end the campaign.
