After a dreadful start to the season, here the Astros are once again, looking to clinch the AL West and head back to the postseason.

Astros GM Dana Brown stood by this team when things were at their bleakest, adamantly saying this team was too talented to be “sellers” at the trade deadline.

The club is on an impressive run, and you don't have to look any further than the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers to remind yourself that sustaining success like the Astros is very difficult to do.

The Rangers have already been eliminated from playoff contention, silencing the assertions that the torch had been passed from the Astros to the Rangers. Not so fast, Ranger fan.

Bullpen concerns

If the Astros are going to put together another deep playoff run, they're going to need the bullpen to pitch better. Josh Hader coughed up the lead on Sunday, allowing four runs and only recording one out. Which led to the Angels avoiding the four-game sweep.

It hasn't been all bad with Hader this year, but his ERA has jumped from 1.28 in 2023 to 3.67 in 2024. It's interesting that the Astros felt like they needed a more dominant closer after Ryan Pressly finished with a 3.58 ERA in 2023. Only to have Hader post a higher ERA than Pressly did last year and this year.

A matter of perspective

It's not like the Astros are below average in the pen, they're just not elite like they were in 2022. And who knows, Hader could bounce back with a spectacular season in 2025. He's just not living up to the highest salary in MLB for a closer.

It's important to keep in mind, several of the teams the Astros could face in the postseason won't have a bullpen as strong as Houston's. So as bad as it seems after Hader's poor performance on Sunday, the 'Stros bullpen is better than most.

Don't miss the video above as we discuss how prospective plays a big role in fairly assessing Houston's bullpen, and much more!

*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.