Evaluating the Angels against their AL West rivals 50 games into the season

Houston Astros 26-25

Houston is no longer the juggernaut that claimed seven out of the last eight AL West crowns. The team has seen an exodus of past stars as they try to thread the needle between retooling and contending, exercising extreme caution not the cross the luxury tax line.

Hunter Brown has emerged as a top-tier ace while Framber Valdez continues as another top-end starter as the duo form one of the most formidable one-two punches in baseball. The rest of the rotation, however, leaves a lot to be desired and ranks as a middling group overall ranking 16th in ERA at 3.88. No member of the rotation aside from the top two owns an ERA under 4.

Offensively, the once-mighty Astros are hurting. The club ranks 19th in runs scored with 204, ranking ahead of only the Texas Rangers in the division. Prized free-agent acquisition Christian Walker has been a huge bust with a 72 wRC+, while departed stars Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman are both turning in MVP-caliber seasons for their new clubs.

The one saving grace for Houston is that their bullpen has been outstanding, ranking second in ERA with a sparkling 2.78 mark.

Overall, the dominance at the top of the rotation combined with an exceptional bullpen should keep Houston hanging around, but without the offensive forces in the lineup, this is a much different team than the one that has terrorized the Angels for the better part of a decade.