Three teams now worse than the Houston Astros

Sep 21, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Members of the Houston Astros including center fielder

(6) celebrate after defeating the Seattle Mariners 8-3 at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Not long ago, the Houston Astros were the biggest joke in baseball. Their incredibly low payroll, used mostly to pay inexperienced players the league minimum, put them in no position to win.

In 2014, the Astros won 70 games. This was 19 more than their franchise-low 51 wins one year earlier in 2013. The 70 wins was also good enough to avoid finishing last in the American League West as the Texas Rangers ended the season with only 67 wins.

The Astros may still need a pair of binoculars to get a look at the playoffs, but there is some hope. Their young, yet talented offense needs nothing more than some more at-bats to help the team climb the standings. Their bullpen is also much improved with veteran additions like Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek. Certainly the success of a baseball team is not measured solely by the strength of its relief pitchers, however, when lacking in other departments like the Astros are it can help a lot.

As they close in on .500 baseball and the rest of the rosters take their shape, there are three teams looking worse than the Astros in 2015.