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Colby Rasmus exemplifies the Houston Astros biggest problem

By Josh Sippie

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The Houston Astros went from American League West divisional shoo-ins to another team fighting for a wild card place. They sit only a game up for the final wild card place and the team is struggling magnificently, particularly on the road. Their offense is sputtering to establish any consistency, their bullpen is crumbling and even their starting pitching is struggling.

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The Houston Astros need offensive consistency. Colby Ramsus has been hitting very consistently lately. So much so that he has inched his way up into the clean-up role. But that is nowhere near where he belongs.

Colby Rasmus has always proven to be a bit of a thorn in the side of whichever club he was at. He has proven to be set in his own ways and unwilling to adjust to management. However, his talent is impossible to deny. In his last 15 games, he has put up 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. He has 4 home runs in the month, tied for his best month yet. All that being said, Rasmus is not their answer for consistency.

Rasmus has made one thing perfectly clear all year – he is not a clean up hitter. He is not a high-pressure hitter. He produces his best numbers statistically when batting 7th or 8th. Those are positions of very little pressure.

Do not get me wrong, Colby Rasmus is a solid asset for the Houston Astros. He is a superior defender and his offense can show flashes of potency. But in the grand scheme, he is no more reliable than any other hitter in the Houston Astros’ lineup.

That is the problem with this Houston Astros lineup. They really do not have more than a couple guys they can rely upon. Jose Altuve is reliable. Carlos Correa is young but he has shown tremendous reliability in a short time. Evan Gattis too, can be leaned upon.

Colby Rasmus briefly put up a false front that he could be relied upon. He hit .310 over a significant period of time. Yet now he has again faded into his old ways, hitting .150 over his last 7 games. This is what the Houston Astros have to expect out of Rasmus and out of the majority of their lineup.

The Houston Astros grand experiment has gone well for so long, but maybe having so many strikeout-happy, inconsistent hitters really was not destined to work out after all. They go stale, particularly on the road.

This is not a condemnation of Colby Rasmus’s characteristics. He just shows better than most what is wrong with this Houston Astros team. They do not have a reliable offense. That does not mean that the Houston Astros cannot make a splash in the playoffs. We have seen momentum take teams all the way to the World Series. But they have to find a way to trigger that momentum when they need it most. And that is no easy feat.

Next: Houston Astros pitching has betrayed them

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