Houston Astros
The Houston Astros were the 2017 World Series Champions and they are looking to go back to the World Series again in 2018.
Although the Houston Astros have not clinched the AL West Division, they are 4.5 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics with only thirteen games remaining. A lot can happen in thirteen games, but it is likely that the Astros will win the AL West for the 2nd straight season.
Despite the fact that the Astros are a very good team, they also play the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles to close the season. This will make it tough for the A’s to make up ground even though they play the Angels, Minnesota Twins, Mariners, and Angels again down the stretch.
Another factor to the Astros clinching their division is their performance with RISP. After finishing first in the AL last year in team AVG with RISP, they are second this season with a .283 AVG. They also rank second with an .860 OPS with RISP.
Yuli Gurriel and Alex Bregman are terrifying opponents with RISP. Gurriel holds a .392 AVG in these situations with a 1.003 OPS. Bregman holds a .389 AVG with a whopping 1.216 OPS in these situations. Gurriel has 130 at-bats with RISP while Bregman has 126 at-bats with RISP, so these numbers are not obtained from a small sample size.
Honorable mention goes to Jose Altuve, who is being overshadowed by two of his teammates with RISP depsite his own great numbers. In these situations, Altuve has a .333 AVG with a .902 OPS through 108 at-bats.
As there are numerous players on this Astros team that pose a threat with RISP, it will be difficult for opposing teams to pitch around any of them in the MLB playoffs. The ability for Houston to hit with RISP coupled with their solid pitching makes this team a serious ALCS contender once again.