Chicago Cubs of 2016 mirrored by this year’s Houston Astros club

Jose Altuve headlines a dangerous lineup for Houston

Whereas Kris Bryant was the leader for the Cubs’ offense in 2016, Altuve is the leader of this year’s Astros team. The 27-year-old Altuve slashed .346/.410/.547 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI during the regular season. In addition to that, the Astros’ second baseman stole 32 bags and sat the pace for the offense by compiling a 7.7 offensive WAR.

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Just as Bryant had a supporting cast around him last season that consisted of Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and others, Altuve has his own posse of offensive stalwarts.

Carlos Correa, Josh Reddick and Marwin Gonzalez all hit above .300 on the season and drove in at least 80 runs. In addition to those big bats, Yuli Gurriel, Alex Bregman and George Springer also turned in fantastic seasons.

Gurriel just missed the .300 club with a slash line of .299/.332/.486. The Astros first baseman also clubbed 18 home runs this season and drove in 75 runs.

Bregman and Springer each turned in similar slash lines this season. Bregman went .284/.352/.475 whereas Springer posted a line of .283/.367/.522. Springer provided more pop than Bregman, clubbing 34 home runs to Bregman’s 19.

The seven guys mentioned above helped the Astros win 101 games and have the best offense in baseball. As a group, the Astros led the majors in runs scored (896), batting average (.282), OBP (.346) and slugging percentage (.478).

Houston’s offense was on fire for much of the season and judging by the 16 runs already put up by the Astros this postseason, it has carried into October.

A good enough pitching staff has been key for Houston

As stated earlier, the Cubs were near the top or at the top of the majors in most categories last season pertaining to the line-up and pitching staff. While Houston’s offense dominated opposing pitchers this season, the rotation struggled a bit, but was still very solid.

Led by Dallas Keuchel for much of the season, the Houston pitching staff finished with a 4.12 ERA, good enough for 11th in the league. In addition to that, the Astros’ rotation notched 37 quality starts in 2017, landing them in the bottom half of the majors in that category.

Keuchel, who served as the ace of the rotation, turned in a solid campaign. The left-hander started 23 games and logged a 2.90 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 145 2/3 innings pitched.

Also turning in a nice season was Charlie Morton. The 33-year-old right-hander compiled a 3.62 ERA and tied Keuchel for the team lead with 14 wins. In addition to that, Morton led Houston with 163 strikeouts in 146 2/3 innings pitched, averaging ten per game.

The Astros also had a good bullpen

Along with having a solid rotation, the Astros had a three-headed monster in the bullpen. Luke Gregerson, Ken Giles and Chris Devenski led the charge for the Astros’ bullpen, appearing in 65, 63 and 62 games respectively. Giles had the lowest ERA of the trio, posting a 2.30 mark in 62 2/3 innings pitched. Along with that, Giles struck out 83 batters, averaging almost 12 punch-outs per nine innings. Giles served as Houston’s primary closer during the 2017 season, notching 34 saves in 38 chances.

Devenski, who led the Astros in holds this season, was the most worked reliever on the roster. The 26-year-old logged 80 2/3 innings, recording a 2.68 ERA. To go along with that, Devnski struck out 100 batters, and compiled a 0.94 WHIP. Gregerson had perhaps the roughest season of the three. The 33-year-old right-hander recorded a 4.57 ERA in 61 innings pitched. He also struck out 70 batters and walked 20, leading to a 1.34 WHIP.

As a group, the Astros’ bullpen recorded a 4.27 ERA, putting them right around the middle of the pack in the majors.

With a wealth of talent, the Astros hope to make the postseason look easy

There is no mistaking that the Astros have one, if not the best, groupings of talent in the majors. That amount of talent was only increased on Aug. 31 when Detroit Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander was traded to Houston. Prior to the trade, Verlander was enjoying success as a Tiger. The 34-year-old right-hander went 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA in 28 starts for the Tigers. Since the trade, Verlander has been lights out for Houston. Verlander is 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched (five starts).

Just as the Cubs added Aroldis Chapman for their playoff push, the Astros acquired the best player on the market for their postseason battle.

That is exactly what the postseason is, a battle. It does not matter what a team did during the regular season; once October hits all gloves are off. The Astros do have a couple of things going for them. They have the best line-up, top to bottom, of anyone in the postseason. In addition to that, the Astros hold a two games to none lead over the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. That lead was acquired after back-to-back offensive outbursts resulted in the Astros outscoring Boston 16-4 in the first two games.

The 2016 Cubs also jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead in the division series last season. Despite that, the Cubs would need four games to down the Giants, six to down the Dodgers and seven to down the Indians.

Just as with the 2016 Cubs, the Astros have a drought to end

I think many people will agree with me when I say the Cubs were the best team in the postseason last year. Coming off 103 wins in the regular season, the Cubs went into October ready to end a 108-year World Series drought. The Astros entered this postseason with a drought of their own. Since 1962 when the Astros came into the league (then named the Houston Colt .45s), they have not won a World Series title. That’s 55 years of falling short, little more than half of the 108 years endured by the Cubs.

Even though the Astros did not come into the postseason with the regular’s best record like the Cubs did in 2016, their mindset is the same. End the drought and prove to the world that Houston baseball is alive and strong.

Next: Chicago Cubs: No weight attached – Cubs can just play ball

The Astros just better hope they don’t meet the Cubs because Chicago would love to run that drought to 56 years.