Astros are perfect example of why the American League is a 'disaster'

As of Tuesday morning, there are only five teams in the American League with a record above .500. 

The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, and Chicago White Sox all have winning records. 

Somehow, the Houston Astros are in first place in the AL West with a 75-75 record. They lead the Texas Rangers by one game in the division with 12 games remaining on their schedule. 

Houston's mediocrity is a perfect example of how bad the AL has been in 2026, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly wrote. 

"The Astros are the current favorites to win. When you're probably only talking about having to get to 82 or 83 wins, just having likely AL MVP Yordan Alvarez anchoring the lineup might be enough to get Houston into the postseason," Kelly wrote. 

The AL West is the only division in baseball without at least two teams with a winning record. To make matters worse, none of the five clubs are above .500. 

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"The AL West best encapsulates how much of a disaster the AL is as a whole this season," Kelly added. 

Still, the Astros decided to fire GM Dana Brown in August. 

It feels like the next few years will be a major turning point for the organization as they continue to look less and less like the Astros teams that went to seven consecutive ALCS from 2017-23. 

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