Astros Find Surprising Spot in Latest MLB.com Power Rankings (April 18)

After playing in the World Series last year, the Houston Astros have begun the 2022 MLB season on a slower note. There are still plenty of games to be played, however, a 5-4 record has left the club's fanbase hoping for things to heat up sooner than later.

Despite their underwhelming start, the Astros have actually landed themselves a surprising spot on MLB.com's latest power rankings. Houston fans will be thrilled to see their club landing at the No. 4, which is also third-best among American League teams.

Houston Astros Power Ranking

Although the Astros are only 5-4, MLB.com's Alyson Footer has given them the benefit of the doubt. Houston has yet to play a home game while two of its losses have come against the Seattle Mariners, which Footer describes as the Astros' "biggest challenge" in the AL West.

Nevertheless, there's still a lot that the Astros have done well. Their 3.22 team ERA ranks seventh-best in baseball, which is helped by starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez pitching to a sub-1.00 ERA in both of their first two respective starts.

The one area that the Astros must improve in is hitting. They have more than enough batters to do damage on the scoreboard, but a .209 team batting average (No. 24) and 6.89 hits per game (No. 23) show that significant improvements must be made.

The good news is that the Astros' start to the 2022 MLB campaign isn't a concern to oddsmakers. FanDuel Sportsbook is still giving them the third-best odds (+1000) to win the World Series this season.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.