4 bold Astros predictions for the 2023 season

4. Bold Astros prediction: An ALCS loss to a team not called the Yankees

Losing in the ALCS to the New York Yankees would be the kind of storyline nobody in Houston expects. That’s not going to happen in 2023. The Yankees won’t make it that far. Unfortunately for the Astros, it’s where their season will come to a close.

Not every year ends with an American League Pennant. Hungover from the World Series, it’ll be a little more of a grind for the Astros in 2023. The postseason, especially, will test them. Their year ends in an ALCS loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have been good but not great for a couple of years. The team is trending upward. They had the rough luck of winning 91 games in 2021 but finishing fourth and out of the playoffs. An extra win in 2022 gave them 92 wins and second place but a two-game sweep at the arms and bats of the Seattle Mariners.

It’s the Blue Jays who will be the unlikely slayers of the mighty Astros. Their starting pitching staff is frightening. A few trade deadline improvements for the bullpen and maybe a big lefty bat can help them match up better with the Astros.

This Astros prediction isn’t so much about how the Blue Jays being the better team as much as it is anything can happen in the postseason. The hunger the Astros had last year won’t be there. There’s a reason why no MLB team has won back-to-back World Series since 2000. Once you get a ring, you stay full for a couple of years.