The 2017 Houston Astros season was the 56th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 53rd as the Astros, fifth in both the American League (AL) and AL West division, and 18th at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season as having posted an 84–78 record, in third place and 11 games behind the division-champion Texas Rangers.
Dallas Keuchel made his third consecutive Opening Day start on April 3 for Houston, who hosted the Seattle Mariners and won, 3–0. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was pitcher J. B. Bukauskas; they also chose outfielders Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick in the 13th and 21st rounds, respectively.
The Astros sent six players to the 88th All-Star Game, including second baseman Jose Altuve, center fielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, and pitchers Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Chris Devenski. First baseman Jeff Bagwell, who had spent his entire 15-year major league career with Houston, became the second inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame as an Astro.
Near the end of August, the Astros acquired pitcher Justin Verlander at the trade deadline, who won his first five starts. Meanwhile, as Hurricane Harvey impacted Greater Houston, the Astros relocated their August 29–31 series with the Rangers from Minute Maid Park to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Following the storm, Astros personnel assisted with rebuilding and charitable efforts around Houston.
On September 17, the Astros clinched the AL West with a 7–1 victory over the Seattle, for their first AL West division title, eighth division title overall, and 11th postseason qualification. The Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox, 3–2, on September 29 to claim their 100th win of the season for their first 100-win season since 1998.
Following the regular season, the Astros met the Red Sox at home in the American League Division Series (ALDS), and defeated them in four games. Houston then advanced to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and defeated the New York Yankees in seven games for their first AL pennant. After going 2–0 with a 0.56 earned run average (ERA) and 21 strikeouts, Verlander was named ALCS Most Valuable Player (MVP). The pennant was Houston's first since winning the National League (NL) pennant in 2005. The Astros' season culminated with the first World Series championship in franchise history, winning in seven games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Springer, who tied a World Series record with five home runs, was named World Series MVP.
The 2017 Astros featured the highest-scoring offense in the major leagues (896 runs), the highest batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.346), and slugging percentage (.478). Altuve, the AL batting champion (.346) for the third time, was recognized with a number of both baseball and at-large athletics distinctions, including AL Most Valuable Player (AL MVP), Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, and Hickok Belt annual prize.
Due to their record-setting numbers and individual accolades, this Astros batting lineup is often cited as one of the highest-performing in history.
The season was later marred by a sign stealing scandal that ultimately led to significant backlash from baseball fans, the loss of draft picks and a record setting fine from the MLB, and the dismissal of employees in the organization that were directly linked to the scandal.
Offseason Summary The Astros concluded the 2016 season with an record, in third place in the AL West division, and 11 games behind the division-champion Texas Rangers. In the Wild Card standings, Houston trailed the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays by five games, thus missing a playoff entrance. With an regular-season record in 2015, Houston registered 84 or more victories over consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001 to 2005, when they were still members of the National League. The 2016 season was the final in which Houston would miss the playoffs until 2025.
Second baseman Jose Altuve extended his own club record by leading the American League in hits (216) for a third successive campaign, also his second time leading the Major Leagues ().
Transactions November 2016 Source November 3, 2016Claimed OF Nori Aoki off waivers from Seattle.November 4, 2016Traded RHP Pat Neshek to Philadelphia for a player to be named or cash. Exercised the 2017 option on C Evan Gattis.November 6, 2016Selected the contract of LHP Reymin Guduan from Fresno (PCL).November 15, 2016Named Alex Cora bench coach.November 16, 2016Agreed to terms with RHP Charlie Morton on a two-year contract.November 17, 2016Traded RHP Albert Abreu and RHP Jorge Guzman to New York for C Brian McCann.November 19, 2016Announced Buies Creek (Carolina) will serve as a temporary Class A-Advanced affiliate through the 2018 season.November 23, 2016Agreed to terms with OF Josh Reddick on a four-year contract.
December Source December 5, 2016 Agreed to terms with Carlos Beltrán on a one-year contract. December 6, 2016 Claimed LHP Ashur Tolliver off waivers from the L.A. Angels. December 9, 2016 Agreed to terms with LHP Cionel Perez on a minor league contract. December 13, 2016 Signed a 30-year lease agreement with Fayetteville, N.C. to relocate their Class A Advanced affiliate to Fayetteville beginning with the 2019 season.
January 2017 Source January 9, 2017Agreed to terms with C Luis Barajas on a minor league contract.January 10, 2017Named Darryl Robinson hitting coach, Aaron DelGiudice development coach and Lee Meyer trainer of Fresno (PCL); Omar Lopez manager, Chris Holt pitching coach, Troy Snitker hitting coach, Mickey Storey development coach, John Gregorich trainer and Mark Spadavecchia strength coach of Buies Creek (Carolina), Russ Steinhorn manager, Drew French pitching coach, Ben Rosenthal hitting coach, Jason Bell development coach, Elliot Diehl trainer and Hazael Wessin strength coach of Quad Cities (MWL); Morgan Ensberg manager, Bill Murphy pitching coach, Jeremy Barnes hitting coach and Daniel Cerquera trainer of Tri-City (NY-P); Erick Abreu pitching coach and Jacob Behara strength coach of Greeneville January 14, 2017Agreed to terms with LHP Dallas Keuchel and OFs Jake Marisnick and George Springer on one-year contracts and with INF Reid Brignac, C Juan Centeno and LHP C.J. Riefenhauser on minor league contracts.January 19, 2017Agreed to terms with RHP Mike Fiers on a one-year contract.
February Source February 2, 2017Agreed to terms with RHP Dayan Diaz on a minor league contract.February 7, 2017Agreed to terms with RHP Will Harris on a two-year contract.February 17, 2017Agreed to terms with INF Marwin Gonzalez on a one-year contract.
March Source March 14, 2017Reassigned RHPs Edison Frias, Cy Sneed and Aaron West, LHP Brian Holmes and C Garrett Stubbs to their minor league camp.March 16, 2017Reassigned OF Andrew Aplin, RHP Brady Rodgers and LHPs Reymin Guduan and Ashur Tolliver to minor league camp.March 16, 2017Optioned OF Andrew Aplin, RHP Brady Rodgers and LHPs Reymin Guduan and Ashur Tolliver to Fresno (PCL).March 18, 2017Reassigned OF Ramon Laureano and RHP Francis Martes to their minor league camp.March 22, 2017Assigned C Max Stassi outright to Fresno (PCL). Optioned INF/OF Tony Kemp, OF Teoscar Hernandez, 3B Colin Moran and 1B A.J. Reed and Tyler White to Fresno. Reassigned C Tyler Heineman and 1B Jonathan Singleton to minor league camp.March 25, 2017Reassigned OF Alejandro Garcia, RHP Jordan Jankowski, OF Jon Kemmer and RHP Tyson Perez to their minor league camp. Granted LHP C.J. Riefenhauser his unconditional release.March 29, 2017Optioned OF Preston Tucker to minor league camp.
April Source April 1, 2017Optioned RHP James Hoyt to Fresno (PCL).
World Baseball Classic Astros selected to represent their respective home countries in the World Baseball Classic (WBC)—held from March 6 to 22, 2017—included:
+ Houston Astros in the 2017 WBC Player Position National team
Puerto Rican teammates Carlos Beltrán and Carlos Correa each led Puerto Rico to a tournament-high seven wins while garnering selection to the All-WBC Team. Correa batted .333 / .500 on-base percentage (OBP) / .750 slugging percentage (SLG) / 1.250 on-base plus slugging (OPS), three home runs, nine runs batted in (RBI), 10 base on balls (BB), and four strikeouts. Correa tied with Wladimir Balentien (Netherlands) for runs scored in the WBC with 10, while finishing second to Balentien in home runs and RBI. Beltrán hit .435 (10-for-23).
In the semifinal round held at Dodger Stadium, Puerto Rico defeated the Netherlands, 4 to 3, started by Correa's home run in the first inning. In the bottom of the eleventh inning, Correa scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly hit by Eddie Rosario.
Regular season Summary April
+ Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 4 George Springer Center fielder 2 Alex Bregman Third baseman 27 Jose Altuve Second baseman 1 Carlos Correa Shortstop 15 Carlos Beltrán Designated hitter 22 Josh Reddick Right fielder 10 Yuli Gurriel First baseman 16 Brian McCann Catcher 3 Nori Aoki Left fielder 60 Dallas Keuchel Pitcher Venue: Minute Maid Park • Final: Houston 3, Seattle 0 Sources:
The Astros commenced the 2017 regular season on April 3 on Opening Day, at home hosting the Seattle Mariners. Dallas Keuchel made his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Astros, with Félix Hernández as his counterpart. George Springer led off the Astros' offensive season with a home run. During the fourth inning, Carlos Correa homered. In the bottom of the sixth, Alex Bregman drew a leadoff base on balls, advanced to third on Jose Altuve's line drive single, and scored on Correa's sacrifice fly. Bregman also had a stolen base. Meanwhile, Keuchel remained in complete control, tossing seven two-hit shutout frames, two walks, and earned a game score of 75. Keuchel also earned the win while leading the Astros to a 3–0 decision. Luke Gregerson pitched the eighth inning to receive credit for the hold, and Ken Giles closed out the ninth to convert the save. Correa's home run on Opening Day was his second consecutive,. while Springer's home run was the first of his career on Opening Day, and tenth leadoff. The triumph was the fifth in succession on Opening Day for Houston, tying the club record set in 1977, and continuing into a winning streak of ten through 2022.
One of the most memorable and debated manifestations to hallmark the 2017 season was Jose Altuve's height and style of play contrasts with that of New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge. At and , Judge was a rookie who emerged as his chief rival in the 2017 American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) race, eventually breaking the record for both home runs hit (52) and walks drawn (127) by a rookie while leading the AL. In July, a photo emerged of the pair standing side by side in game versus the Yankees that displayed their drastic size difference and became a viral phenomenon.
Two Astros pitchers were awarded the AL Pitcher of the Month Award in the first two months of the season. In April, left-handed starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel posted a 5–0 win–loss record (W–L), allowing six runs in six games started and 1.21 earned run average (ERA) over innings pitched (IP). It was his fourth career monthly award, making him the first Astros pitcher to win four; J. R. Richard was the other Astros pitcher who had won three. Keuchel joined Bartolo Colón, Félix Hernández, Justin Verlander as active pitchers who had won at least four.
May On May 2, Marwin González hit his first career grand slam, and second switch-hit, multi-home run game, and first since July 26, 2016. González became the second Astro to hit this combination of home runs, succeeding Kevin Bass on August 20, 1989.