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The Houston Astros have a poor 14-21 record this season, earning an 'F' grade. Unlike the Red Sox, Phillies, and Mets, they have a legitimate excuse for their struggles.

Astros have legit excuse for F-graded 2026 season unlike Mets, Phillies, or Red Sox originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Houston Astros have been one of the four worst teams in all of Major League Baseball this season. They've gone 14-21 this season, which, compared to preseason expectations, is terrible.
Even though Yordan Alvarez might be the best hitter in the sport this season, the Astros overall are a complete disaster. They aren't alone, as the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Mets have also been disastrous this year.
ESPN's David Schoenfield graded the Astros season thus far an "F." It's a fitting grade, but compared to the Red Sox, Phillies, and Mets, the Astros actually have a legitimate excuse for their disastrous start to the year.
The Houston Astros currently have a record of 14-21 for the 2026 season.
The Astros received an 'F' grade due to their poor performance compared to preseason expectations, despite having standout players like Yordan Alvarez.
While all four teams have had disappointing seasons, the Astros reportedly have a legitimate excuse for their struggles, unlike the Mets, Phillies, and Red Sox.

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"The Red Sox, Phillies, and Mets have stolen all the 'big market, bad team' headlines, but the Astros should be included as well," Schoenfield writes. "... More so than those three teams, the Astros can at least use injuries as an excuse."
While the Phillies are missing Jhoan Duran, and the Mets have been without Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor for much of the year, and the Red Sox are down Garrett Crochet, the Astros rotation has been completely depleted.
Hunter Brown, a Cy-Young caliber starter, is out for a while. Tatsuya Imai, a big signing this offseason, is also on the injured list. Cristian Javier is the third starter who's out for a while, not including the known injuries coming into the year.
Add in Josh Hader as the team's closer being out, and Jeremy Pena, and the Astros have multiple key players all out for extended amounts of time due to injuries.
Even if the offense is breaking out, the Astros' pitching staff has been the worst in the league with a brutal 5.75 ERA, which is much higher than the next-worst team in the Los Angeles Angels at 5.07.
The Astros have had a truly terrible season so far, and there is a good excuse for how bad things have gone. But that doesn't mean the Astros don't deserve an "F" grade for how bad things are going.
If they can't find a way to turn things around, it would not be a surprise if the Astros wound up as major sellers come the August third trade deadline this year.