The Houston Astros are once again leading the pack in the American League in 2022. After going toe-to-toe with the New York Yankees early in the season, Houston has taken over the top seed in the AL and they appear to be well on their way to locking it up at some point in September.

No matter what the Astros have been dealt over the past few seasons, they have always seemed to find a way to make a deep run in the playoffs. Whether it be a sign-stealing scandal or top players like George Springer and Carlos Correa departing in free agency, it simply hasn't mattered.

The Astros clearly have a lot working in their favor right now, and that could result in them running all the way back to the World Series for the second straight season. But Houston still has a lot of work to do to make sure they finish as the top seed in the AL. Let's examine whether Houston is a serious World Series contender, or if they are a pretender set to get destroyed in the playoffs.

Houston Astros: World Series contender or World Series pretender?

The Astros have all but locked up the AL West at this point in the season. They have an 11.5 game lead over the second place Seattle Mariners, and have shown no signs of slowing down and allowing Seattle to catch them. Locking up the division is a formality for them at this point. New York's cold stretch has given Houston a comfortable three game lead for the top spot in the AL, so Houston is in a pretty good spot currently.

It's tough to find a ton of weaknesses on Houston's roster as is. Their lineup is solid from top to bottom, and has been able to make up for the lost production of Correa, who signed with the Minnesota Twins in free agency last offseason. Guys like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker have continued to lead the lineup, but it's actually Yordan Alvarez who has been their best hitter this season.

Finding talent to replace outgoing stars has always been a key part of what the Astros have done. They replaced Springer with Tucker, and Correa has been replaced by Jeremy Pena, who is actually having a better season in terms of WAR (3.6 to 3.3) than Correa. That's how you build a dynasty.

There are a few areas where Houston needs to be better, though. Martin Maldonado continues to play over Christian Vazquez, despite the fact he's hitting .181 while Vazquez is hitting .344 in limited action for Houston. Yuli Gurriel has also been pretty awful all season long at first base, and could get fully replaced by Trey Mancini. The rest of Houston's lineup has been good enough to overcome these two areas of weakness, and that should continue to be the case the rest of the season.

As good as Houston's lineup is, their pitching staff is much better. Their starting rotation features five deadly starters who all have experience pitching on the biggest stages after they made it all the way to the World Series last season. Justin Verlander has been the best of the bunch, and his 1.95 ERA has made him a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young award.

In the bullpen, it's much of the same. Ryan Pressly has been solid as the team's closer, and he has a lot of protection in front of him as well. Rafael Montero has been a top-tier setup man, but Ryne Stanek has probably been the best of the bunch, as he has a miniscule 1.31 ERA over 45 appearances. There aren't too many weaknesses to point out in Houston's pitching staff, which only adds to their dominance.

Final decision: Contender

You probably should have known at the beginning of this article that Houston was a contender, but we will reinforce that notion here. The Astros are clearly the team to beat in the American League right now, and it's tough to see anyone catching them.

They should hang onto the top seed in the AL and coast through the divisional round against whoever their opponent is. Even the ALCS could be a wash, because aside from the Yankees, who have struggled mightily in August, there isn't really a top contender in the AL that Houston has to worry about.

The Astros should be the clear cut favorite to at least make the World Series out of the AL, and they could very well be the favorite in the entire MLB. They may just have the deepest roster in baseball, and in the playoffs, that's crucial to winning. There are a lot of borderline World Series contenders in the American League this season, but it's clear Houston is at the top of its class as the postseason nears.