The Houston Astros nearly made it to the World Series for the third straight time in 2023, narrowly falling four games to three to the Texas Rangers in the ALCS. With lofty expectations for the reigning AL West champs in 2024, Houston has not started the season convincingly. Despite a surprising breakout year from pitcher Ronel Blanco, the Astros are 22-28 and sitting in a disappointing third place in the division.

It is an unfamiliar spot for the Astros, who have not missed the playoffs since 2016. Given these early struggles, here are three players Astros fans are already fed up with in 2024.

Jose Abreu

When the Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58 million contract before the 2023 season, he seemed the ideal addition to the Houston lineup. Incumbent first-baseman Yuli Guriel was 38 years old and entering free agency off a year where he posted a .647 OPS. While Abreu's power numbers were down in 2022 (17 homers and 75 RBI versus 30 HR and 117 RBI the year before), his OPS stayed constant thanks to a 40-point rise in his batting average. Looking back, Abreu's .350 batting average on balls in play in 2022 should have been a warning sign to the Astros.

In 2023, Jose Abreu batted .237 with a .680 OPS — career lows. Only a September flourish with seven homers and 28 RBI helped Abreu's final numbers approach respectability. This year, Abreu batted .099 through 22 games with just one extra-base hit in 77 plate appearances. His OPS sat at a lowly .269. Abreu did not register a homer until May 28 last year but the Cuban first-baseman managed to struggle even more this year. The club mercifully sent him to the minors at the end of April to give him time to figure things out, but not before he posted a -1.5 WAR in the first month of the season.

Hunter Brown

With injuries to several of Houston's top starting pitchers last year, rookie Hunter Brown saw himself thrust into the starting rotation, throwing 155.2 innings in his first full big-league season. Though his 5.09 ERA was hardly impressive, Brown combined a high strikeout rate (9.1 K/9) with a 4.37 FIP and 4.27 expected ERA. With one year of MLB experience under his belt, Brown seemed poised for improvement in his sophomore campaign.

Instead, the 25-year-old has been dreadful. In his third start, Brown could not make it out of the first inning, allowing nine runs on 11 hits. The right-hander has settled down since then, posting a 3.98 ERA in four May starts, but that mark is overshadowed by a poor FIP (5.35) and a walk rate that is still too high. With injuries once again hindering the Houston starting rotation in 2024, the team needs more from young pitcher Hunter Brown. Unfortunately, Brown has yet to show that he can consistently produce.

Ryan Pressley

Not long ago, Ryan Pressley was among the elite closers in Major League Baseball. Between 2021 and 2023, the right-hander converted 90 of his 102 save opportunities (88.2%) while allowing one earned run over 23.2 playoff innings. But this year, with free agent Josh Hader taking over as the team's closer, Pressley has not yet found his rhythm as a set-up guy.

Pressey has a 4.91 ERA over 18.1 innings and he ranks in the 8th percentile among MLB pitchers in hard-hit rate. The 35-year-old is also 0-3 in save chances. Pressley's difficulties on the mound are one of the main reasons Hader has only picked up six saves on the year in seven opportunities.