Jose Altuve continues to swat home runs as an elite top-of-lineup menace. A cast of unheralded arms is once again delivering shutdown innings. Carlos Correa is even back as the anchor of Houston's infield, adding a dose of serious swagger to what could be the American League champion for the fifth time in nine seasons.

Even without Correa, they won the World Series in 2022 — after knocking out the Yankees — reached the ALCS in 2023 before getting eliminated in the wild-card round last season. Correa made just one playoff appearance with the Twins, and they couldn’t get by the wild-card round in 2023.