As the off season begins, let's have some fun with leading indicators of improvement or decline in MLB teams' win-loss records for next season. This is particularly fun because several leading indicators are pointing upward for the Astros.
Leading Indicators--An index of measurable indicators designed to predict economic activity six to nine months in advance. Leading indicators are measures which change before the economy shows a particular pattern or trend.
For the most part, I have relied upon leading indicators of next season records developed by Bill James thirty years ago. James, perhaps the best known pioneer of sabermetrics, observed in his baseball abstracts that teams may be poised for a breakthrough or a decline based upon the number of indicators which are pointing up or down.