High draft picks and smart trades have the Astros back in the World Series. by Mike Axisa @mikeaxisa Oct 20, 2019 at 6:22 pm ET • 18 min read HOUSTON — For the second time in three seasons, the Houston Astros are heading to the World Series. The Astros clinched the 2019 American League pennant with a walk-off win over the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS. They will face the Nationals in the World Series beginning Tuesday — stream all games via fuboTV (Try for free).Like every team, the Astros were assembled through all sorts of different methods. No team is built exclusively through the draft, or trades, or free agency. It’s not possible. Successful teams acquire talent through every avenue possible. Here is Houston’s 2019 WAR breakdown via the Baseball Gauge:• Trades: 22.0 WAR (3rd in MLB) • Draft: 18.8 WAR (4th)• Free Agency: 12.6 WAR (5th)• Other: 8.3 WAR (2nd)• International Free Agency: 5.9 WAR (5th)The Astros have pilfered other teams in trades. They’ve also crushed it in the draft and made some shrewd free agent signings as well. Their international scouting team is among the best in baseball too. Let’s take a deeper look at how the Astros built the roster that…