Yordan Álvarez is on his way to becoming a legend. The man from Las Tunas, Cuba has the chance when it’s all said and done of being mentioned in the same sentence with a man who is arguably the best Cuban hitter ever to grace a diamond, the great Rafael Palmeiro. Based on the numbers he has put up at the age 25 he might well be on his way to putting up monster numbers in the world’s best baseball.
Álvarez is off to another fast this season tying for the league lead in runs batted in with 10. A couple of days ago the slugger went yard for the 100th time in only his 372 game ( A team record), that’s an average of on longball every 3.72 games. Of his 401 hits on the grand stage 194 have gone for extra bases. In his brief career the Cuban boasts a slash line of .297/.384/.591/.975 numbers that are very above average. A career that is in its infant stages has already amassed a WAR of 14.0.
Yordan Alvarez makes it a whole new ballgame for the @Astros with his 100th career HR! pic.twitter.com/ZPDvqcVUxA
— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2023
Sabermetrically speaking the hitter of whom none other than “Big Papi” David Ortiz lauded as being a clone of his, touts a .330 (BABIP), .294 (ISO), .406 (wOBA) and a wRC+ of 164 for his career, all averages that are out of stratosphere. Álvarez who was acquired by Houston from the Dodgers for pitcher Josh Fields in probably one of the most lopsided trades in team history already has a Rookie of the Year (2019), Silver Slugger (2022) to his credit and is the odds on favorite to win the AL MVP this season.
In fact the Álvarez trade might rival the Jeff Bagwell- Larry Andersen transaction of 1990. The 2022 all-star was also the ALCS MVP in 2021 and with the 115 million dollar extension Álvarez signed this offseason he figures to be a key piece or maybe even the face of the franchise for years to come. At the pace that the powerful Antillean is headed he might just become the best hitter to ever play on the team from the Space City.
El toletero cubano Yordan Álvarez se convierte en el quinto pelotero en la historia de Grandes Ligas que menos juegos necesitó para alcanzar el centenar de cuadrangulares. ¡Un jonrón por cada menos de cuatro juegos! #Ready2Reign pic.twitter.com/gEKqzvBQHP
— Drian Bernal ⚾️ / 🇨🇺🇪🇨 (@Drianrogelio) April 4, 2023