As Team MVP, Houston Astros Electric Slugger Has Assumed That Position
The Houston Astros slugger has become the most important player on the team.
The Houston Astros season has been defined by many interesting storylines, but amidst the chaos, there may have been a changing of the guard.
The Athletic’s Chad Jennings recently reassessed the team’s MVP as this season winds down, and made the decision to switch his pick from Jose Altuve to Yordan Alvarez.
“Step 1: Go ahead and type Altuve’s name into the five-month slot. Step 2: Look up the stats that surely will show he has remained the Astros’ team MVP. Step 3: Realize just how good Alvarez has been. Step 4: Type his name instead,” joked Jennings. “Seriously, this guy has been one of the five best hitters in baseball while playing about a third of his games in left field. And he’s been at his best in the second half, when Houston pulled themselves into a firm lead in the AL West.”
The 27-year-old has been a fan favorite for a while now, but his performance over the last couple of months has certainly solidified him as the best player on the team, and one of the best on the planet.
Alvarez actually started off the year kind of slow. For him, though, slow is still having an OPS of .748 at its worst point just a month-and-a-half into the season.
In the second half, though, he’s posted a .343/.426/.675 slash line which is the fourth-best OPS in the league during that time.
The Astros would not be where they are without the elite contributions from their slugger.
He reached his third-straight All-Star game this year and is showing no signs of slowing down. He might be better now than he ever has before.
As the old guard of their dynastic run since 2017 continues to be phased out, the emergence of another leader could be crucial in keeping the team afloat.
This is not to take anything away from Altuve, as he’s also had a fantastic year with a .304/.359/.452 slash line at 34 years old this season, but he hasn’t had the same efficiency as a slugger as he has in the past few years.
Alvarez has earned the right to be considered the team MVP after taking his game up yet another level this season.
The future in Houston looks much brighter right now than it did just a few short months ago when they looked like a near-lock to miss the playoffs,
