After giving up some early-season ground to the Los Angeles Angels, the Houston Astros are back to being the undisputed kings of the AL West division.
They own a solid 35-19 record so far, and are 8.5 games ahead of the sliding Angels.
A big part of the Astros’ recent success can be attributed to the incredible play of young slugger Yordan Alvarez.
He was recently crowned as the player of the week in the American League.
“Your @Chevrolet AL and NL Players of the Week: Yordan Alvarez: .565 AVG, 1.847 OPS, 4 HR, 8 RBI; Brendan Rodgers: .345 AVG, 1.252 OPS, 4 HR, 7 RBI,” MLB tweeted.
Your @Chevrolet AL and NL Players of the Week:
Yordan Alvarez: .565 AVG, 1.847 OPS, 4 HR, 8 RBI
Brendan Rodgers: .345 AVG, 1.252 OPS, 4 HR, 7 RBI pic.twitter.com/8RHiliiSrU— MLB (@MLB) June 6, 2022
Alvarez earned hits in more than half of his at-bats, which is incredibly good even if it is in the span of a week.
His four homers and eight RBI lifted the Astros, winners of seven of their last ten games.
A Force In The Middle Of The Astros Lineup
Yordan has been a force all season long: he is currently slashing .295/.391/.624 with 16 home runs (tied for second in MLB, behind Aaron Judge) and 34 RBI.
This is definitely nothing new for Alvarez: the 24-year-old hit .277/.346/.531 with 33 home runs and 104 RBI last season, and was equally brilliant in 2019, his debut year.
He lost most of the 2020 campaign with surgery in both knees.
The Astros rewarded his excellent play with a six-year, $115 million extension that covers his last arbitration years and his first three seasons of free agency.
He will be an Astro for a long time, and while his defensive value is not incredibly high, he is one of the best hitters in the league.
He seems poised to put career-best numbers in 2022, and Astros fans can’t be happier with him.
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