On August 1, 2016, the Houston Astros made a terrific baseball trade. It was a trade that has had a tremendous impact on the Astros franchise.
In mid-June 2016, The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cuban outfielder Yordan Alvarez as an international free-agent. The Dodgers gave the left-handed hitting Alvarez a $2M signing bonus. Alvarez was just about to turn 19 at the time he signed.
Alvarez had defected from Cuba in 2016 and established his residency in Haiti. The Dodgers signed six players in the 2015-2016 international signing period.
Alvarez had played two seasons with Las Tunas in Cuba’s La Serie Nacional, the premiere Cuban baseball league. He hit a combined .279/.342/.327/.669 with only one home run and 26 RBIs in 239 plate appearances in 74 games.
Two months after signing Alvarez, the Dodgers traded him to the Astros for relief pitcher Josh Fields.
While with the Dodgers, Alvarez suffered from wrist injuries that impacted his offense. He had gone 0-13 in at-bats before being sidelined with the wrist issues. Maybe he wasn’t meeting the Dodgers expectations? Whatever the reason for trading Alvarez, the Astros are delighted with the outcome of the transaction.
Fields last pitched in big league games in 2018, when he threw 41 relief innings for the Dodgers.
Alvarez, still only 24 and not close to the prime of his career, has become a consequential, fence-busting slugger for the Astros. Last season, he hit 35 doubles, 33 home runs, drove in 104 runs and scored 92 runs in 598 plate appearances.
Scouting Yordan Alvarez:
Everything about Alvarez begins with his physicality. He is 6-5, 225 pounds, and looks larger than those reported statistics. He presents a very solid frame.
This scout was able to get some early looks at Alvarez while Alvarez was still in development in the Astros system.
Alvarez was a participant in two MLB Future Games, both attended by this writer. He was on the World Roster at the 2017 Futures Game in Miami and again in the 2018 Futures Game in Washington. He also played briefly in the 2017 Arizona Fall League, getting 17 plate appearances in four games while playing for Mesa, as part of the Astros contingent.
During those scouting opportunities, this writer saw a player with a very impressive physical presence at the plate. Alvarez showed surprising athletic ability and more fluid movement on the baseball diamond than one might expect from a player his size.
Alvarez showed very good strike-zone knowledge, and he wasn’t fooled at the plate.
While it looked to this scout that Alvarez wasn’t a candidate to steal bases, it did appear that once he got his motor running with those long limbs, he could take an extra base on a drive to the gap with relative ease.
Looking a bit raw and untested at the time, Alvarez made very loud contact with a fairly measured swing for a player with a large frame. It was impressive that he didn’t try to put a dent in every baseball he hit. Rather, he showed a very even approach at the plate, showing signs that he was still learning to recognize pitches out of the hand.
After seeing him play early in his career, this scout graded Alvarez a 60 on the 40-80 scouting scale. That translates to a frequent All Star type player. Today, that grade would be even higher. Alvarez could be an annual All Star.
Reaching Triple-A before he turned 21, Alvarez flew through his development program and reached the big leagues ahead of a normal schedule. He played his first major league game for Houston in 2019, at the age of 22.
Alvarez played in 87 big league games as a rookie, going to the plate 369 times, and showing why he graduated so quickly. He hit .313/412/.655/.1.067 with 27 home runs and 78 RBIs. A budding star was on display in Houston.
His performance was so dynamic, Alvarez was voted the American League Rookie of the Year in 2019, by a wide margin over Baltimore Orioles pitcher John Means.
Alvarez presents a consequential physical presence in the middle of the Astros lineup. His power can not be denied, presenting a challenge to the opposing pitcher at each at-bat.
Predominantly a designated hitter, Houston manager Dusty Baker has used Alvarez in left field upon occasion. If needed, he can also play first base. But without question, Alvarez’ value is in his powerful bat.
When watching Alvarez this past season, it was obvious the impactful slugger has become very comfortable at the plate, almost daring the opposing pitcher to throw him strikes. His plate coverage is excellent, using his long arms to take pitches where they are thrown, and showing the ability to use the right/center gap as his personal playground.
Yordan Alvarez can hit a baseball out of any park.
Alvarez had arthroscopic surgery on both knees in 2020, causing him to miss much of the year. He played only two games in the pandemic shortened season.
Entering the 2022 season, Alvarez has hit 61 doubles and 61 home runs in 976 major league plate appearances, covering parts of three seasons. He has knocked in 186 runs, which is a factor that makes him so valuable to the Astros.
As is the case with many sluggers, there is some swing-and-miss in Alvarez’ game. Strikeouts are an issue, but compared to his total offensive production, manager Dusty Baker can certainly live with him striking out, as he did 145 times in those 598 plate appearances last season.
Alvarez walked 50 times.
This coming season, as Alvarez continues to grow and develop as a dynamic, impactful slugger, he will likely draw more intentional walks and see fewer good pitches to hit.
He will have to be careful not to chase pitches out of the zone.
To this writer, only health issues can derail Alvarez. He has to keep from injuring his wrists again and hope his knees stay strong as he moves forward in his career.
The Astros lineup remains among the most formidable offenses in baseball.
According to fangraphs.com, the Houston opening lineup could be as follows:
Jose Altuve-2B
Michael Brantley-LF
Alex Bregman-3B
Yordan Alvarez-DH
Yuli Gurriel-1B
Kyle Tucker-RF
Chas McCormick-CF
Jeremy Pena-SS
Martin Maldonado-C
And the Astros may still be able to sign free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa, who may eventually return to the Astros when the MLB lockout concludes.
Obviously, Correa would make the Astros lineup even more lethal.
But Yordan Alvarez sits is the middle of it all. He will have another year of experience as he enters 2022. He will have tremendous opportunities to drive in runs. He could hit more home runs than anyone in the game. He will be feared. And he should be.
Yordan Alvarez may have just scratched the surface of his enormous home run power.
