The long-anticipated arrival of Yordan Alvarez has finally arrived for fans of the Houston Astros. The Houston outfielder is projected to receive a bulk of time with the big club in left field due to a plethora of Astros injuries.
Yordan Alvarez is a 6’5 left-handed outfielder, who has been generating massive amounts of power with 23 home runs in AAA Round Rock. He was originally signed by the Dodgers and shipped to the Lone Star State in exchange for right-handed reliever Josh Fields. A rash of injuries has forced the Houston Astros hand in promoting Alvarez.
Currently, Josh Reddick and Michael Brantley are the only true threats for offense from the Astros outfield. Otherwise, Derek Fisher, Jake Marisnick, Tony Kemp, and Myles Straw have been manning left and center field recently. Similarly, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa have come down with lengthy injuries as well, leaving the ‘Stros with relatively few options to boost a recently struggling offense.
Alvarez is ranked as Houston’s number 23 overall prospect- trailing just behind fellow outfielder Kyle Tucker and starting pitcher Forrest Whitley. A.J. Hinch appears likely to play Alvarez at a variety of positions on the diamond. He has some experience at first base and has often used the DH as a position to rotate players in and out, while the majority of his play will be in left field.
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In AAA, Alvarez has posted a .443 OBP and a .742 SLG, whilst slugging 23 home runs and driving in 71 runs in a minuscule 213 at-bats. He has the makeup of a slugger and any form of production would be a major boost the Astros of 2019, as well as the teams of the future. He will be getting his experience now, as opposed to when they will rely on him for production.
On the MLB Pipeline top 100 prospects list, he ranks at a very respectable #42. Scouts have observed that his keen ability to get the barrel of the bat to the ball indicates he will hit for a high average. Also, his quick bat speed and leverage at the plate project him to potential produce impressive power numbers, such as he has done in the minor leagues.
Being a massive 6’5” and 225 pounds, he is surprisingly athletic in terms of speed. He currently has above average speed-both on the base paths and in the outfield. Thus, most scouts project him as an outfielder and not a first baseman.
All in all, it is an exciting prospect promotion and should start to rev the Houston Astros staggering offense up a bit.