Astros star Yordan Alvarez's power often overshadows his strong arm in the outfield or...
The power is so prodigious it can mask the pure hitter Alvarez has become. He chased outside the strike zone 24.8 percent of the time this season, the lowest mark of his three full major league seasons.
Aaron Judge is the only man to finish with a higher regular-season slugging percentage than Alvarez. Judge swung and missed at a 29.8 percent clip. Alvarez whiffed 23.5 percent of the time. “I think he's way better than what everybody thinks,” second baseman Jose Altuve said. “He shows that every day. Obviously, he's a great hitter. His numbers show that. But he's actually made some good plays on the other side, left field, and he can run. For me, he's obviously one of the best overall players out there.”The Houston Chronicle's Jerome Solomon and Steve Schaeffer discuss the Astros' ALDS sweep of the Mariners, some of the memorable moments and key decisions.Houston played 36 innings in its American League Division Series sweep. Alvarez manned left field for 35 of them, a feat once presumed impossible for a man many pigeonholed into one position. Chronic knee problems prevented him from any meaningful defensive contributions during his American League Rookie of the Year campaign in 2019. Alvarez played 66 defensive innings, due in one part to Michael Brantley’s presence and another to the ambiguous soreness. That he continued to crush the baseball despite it still amazes some around him. “I mean, shoot, when he first came up, he was playing on one leg, basically,” Justin Verlander said. “His knee was all banged up and he was still that impressive at the plate. So I think once he got that fixed and he's healed, I think this is just the player that he is.” Most of Alvarez’s value to the Astros still comes from his bat. Pretending it doesn’t is foolish. Entering the season, his ability to play an average left field felt like lagniappe. Brantley’s season-ending shoulder surgery and Trey Mancini’s miserable Astros tenure have made it mandatory. According to FanGraphs, Alvarez is worth five defensive runs saved in left field. Among all men with at least 400 innings played, only six are worth more. “I think I’ve improved a lot and I think a lot of that is just due to a lot of the work we’ve been putting in the last couple years,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “Even now there’s still things we can improve. We just need to continue working to improve those things.”Houston Astros Yordan Alvarez hits a two-run home run off Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo to give the Astros a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning during Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, in Houston.
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