{"id":120794,"date":"2026-04-28T14:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=120794"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:46:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:46:02","slug":"the-astros-cannot-waste-yordan-alvarezs-mvp-caliber-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/28\/the-astros-cannot-waste-yordan-alvarezs-mvp-caliber-season\/","title":{"rendered":"The Astros Cannot Waste Yordan Alvarez\u2019s MVP Caliber Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It hasn\u2019t been a good start to the Houston Astros season to say the least. The Astros currently have one of the worst records in baseball with a 11-18 mark. It\u2019s the worst record in the American League and third worst overall.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The season has already been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/22\/how-astros-can-overcome-overwhelming-injury-issues\/\" target=\"_self\">plagued with injuries<\/a>, and the pitching has been a disaster for a lot of the time. The Astros have the worst pitching staff in MLB with the highest ERA, earned runs, and walks. Injuries have really hurt that side of the team.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> <\/span>The bright spot for the Astros <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/03\/how-astros-offense-exploded-start-2026-season\/\" target=\"_self\">has been the offense<\/a>. That group has continued to perform at an incredible level and has consistently given the team a chance to win with the runs being scored. The Astros are the best offense in the American League and are top three in most categories overall.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The Superstar of the Powerful Offense: Yordan Alvarez<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBS3nDzJj5\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 2264px; aspect-ratio: 2264\/2100;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>There have been plenty of contributors for Houston throughout the lineup, but the one standout player who has been hitting at a historic level is a familiar name.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> T<\/span>hat\u2019s <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alvaryo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yordan Alvarez<\/a>. He has reminded everyone in the baseball world who he is in case anyone forgot after being out of most of last season due to injury. The 6-foot-4, 237-pound slugger is one of the most fearsome hitters in baseball. His postseason heroics were on full display in 2022 and can be considered one of the most clutch hitters in the game.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/12\/31\/astros-key-bounce-back-alvarez\/\" target=\"_self\">Alvarez is without a doubt one of the best hitters in baseball when healthy<\/a>. He only played 38 games last season and hasn\u2019t been mentioned as much as some of the other big names. Alvarez was widely known but never really received the praise he has deserved. That is, until now. The big man has taken over baseball with his <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/stats\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">amazing hitting numbers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>MVP Start<\/h3>\n<p>Alvarez is the MVP of the Astros at the moment and should be in the running for American League MVP. He\u2019s been a hitting machine. The Las Tunas, Cuba native blasted his 11th home run of the season on April 22nd and took the MLB lead in homers over Aaron Judge at that point. Munetaka Murakami has since taken the lead with 12.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> A<\/span>lvarez chipped in during the series against the New York Yankees and currently has an 11-game hit streak going. He\u2019s carrying the offense and team at times. Sometimes, he\u2019s the only bright spot.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"et\" dir=\"ltr\">Yordan Alvarez last 9 games:<\/p>\n<p>.361 BA<br \/>\n5 HR<br \/>\n12 RBI<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XqGQd0sU7q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/XqGQd0sU7q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UnderdogMLB\/status\/2047002335113515241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-old is on top of charts in pretty much every offensive category. Alvarez is first in average at .358, OBP at .465, slugging at .755, and OPS at 1.220. He\u2019s also first in hits with 38 and second overall in RBIs with 26. Even with all that hitting, Alvarez has just 11 strikeouts. That is such a low number compared to his competitors.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>More Incredible Stats from Alvarez<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBSd2ImitW\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3100px; aspect-ratio: 3100\/1804;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>His K% is just 8.5%, which is ranked in the 99th percentile according to Baseball Savant.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Alvarez is also first in all the advanced metrics as well. He has the best xSLG (.837), WRC+ (157), fWAR (4.4), xwOBA (.541), and he\u2019s first in BB\/K. He\u2019s an MVP player, and these statistics show how much of a run producer he is. The way Alvarez is swinging the bat is second to none. The runs he creates, the type of contact he makes, and the effect on winning are all demonstrated here.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Alvarez is the greatest lefty hitter in MLB history at the moment. He has the highest slugging percentage since 1961 in that matchup. He\u2019s better<a  href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/yordan-alvarez-astros-a91dcf60beba6514286e9da750ba4e61\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> than Barry Bonds<\/a> in that category and defying the traditional platoon numbers. When you\u2019re better than something like Bonds, that is big-time. Alvarez is hitting .417 with a 1.377 OPS against lefties with five home runs so far.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also getting intentionally walked often. Teams just don\u2019t want to deal with him in big situations.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>All his numbers are on pace for a career high. Given the kind of power hitter Alvarez is, it is surprising that he\u2019s never reached 40 home runs in a season. If he continues his pace, Alvarez could get 50. That\u2019ll help his MVP chances. What would help even more is the Astros getting back to winning.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If this is Alvarez\u2019s first season to cross 40 homers, it cannot be wasted at all. A season that\u2019s going like this for Alvarez needs to be taken full advantage of. It can be lethal in the postseason and help the Astros get back to being golden with a deep run. Injuries have been an issue for him at times, which makes a season like this more valuable to the team.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Not Used to Losing<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB9zhX03eS\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3100px; aspect-ratio: 3100\/1793;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>While the Astros were 3-3 last week, it\u2019ll take more than that. The AL West is all jumbled up at the moment, and the Astros have a shot to come back.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Alvarez shockingly slammed his bat in frustration in the dugout after getting out in an at-bat against the Cleveland Guardians. Alvarez isn\u2019t someone who displays a lot of emotions like that, but it\u2019s been a tough season. Clearly, he feels additional responsibility to productively hit given how the pitching has struggled.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>More so, Alvarez hasn\u2019t experienced losing like this so far in his career. All the Astros have done is won since he was a rookie in 2019. Even when he does well, it\u2019s still not even enough a lot of times.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/28\/breaking-down-the-astros-2026-starting-pitching-rotation\/\" target=\"_self\">pitching gets healthy<\/a> and figures it out, look out for Alvarez to take that MVP crown.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><strong>(Top Image Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It hasn\u2019t been a good start to the Houston Astros season to say the least. The Astros currently have one of the worst records in baseball with a 11-18 mark. It\u2019s the worst record in the American League and third worst overall.\u00a0 The season has already been plagued with injuries, and the pitching has been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5612,"featured_media":120831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2,1071],"tags":[246,6426],"class_list":["post-120794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-featured","category-mlb","tag-houston-astros","tag-yordan-alverez"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120794"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120832,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120794\/revisions\/120832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}