The Houston Astros farm system has been filled with tons of phenomenal talent. From Jose Altuve’s ascent to AL MVP to Alex Bregman’s fast track to the big leagues, there haven’t been many duds when it comes to the young guns that the front office has drafted and made deals for.
Yordan Álvarez is the latest example of the franchise recognizing talent and capitalizing on his strengths. Originally signed as an international free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2016, Houston quickly snatched him up in a trade for Josh Fields that August. After injuries started to pile up early in June, the Astros needed an extra body and Álvarez was called up and the franchise was never the same. In his first five games, he crushed four home runs becoming one of four players to achieve the feat.
While many in the Acadiana area were watching the New Orleans Saints eke out a victory over the Houston Texans, Air Yordan took flight once again with two home-runs to set the record for most home runs by a rookie in franchise history. The crazy part is that he’s only done this in 71 games while the previous record holder, Carlos Correa, needed 99 games and 431 plate appearances. The numbers are absolutely absurd with his OPS being the best in league history headed into Monday’s games.
What he’s done in just 71 games all but assures that he will be named AL Rookie of the Year regardless of what happens over the next several weeks. Where does it rank amongst the all-time greatest rookie seasons? When it comes to offensive output, it won’t beat what we saw from Aaron Judge a few years ago with his 52 dingers, but the Astros designated hitter has definitely etched his name amongst the all-time great rookie season like what we saw when Jackie Robinson debuted in the league.