Astros: It’s time to promote Yordan Alvarez and demote Tyler White

I think it’s finally time for the Astros’ to bring up Yordan Alvarez and let go of Tyler White. You have to strike while the iron is hot, and it’s scalding.

Yordan Alvarez is leading the AAA Pacific Coast League in virtually every offensive category. The Astros need to need to bite the bullet and give up on Tyler White. A prospective player can’t get any hotter than Alvarez is right now. Jeff Luhnow, it’s time, bring him up, please.

White simply isn’t cutting it and it’s not like he hasn’t been given ample time and opportunities to prove he belongs in the lineup. Even A. J. Hinch seems to have come to the realization that White’s not the answer, admitting his name will be in the lineup less often.

"“For me, he’s going to have to keep grinding to try and earn his playing time. It’s going to be a little more sporadic, especially as I use the DH spot to use some of our other players,” said Hinch.  Via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle"

As opposed to Alvarez being at the top in stats almost across the board, White is at the bottom of the heap after appearing in 26 games. His batting average (.230) and slugging percentage (.284) is the lowest on the team, as well as his OPS and OPS+ of .617 and 71.

One of the stats looked at today is WAR or Wins Above Replacement. White’s WAR is -0.3, a negative value. This means he is actually a liability to a team in terms of wins, compared to what a replacement player would provide. In other words, anything less than 0.0 in WAR basically says, replace him.

White seems to be at his worst when it counts the most. He has had 21 plate appearances this season with runners in scoring position. In those 21 chances to knock in runs, he has a BA of .176 and has struck out 10 times, almost half of the time. I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t cut it in my book.

Now let’s take a look at Alvarez’s numbers. A much more positive story, in fact astounding. His slash line in the 36 games he’s played is an unparalleled .410/.497/.903 and an OPS of 1.400. When I say unparalleled, I’m not exaggerating, he leads the Pacific Coast League in every one of those numbers.

The 21-year-old also leads the league with 36 Rs, 53 RBIs, and 17 HRs, and that’s in just 36 games. One of the amazing things about it is that he’s been consistently playing at this level all year, no slumps. He hasn’t gone more than one game in a row without a hit. Just last night he went 3-for-5 with 3 Rs’ 5 RBIs with a double and two homers. He doesn’t let up.

There isn’t really a whole lot more that needs to be said about Alvarez, his numbers speak for themselves, and unfortunately, White’s numbers also speak loudly. They say that one player is on the rise to do something big and another player is in a steep decline in his career. It’s time Houston, call him up!