Astros are calling up Yordan Alvarez from the Minors
The Houston Astros are finally pulling the trigger and making the move everyone has been waiting for, their bringing Yordan Alvarez up to the Big Leagues.
Alvarez has been having an extraordinary season with the Round Rock Express, the Astros AAA affiliate. Fans have been clamoring for the front office to promote him to the Major Leagues. It has been assumed that they were waiting for the ever-elusive Super 8 date to have come and gone.
Well, it seems that time has finally arrived. According to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic, Alvarez has been called up to join the Astros on Sunday. At this time there is still no word on who he’ll be replacing on the roster.
The Astros #3 prospect, behind Forrest Whitley and Kyle Tucker, has had a season that’s awfully hard to overlook. The fact that Alvarez has been pulled from tonight’s lineup for the Express is just further evidence that is on his way to Houston.
The 21-year-old leads the Pacific League with 23 home runs, 71 RBIs and 50 runs scored. He has a slash line of .343/.443/.742 and an OPS of 1.184. In the 56 games he has appeared in this season he has racked up 73 hits and 39 extra-base hits. He is sporting a ridiculous 175 wRC+ according to fangraphs.com.
Alvarez played a couple of years in the Cuban National Series and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Houston Astros ended up getting him before he even played one game for the Dodgers, trading pitcher Josh Fields for him. Houston obviously got the better end of that deal being that Fields isn’t playing at the Major League level this season.
Yordan Alvarez will have big expectations to fill as the Astros’ fans have been impatiently awaiting his callup. Hopefully, he won’t disappoint and will be everything the fans are hoping for out of the prospect. It can be a lot of pressure coming up to the Majors with such big fanfare. Let’s just give it time and see what he’s made of.