Astros: Is it too early to talk Rookie of the Year Award for Yordan Alvarez?

Astros’ phenom Yordan Alvarez is now twelve games into his first season as a Major League player. He began with an explosive debut and hasn’t let up since.

It’s very early into Yordan Alvarez‘s season and he did get a late start for the Astros this year, but is it to soon to discuss the possibility of him getting the Rookie of the Year Award? He is off to a blistering start this season and it’s awfully hard to ignore the potential of this youngster and the plausibility of him accomplishing such a feat.

With a dozen games under his belt, he has collected seven home runs, 12 runs scored, and 16 RBIs. He is slashing .333/.429/.813 and has an OPS of 1.241. Those are amazing numbers for any player, let alone a 21-year-old rookie. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first player in history to have seven homers and 16 RBI’s in their first 12 games.

With just 83 games left in the 2019 season, the most games Alvarez could get in this year is 95, and that’s with no days off. Very few players have ever won the Rookie of the Year Award with less than 100 games on the season. In fact, only five offensive players in the history of the award had fewer than 100 games.

Ironically, the last player that did was Carlos Correa in 2015 with 99 games. Two years earlier Wil Myers only had 88 appearances and won the award. Willie McCovey had the fewest games of all award winners with just 52 games in 1959. The other two players were Bob Horner in 1978 and Ryan Howard in 2005. So as you can see, it can be done, but you better have on heck of a year.

Alvarez currently leads all American League rookies, by far, with his .813 slugging percentage and has a comfortable lead with a 1.241 OPS and I have a feeling he may overtake plenty of players in other categories before he’s done. It’ll be difficult for him to maintain his current pace of play, but I think I’d put my money on his chances of being named top rookie.