Astros: Yordan Alvarez unanimously named Rookie of the Year

The Astros slugging DH Yordan Alvarez takes home some hardware.

In an announcement that was widely expected, Astros DH Yordan Alvarez was named American League Rookie of the Year on Monday. The only question was whether he’d win the award unanimously, and it turns out he did.

The 22-year-old Alvarez received all 30 first-place votes for the award voted on by two writers from each city with an AL team. He becomes the 11th unanimous winner in the AL, joining a who’s-who of names including Carlton Fisk, Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra and Aaron Judge.

He’s the first unanimous winner in Astros history and the team’s third winner overall. Jeff Bagwell won the NL award in 1991, while Carlos Correa won in the AL in 2015. Blue Jays second baseman Cavan Biggio, son of Astros legend Craig Biggio, finished fifth in this year’s voting.

Even more impressive, Alvarez played in only 87 games, which is the fewest all-time for an AL position player to win the award. He’s the fourth primary DH to take home the honor, joining Eddie Murray, Bob Hamelin and Shohei Ohtani.

Impressive Numbers

Alvarez was arguably the best hitter in a ridiculously deep and potent lineup. In those 87 games, he slashed .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers, 26 doubles and 78 RBIs. He started the year in Triple-A and dominated to the tune of a .343/.443/.742 line with 23 homers and 71 RBIs in 56 games.

His MLB stats projected out over 162 games would come out to totals of 50 homers, 48 doubles and 145 RBIs. While it might be unrealistic to expect those totals next season, it’ll be interesting to see just what he can do with a full season in the Astros lineup.

Alvarez famously came to the Houston organization in a trade from the Dodgers in exchange for Josh Fields. The Astros traded a reliever with a 6.89 season ERA and got a future Rookie of the Year and one of the game’s brightest stars. Not too shabby.