10 Bold Predictions for the Astros Regular Season

#2 Yordan Alvarez hits 50 home runs

This one is bold not because of the talent involved, but because it is entirely health dependent. Yordan hit 37 home runs for the Astros last season in only 135 games played. In 23 games in August, Alvarez went deep only once, plagued by the same hand that has given him fits this Spring.

If you take those 23 August games in which he struggled with his health out, Alvarez hit 36 bombs in only 112 games. That's a 52-home run clip over 162 games.

Alvarez has gotten better each year he has been in the bigs. This is pure speculation, but I think if Alvarez' hand was that problematic, he would have had surgery this offseason to correct it.

I think Alvarez stays healthy this year and pummels baseballs into orbit all season long.