3 Astros named finalists for Silver Slugger award

The finalists for the Silver Slugger awards were announced today, and three Houston Astros were named. Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker all have the chance to bring home the hardware after being named finalists.

Alvarez, Tucker, and Bregman all named Silver Slugger finalists

In only 114 games, Alvarez, looking to repeat as the American League DH Silver Slugger, put together another monstrous season. He hit .293 with 31 home runs, 24 doubles, drove in 97 runs, and a .990 OPS.

While still a fantastic season, his numbers were down slightly from his 2022 season, and likely won't be enough to win the crown when factoring in the ridiculous season Shohei Ohtani put together. Ohtani hit a league-leading 44 home runs and led the league in both slugging and OPS. If Alvarez had been healthier and able to put together a full season worth of games, he'd have a better shot at knocking Ohtani from the pedestal.

Alex Bregman is still searching for his second career Silver Slugger award, and first since his ridiculous 2019 season. While Bregman again put together a great season, and a particularly strong second-half with a .901 OPS, his slower start to the season will likely prevent him from knocking off Rafael Devers, Isaac Paredes, or José Ramirez.

Bregman's 24 home runs trailed both Devers and Paredes, and his average and OPS were lower than the other three finalists.

If Alex can find a way to put together a better first half of the season than he has over the last two years (.726 OPS in 2023), he has a very real shot at his second Silver Slugger in 2024.

Kyle Tucker is the lone finalist that has a realistic chance at bringing home a Silver Slugger this season. Aaron Judge, though he played in only 106 games, is a lock for one of the three outfield Silver Slugger spots after posting 37 home runs and a 1.019 OPS. With two spots remaining, Tucker has done more than enough to win the first Silver Slugger of his career.

He led the American League in RBI with 112, and while he didn't post the gaudy home run totals of Adolís Garcia and Luis Robert Jr. (39 and 38 respectively), his .886 OPS is 39 points higher than the next closest finalist in Robert.

Tucker also led all the finalists in bWAR.

While his playoff showing was one to be forgotten, King Tuck truly did put together an incredible 2023 regular season, and he is well deserving of his first Silver Slugger as a result.