Star Slugger Has Shockingly Been Least Valuable Player for Astros This Season

The Houston Astros have been able to play some surprisingly good baseball so far this season, but it hasn’t been easy.

This winter, it felt like it was going to be a changing of the guard in the American League. The Astros elected to trade their star outfielder Kyle Tucker with one year left on his deal. This move seemed like a clear waving of the white flag for Houston.

Furthermore, they also let long-time third baseman Alex Bregman walk in free agency. With two of the best hitters on the team leaving, the Astros were left with plenty of question marks heading into the year.

Fortunately, despite losing two stars, Houston has found ways to win even though the majority of their lineup has struggled.

Who Has Been the Astros Least Valuable Player?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about star slugger Yordan Alvarez being the Least Valuable Player for the team so far this season.

“Both Jose Altuve and Christian Walker have also struggled to alarming degrees, but Alvarez batting .210/.306/.340 before landing on the IL at the beginning of May wasn't on anyone's preseason bingo card.”

With multiple veteran stars struggling, this designation could have gone to a couple of different players. However, based on his success in the past and what he means to the lineup, Alvarez's struggles has crippled the unit at times.

While he has been on the injured list for a while now, he was struggling before then.

The left-handed slugger has been one of the best hitters in baseball since being called up, and his extended slump before getting injured was surprising. Now, he has been out for nearly a month, but the team has luckily been able to find some ways to generate runs.

If the Astros are going to exceed expectations and be the team to beat in the AL, they are going to need their star slugger back healthy and productive.

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