Astros’ Yordan Álvarez Is Doing Something We’ve Never Seen in the Statcast Era

Yordan Álvarez connected on his 37th home run of the season and reached 93 RBIs on Saturday in the Astros’ 6-2 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The home run ties the best mark of his career, set in 2022 when he hit 37 home runs at age 25. The Astros, who are playing at .500 with a 68-68 record, have 26 games remaining, enough for Yordan to establish a new personal mark.

His race for the MVP and Triple Crown is another one of the most fascinating stories in baseball this year, and it will continue to capture headlines until the end.

However, sometimes it goes unnoticed how Yordan is accomplishing all these feats that place him as the most consistent hitter in the game these days. On top of that, his impressive numbers reinforce another, even more interesting story: in the Statcast era, from 2015 to the present, there has not been a season on the level of this one by Yordan Álvarez.

Yordan’s Unprecedented Balance Against Every Pitch Type

The unprecedented milestone is in the offensive balance and his unstoppable production. Look at what happens when we sort Yordan’s performance by pitch groups:

Pitch Group	HR	xBA	xSLG	Whiffs%
Fastballs	22	.340	.712	16.2%
Breakings	11	.321	.701	27.0%
Offspeed	4	.284	.477	19.7%

No hitter has recorded numbers equal to or above those combined standards in xBA, xSLG and Whiff%. The only one who has reached at least two has been Ronald Acuña Jr., but in 2023 his xSLG stayed below .700 (.647) against fastballs. Here are all the players who met the requirements against at least one or two pitch groups.

Elite Hitters Against Pitch Groups Compared With Yordan Álvarez’s Performance. | Baseball Savant.

None belong to this season, and it is striking that most have been left-handed hitters, including Ozzie Albies, who is a switch-hitter. Yordan’s performance against each pitch group has been overwhelming in terms of his level of contact and expected power, combined with low swing-and-miss rates when we consider the high averages.

He is a hybrid at the plate who combines a surprising batting eye with a swing capable of making adjustments in the blink of an eye and adapting to any type of velocity or movement.

Yordan Alvarez | Statcast Player Comparison Tool. | Baseball Savant.

I love the expected statistics available at Baseball Savant because, regardless of the result of each at-bat, they bring us closer to the real story behind the actual success a hitter should have had.

Even if Yordan goes through a decline in the final month of the regular season, he still has a great advantage in the combination of his metrics against each pitch group.

In any case, it would be great to investigate again and bring an analysis here about the close of this magnificent season in which the Cuban slugger is making history with the Astros.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44). Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For now, it is almost certain that Yordan will break his personal record of 37 home runs and it could happen as soon as this Sunday in New York. In 2022, although he spent time on the injured list, he needed 27 fewer plate appearances than this year to hit his 37 home runs. He did it in 135 games, and this time he has appeared in 134.

Yordan has once again shown that, while healthy, his swing can once again make Houston fans erupt with excitement with every trip to the plate.

All statistics were verified using Statcast from Baseball Savant.

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