USATSI_18855423 — © Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Bregman Is Making a Run for the Silver Slugger Award

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is closing in on the competition to be the best offensive third baseman in the American League.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Publish date:
Aug 13, 2022 3:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Houston Astros

Alex Bregman is having a terrific second half. In 20 games, the Houston Astros third baseman is batting .324 with a .920 OPS.

Since the start of August, he has been even better, hitting .394 with a 1.015 OPS. Both of those numbers rank first among American League third basemen.

With his strong performance as of late, Bregman is starting to catch up with the very best hitters at the hot corner. Among qualified hitters who have played at least half their games at third base, his .794 OPS ranks third, behind only Rafael Devers and José Ramírez.

For most of the season, Devers and Ramírez have been the leading contenders for the AL Silver Slugger award at third base. They were both selected to the AL All-Star team this summer, and between the two of them they lead the pack in most offensive categories.

However, as the season wears on, they both might be showing signs of tiring. Ramírez slashed .288/.368/.576 with a 162 wRC+ during the first half. In the second half, he is performing worse across the board, slashing just .274/.304/.452 with a 107 wRC+.

Devers, meanwhile, slashed .324/.379/.601 with a 171 wRC+ during the first half of the season, but he is hitting just .167/.239/.381 with a 63 wRC+ since the All-Star break. He hit the injured list in mid-July with hamstring inflammation, and he has not been the same hitter since.

Both Ramírez and Devers still have excellent full-season numbers, but if their performance continues to dip over the next two months, there will come a point where they are no longer the Silver Slugger frontrunners.

If that happens, Bregman could sneak his way into contention for the award. He has been a consistently strong hitter this season, posting a wRC+ over 100 in every month so far. He has looked particularly hot lately, and if he keeps swinging the bat like he has been, his already impressive numbers will only continue to rise.

According to Statcast, Bregman has made better quality contact than Ramírez all year. The Astro has the lead in barrel rate, hard hit rate, and xwOBA. Devers is still beating Bregman in all those categories, but with his recent injury and subsequent slump, it's hard to know what to expect from him going forward.

So, while Bregman might not be the favorite quite yet, he is slowly making his case for the Silver Slugger Award. If he keeps hitting like he has been – and Ramírez and Devers continue to fall off the pace – he'll merit some serious consideration by the end of the year.