ASTROS ROUNDTABLE PRESENTED BY TEXAS STAR GRILL SHOP

Yordan Alvarez is skyrocketing past Astros greats in this 1 category

It's pretty amazing to think that Yordan Alvarez is going to win Rookie of the Year while playing in less than 90 games.

Jeff Bagwell and Carlos Correa both won Rookie of the Year for the Astros, but even their rookie seasons don't compare to Alvarez's.

ESPN 97.5's Fred Faour and A.J. Hoffman share their thoughts on Yordan's historic rookie season, and compare his performance to the best in Astros history. The Astros Roundtable is presented by Texas Star Grill Shop.

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When we look back at last year's championship roster, we remember the big home runs from Yordan Alvarez and the combined no-hitter against the Phillies. But we often forget the total lack of production from the DH position throughout the postseason.

Whether it was Trey Mancini, David Hensley, or Aledyms Diaz, the Astros couldn't find anyone to consistently produce in that role.

In the ALCS against the Yankees, Yordan only hit as the DH in 1 of 4 games. In the other three games, the DH spot in the lineup went hitless.

In the World Series, Alvarez was only used as a DH twice. And when that happened, Aledmys Diaz started in left field. In his two starts in left, he went 0-7 with 4 strikeouts.

It wasn't until Game 6 when Dusty Baker finally started Christian Vazquez, that the club finally got some production out of the DH spot.

So why bring this up? When looking at the 2023 version of the Astros, they have a rookie phenom in Yainer Diaz and a quality left-handed bat in Michael Brantley (health pending). If Yordan continues to play primarily in left field throughout the postseason, Yainer can give the Astros all the thump they need at DH.

And the Astros are going to need it. They've fallen to 21st in team ERA over the last 30 games. But on the bright side, they're No. 1 in team OPS over that same time period.

Of course, to make this work, the club may have to add another catcher to the postseason roster for Dusty Baker to feel comfortable starting both Diaz and Maldonado in case an injury should occur. When Vazquez finally started at DH in Game 6 last season, the team added another catcher after Yuli Gurriel went down with a knee injury.

But if this plan is put into place, the 2023 Astros offense should be even more potent than last year's version. The only question is, will Dusty use it to his advantage?

Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion.

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