Every season, there seems to be one player who becomes the heartbeat of the league! The name on everyone’s lips. Over the past three seasons, that player for the Houston Astros was none other than Yordan Alvarez. The slugger inked a massive $115 million, 6-year contract extension in 2022 and quickly became the talk of the town with his electrifying bat and commanding presence at the plate.
Alvarez wasn’t just good — he was elite. An All-Star with MVP buzz surrounding him, he carved out an era of his own in Houston. Between 2021 and 2024, Alvarez crushed 103 home runs and boasted a staggering .988 OPS. His offensive prowess put him in rare company — and almost in the ranks of the league’s absolute titans.
In fact, during that stretch, only two players in all of baseball posted a better OPS than Alvarez: Shohei Ohtani (.990) and Aaron Judge (1.107). That’s right — Alvarez was breathing down the neck of Ohtani, one of the most transcendent talents in baseball history. But as dominant as that run was, little did Alvarez know it wouldn’t carry through to the 2025 season.
His incredible hitting talent led him to be one of the popular picks to achieve the title of AL MVP. However, the Astros’ star is yet to make an impact this season. He has made an appearance in 25 games so far, and he has hit just 5 extra bases. To say the least, he hasn’t met the expectations yet, and the Astros’ nation is watching. But looking at it from an optimistic angle, just like 2025, he had a slow start in 2024 as well, but he made headlines later with his 1.031 mark and continued playing well for the rest of the year. We have just entered the second month of the season, and Alvarez can still shake things up for good.
Anytime soon, he can go from a brutal start to a strong season if he reflects on his era and gets back in action. Not to forget, according to Statcast, he is expected to hit even higher than before. To be precise, around 166 points on the higher end. Sure, the once-MVP candidate is now facing a rough time. But if we were to go by Statcast, it’s just a matter of time till he starts hitting in his form.
Astros’ slugger Alvarez is already showing signs of his big game era
Just when the word was growing louder around the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez‘s rough start to the season, he has started showing signs of his elite game to put an end to criticisms. Just recently, when the Houston Astros went up against the Kansas City Royals, they managed to go above .500 by handing the Royals a painful 7-3 defeat.
Undeniably, Alvarez had a major role in the hard-fought game. It will catch you by surprise that, amidst his poor start into the season, he secured 2 for 4 with a stunning home run and 3 RBIs. It marked his third home run since the beginning of this season. And indeed, it was an incredible swing.
To get an overall figure, Alvarez has hit in total of 167 home runs in his Major League Baseball career. Want to know something even better? He is now in the 8th place on the list of “Astros’ all-time home run list. Well, while he is making headlines about his struggles in the season, these milestones help a lot with his confidence. Adding to his impact, in 2022, he was also a key piece behind the Astros’ World Series glory.
The Astros are not in a tough spot anymore. They have managed to sit at 14-13. Meanwhile, the Royals dropped to 14-15 post losing to the Astros. But the highlight of this Royals-Astros matchup would definitely be Alvarez’s breakthrough after a slow start.
The post Astros $115M Star Slugger Goes From MVP Candidate to Biggest Bust in MLB Tag After Brutal Start to 2025 Season appeared first on EssentiallySports.