Yordan Alvarez
21 year old Yordan Alvarez didn't join the Houston Astros in 2019 until June 9th. He homered that day. From there, he continued to swing a big stick for the remainder of the 2019 regular season as a fixture in an already championship-caliber Astros lineup. Hailing from Las Tunas, Cuba, Alvarez hit .313 with 27 home runs while plating 78 runs.
While many Astro fans were awaiting the call of highly-touted prospect, Kyle Tucker, it was Alvarez who received the call first. He did not disappoint. Even with the smaller sample size of a June call up, Alvarez is the runaway winner for the Seamhead.net AL Rookie of the Year Crown.
With a full season, what would those gaudy numbers look like? According to Baseball Reference, we'd be talking about a rookie season for the ages: .313, 50 HR, 145 RBI.
Though Alvarez hit inconsistently in the '19 Postseason - he was a mannequin in the ALCS, before rebounding in the WS - I'm looking forward to a full season of plate appearances from this talented superstar-in-the-making.
Others considered: John Means, Baltimore Orioles; Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays
BBWAA VOTE: Yordan Alvarez (unanimous 30/30 first place votes)
