Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has been named the 2019 American League Rookie of the Year award winner after a landslide vote that saw him being given the trophy in unanimous fashion.
Alvarez was named the third Rookie of the Year winner in the history of the Astros franchise, and the first since the franchise was moved to the American League in 2013.
It’s no surprise to see why the Cuban power hitter won the award in unanimous fashion. The other two finalists, the Orioles’ John Means and the Rays’ Brandon Lowe, had impressive debuts, but couldn’t come close to match Alvarez’s production for the AL pennant-winning Astros.
Alvarez, who made his debut in June, hit .313 and blasted 27 home runs in only 313 at-bats. He made his presence known immediately after being called up, blasting the first of many home runs that he would hit over the summer in his June 9th debut against the Baltimore Orioles.
The season put together by Alvarez was, in fact, historic. He posted the highest OPS mark by any rookie with over 300 plate appearances in a single season in the history of the league.
The Astros have a young slugger in their midst that should become one of the league’s top bats over the next several seasons.
