Yordan Álvarez

On June 23, Álvarez hit a 2-run home run for his 7th home run of the season in only 12 games, establishing an Astros franchise record.

He also became the first player in MLB history to drive in 16 runs in his first 12 games.

He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month Award for both June and July — the first Astro to do so — after garnering 48 hits, batting .336, 13 doubles, 13 homers and 39 RBI, .699 slugging, and 1.120 OPS.

Yordan Ruben Álvarez (born June 27, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).

In his second season, 2014–15, he batted .351, ranking second on the Leñadores, and hit one double and one home run over 40 games and 125 plate appearances.

He defected from Cuba in 2016 to establish residency in Haiti, where he first signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent.

Houston acquired him via trade from the Dodgers in 2016 before he made his professional debut.

Álvarez defected from Cuba, then established residency in Haiti in 2016.

While in Haiti, he met future Houston Astros teammate Yuli Gurriel and his brother, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.., also a future major leaguer, and fellow Cubans.

Álvarez then travelled to West Palm Beach, Florida, where the Astros were building their spring training site, The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

He befriended Astros scout Charlie Gonzalez, who lobbied for club officials to sign Álvarez.

The club declined, however, having already incurred signing penalties from Gurriel's five-year, $47.5 million contract.

Álvarez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent in June 2016 for $2 million.

In August 2016, the Dodgers, in need of relief pitching, traded Álvarez to the Astros for Josh Fields, before he played a single game in the minors.

Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman later acknowledged that trading Álvarez was "a mistake" and admitted, "I obviously wish I would have said yes to other names [the Astros] asked for before him."

(Friedman first believed that they wanted pitcher Yadier Álvarez).

Álvarez made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Astros, where he spent the rest of year, batting .341 with a .974 OPS in 16 games.

Álvarez started 2017 with the Quad Cities River Bandits and was promoted to the Buies Creek Astros during the season.

In 90 total games between the River Bandits and Astros, he batted .304/.379/.481 with 12 home runs and 69 RBIs in 335 at bats.

He played in the 2017 All-Star Futures Game.

Álvarez was ranked among the top prospects in the minor leagues prior to the 2018 season.

He started the 2018 season playing with the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League.

Despite being a right-handed thrower, Álvarez was incorrectly listed as a left-handed thrower by many websites prior to 2018 spring training.

He split the 2018 season between Corpus Christi and the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, hitting a combined .293/.369/.534/.904 with 63 runs, 20 home runs and 74 RBIs in 335 at bats.

He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Astros.

Nicknamed "Air Yordan", Álvarez stands 6ft 5in, weighs 225 lb, bats left-handed and throws right-handed.

Prior to his American career, Álvarez played two seasons in the Cuban National Series for Las Tunas.

In 2019, he was unanimously named American League (AL) Rookie of the Year after posting the highest slugging percentage (.655) by a qualified rookie in history.

Álvarez opened the 2019 season with the Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League.

Prior to his first major league call-up, Álvarez batted .343/.443/.742 with 50 runs, 38 walks, 23 home runs, 71 RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.185 in 213 at bats with Round Rock.

He was leading the minor leagues in home runs, RBI and total bases (158), and was the Astros' #3 prospect and MLB.com's #23 overall prospect.

On June 9, 2019, the Astros selected Álvarez' contract and promoted him to make his major league debut that afternoon versus the Baltimore Orioles.

He went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in his debut.

The following game, Álvarez again homered, this time versus Matt Albers of the Milwaukee Brewers.

He became the first Astro to homer in both of his first two games.

Álvarez became the fourth player in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to hit four home runs in his first five career games when he homered off of Clayton Richard of the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Trevor Story, Yasiel Puig and Mike Jacobs.

After missing all but two games of the abbreviated 2020 season due to injury, Álvarez became known for his slugging numbers and for being a clutch hitter.

He won the 2021 ALCS MVP award, and in 2022, he hit the first walk-off home run in postseason history hit by a team down by multiple runs.

He also hit a go-ahead home run in the 2022 World Series to secure his first championship.

Yordan Álvarez played two seasons in the Cuban National Series (CNS) for the Leñadores de Las Tunas.