Whenever I ponder Yordan Alvarez’s value, I think back to last season, when the star slugger missed 114 of 162 games in 2025. If he plays in, say, 20 more games, the Astros, who missed the postseason by a single game, likely would’ve qualified. To be fair, a lot of things went wrong, especially in the second half, that prevented Houston’s postseason streak from continuing. But the absence of Alvarez in the lineup was painfully obvious, and we’re reminded this season how much of an impact he brings simply by being in it.
Alvarez turns 29 today, so I’d be remiss not to wish already one of the greatest hitters in Astros’ history a happy birthday. Although he literally just turned 29 today, do you know he has the most home runs by any player in club history through his age-29 season, with 195? Just incredible.
Although Alvarez is buried on the home run list, ranking him 113th-highest, with good health, he’ll likely enter double-digit territory in that ranking later this season. But Alvarez is much more than a home run threat. When you expand across baseball history for hitters through their age-29 seasons, by OPS+, only 11 players have a higher mark than Alvarez. Of the names in front of him, only two aren’t in the Hall of Fame at the moment, but will be in the future: Albert Pujols and Mike Trout. He’s about as complete a hitter you can find in baseball today, placing him in the conversation with Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge. Since Alvarez’s debut in 2019, only Judge (183) has a higher wRC+ than Alvarez (165). When you talk about strictly hitting, there is no debate: he is among the best in baseball today and deserves it.
While the Astros are 40-44, Alvarez isn’t among the causes for their struggles this season. Far from it. If it wasn’t for his contributions in the season’s first 85 games (185 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR), this team might be contending with the Angels for the cellar of the AL West rather than trying to force its way back in the postseason picture. This roster is flawed in many areas, but Alvarez’s presence alone covers up some of these warts.
Astros @ Tigers Game Information and Gamethread Details
The birthday boy has the day off, though. But Alvarez deserves the break as a gift, as he has played in 83 of the season’s first 84 games, posting incredible numbers along the way.
With Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., and Ronel Blanco on rehab assignments, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the starting rotation in the coming weeks. Of those three, Javier and McCullers will likely return first, with Blanco being possible later in the summer. But those pending returns do put some pressure on the current members of the rotation, including Mike Burrows, Kai-Wei Teng, and Spencer Arrighetti.
Teng is starting today and looking to build on his last start, when he held the Guardians to one run in six innings. The Tigers’ lineup is a bit more dynamic than Cleveland’s, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how he navigates this time around. It is worth pointing out that Teng did start against Detroit when they visited Houston earlier in June, picking up only 10 outs while allowing 5 earned runs. Another strong start might vault him above Arrighetti, whenever the time comes to activate Javier or McCullers.
The game will be broadcast at 12:10 p.m. CT on SCHN with radio coverage on KBME 790 AM.
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Feature photo from Astros on X
