Astros Player of the Day: Alex Bregman

Welcome to the Gallery Sports’ Houston Astros Spring Training player spotlight: Astros Player of the Day. We will look at a different Astros player each day throughout the spring.

Today’s Astros Player of the Day is third baseman Alex Bregman.

Bregman, the 28-year-old out of New Mexico, is no stranger to Astros fans, having been picked by Houston with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft after a stellar college career at LSU. Bregman has achieved premier success at every level of baseball, dating back to high school.

At LSU, he finished his three years of college play with a .337 average and .923 OPS, batting over .300 each season and driving in 52, 47, and 49 runs, respectively, in those three years in the SEC. It took Bregman very little time to translate his success from college to the pro game, moving up to Double-A, then Triple-A in 2016 and continuing to dominate at the plate.

He was called up to the big club and made his major league debut July 25, 2016, suffering from some initial struggles until he notched his first major league hit on July 31. He’s been one of Houston’s cornerstones ever since, maintaining his offensive success with a career average thus far of .277, and despite mainly playing shortstop before his promotion to the Astros, he has become a top-tier defensive third baseman.

Bregman is already racking up a plethora of hardware for his trophy and awards case alongside his two World Series wins with the Astros, making the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019, and even took home the game’s MVP award in the 2018 outing. His biggest year to date was 2019, a silver-slugger year that saw him finish second in AL MVP voting behind perennial winner Mike Trout despite finishing first in WAR.

After the COVID shortened 2020 season and missing time in 2021 with injury, Bregman played 155 games in 2022, posting a .259 average, .820 OPS, and 93 RBI as he tried to get back to the numbers that nearly won him an MVP. Bregman, who made his Spring Training debut on March 3, is gearing up to try and make 2023 his best year yet.

“ … felt great to play, great to be back out there, felt awesome, ready to get back out there for another year. Overall the offseason build-up was great. I’m ready to play.”

Alex Bregman after his 2023 Spring Training debut.

Bregman also has some personal reasons to find sustained success in 2023 and 2024, as his current contract extension signed in 2019 with the Astros will end after next season. While the team that drafted him will undoubtedly do its best to keep its homegrown talent, today’s mega-contract market will motivate Houston’s third-baseman to provide plenty of reasons for teams to raise the bidding in the 2024 offseason.

For now, though, the Astros have their star and are hoping he will be a significant part of another season that ends with them being the last team standing in the fall.