Mandatory Credit: Photo by Maria Lysaker/UPI/Shutterstock (13457639as) Houston Astros Alex Bregman is congratulated by Yordan Alvarez after hitting a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners in an American League Division Series game at Minute Maid Park in Houston on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. Alds Astros Mariners, Houston, Texas, United States – 11 Oct 2022
Fred Faour: Alvarez tops list of Astros in MLB top 100
OK, let’s start with a caveat: Lists like MLB’s top 100 players are purely subjective. But they can also be fun to talk about. The top 100 came out recently, and the Astros (deservedly so) were well represented.
Let’s start with the obvious. The perennially disappointing Angels had the No. 1 player (Shohei Ohtani) and No. 3 player (Mike Trout). You would think they would sniff the playoffs one year.
Aaron Judge of the Yankees was No. 2, and Mookie Betts (Dodgers) and Manny Machado (Padres) rounded out the top five at four and five, respectively.
But we care about the World Champions here, right? So let’s take a look at where the Astros landed.
No. 9 Yordan Alvarez. This is probably fair, but if he stays healthy all year, he will be top five. Yes, in Houston, we value him more. He produced the greatest moment in Houston Sports history to win World Series (I’ll fight anyone who argues that. Actually, no, I won’t. I’m old, and you will beat my butt. But you get the point). He has an MVP in his future.
No. 23 Jose Altuve. Probably about right, but I could see him being much higher this season.
No. 24 Alex Bregman. Again, seems fair with a high upside. Funny to me that both guys are behind Carlos Correa (22).
No. 30 Kyle Tucker. Man, with no shift this year? He should rake and be much higher.
No. 40 Jose Abreu. Seems about right. But if he plays like the Covid MVP again…
No. 56 Framber Valdez. The most underappreciated ace in baseball. Will be better than the 56th player.
No. 64 Jeremy Pena. This guy has a serious up arrow. Bet he does much better than this.
No. 80 Cristian Javier. Another who could easily be much higher by the end of the season. Good to see him get some recognition because few people outside of H Town know how good he was.
So eight players in the top 100. A healthy Michael Brantley could easily join, and Ryan Pressley deserved consideration as well. Most of these are fair rankings, with up arrows in almost every case. Either way, the champs are getting recognized.
