A Three-Time All-Star Is Looking Like One of the Best Hitters in 2026 & Baseball Again
We’re only about a week and a half into the 2026 regular season, but the Houston Astros’ offense has been the best in baseball so far. The team ranks first in both on-base and slugging percentage through its first 10 games. A big reason for that has been the re-emergence of Yordan Álvarez, who is once again looking like one of the most dangerous power threats in the league. This comes after the three-time all-star missed the majority of the 2025 season, being limited to just 48 games for an Astros team that clearly missed his presence in the lineup. Houston ended up just missing out on the postseason; it was the first time in six seasons that they were not a playoff team. After an eventful offseason and hopefully a full season of Álvarez, the Astros look to get back in the postseason in 2026.
Alvarez’s Uncharacteristic 2025 Season
Unfortunately for the Astros, last season, even when Álvarez was healthy, he still did not perform at the level he had been at in previous seasons. The 29-year-old had never posted an OPS lower than .870 in his first six seasons in the major leagues, all of which were with Houston. Last season, in the 48 games he played in, he posted an OPS of .797. That's still an above-league-average mark, but the former Silver Slugger had been one of the best bats in the game in his first six seasons, so it was lower than expected. A big reason why the three-time all-star hadn’t played at the level that we are used to seeing was most likely due to two separate injuries that he had suffered over the course of the season.
The first injury that he suffered was a hand injury; the Astros placed him on the injured list with right-hand inflammation on May 5th of last season. This was an injury that Álvarez could have been dealing with for a decent amount of time beforehand, as he had gotten off to a pretty rough start. In the month of April, he hit just .238 and had a below-league-average OPS of .708. That's significantly lower than his career mark of .967. The former Rookie of the Year Award winner was on the shelf for an extended period of time, not returning to Houston’s lineup until August 26th. Álvarez did his job as he looked like he had gotten back on the right track, as he was a force in Houston’s lineup in what was a pivotal month of September for the team. The Astros ended up missing out on the postseason despite maintaining a playoff spot for most of the season. As for the three-time all-star, in the 19 games he played in after he came off the injured list, he hit .369 and put up an OPS of 1.031. Extremely impressive numbers, but unfortunately, he was bitten again by the injury bug, suffering a left-ankle sprain that forced the Astros to put him on the injured list again, which ultimately ended his season.
Álvarez’s Scorching Hot Start to the 2026 Season
The designated hitter came into the 2026 season, hoping to pick up from where he left off last season. Álvarez has been able to do that and then some, as the Cuba native has arguably been the best hitter in baseball so far. He ranks first in OPS by a fairly wide margin with a 1.478 OPS on the season. That’s nearly 100 points better than MLB’s next best hitter in that category, who is Yankees slugger Ben Rice, who has a 1.380 OPS so far. The three-time all-star also already has four home runs, which is tied for second in the league. The former World Series Champion has also already put up a better bWAR so far than he did all of last season.
His 0.8 bWAR through ten games is tied for second in the majors and is already higher than the 0.7 bWAR he put up in what was a 48-game sample size in 2025. Álvarez has been about as good as anyone could have hoped so far in 2026; he ranks as the best in the game in most advanced stats as well. The three-time all-star is in the 100th percentile in expected wOBA, expected batting average, and expected slugging percentage. Also, Álvarez is in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity. Altogether, his early-season production suggests that he’s not only returned to form but may have elevated his game to another level entirely.
While it is still early in the 2026 season, Álvarez’s scorching hot start is the main factor as to why the Astros' offense has been the best in the sport so far. He’s already had an extremely impressive career at just 29 years old. A three-time all-star selection, a former Rookie of the Year Award winner, and a former Silver Slugger Award winner. Despite having a career OPS of .967, he has yet to take home an AL MVP Award. With how good his bat has looked to start this season, Álvarez should be viewed as a prime candidate to win his first MVP this season.
