Three games remain before the All-Star break, and Yordan Alvarez is making a serious case for one of the rarest accomplishments in baseball. He leads the American League in home runs with 29 and RBIs with 67. His .310 batting average sits just behind Tampa Bay's Yandy Díaz for the AL lead. Nobody has won a Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, but Yordan Alvarez has a real shot this season.
Where He Stands Right Now
HR lead: 29, which also matches Lance Berkman's franchise record for home runs before the All-Star break.RBI lead: 67, a commanding lead in the AL.Batting average: .310, close enough to make a push in the final three games before the break.
He also leads the majors in OBP, slugging, OPS, and win probability added. This is not just a Triple Crown chase, this is an all-around historic first half.
With 29 homers, he is more than halfway to Jeff Bagwell's single-season franchise record of 47, set in 2000. The Astros' golden era has produced some great first halves, but this one stands alone, per MLB.
The MVP Conversation
Jeff Bagwell and Jose Altuve are the only two MVP winners in Astros history. Alvarez is making his case to be the third, but the DH stigma has always been a real obstacle.
Shohei Ohtani winning the NL MVP in 2024 as a DH without pitching helped shift that conversation.
The Astros are 46-49 and fighting to stay in the AL West race, and Yordan Alvarez is the engine that makes this entire team go.
Jose Altuve said it best: "Nobody is better than him. I'm really happy he plays for us and not against us," per The Athletic.
With just three games before the All-Star break, Yordan Alvarez has a chance to make history. Whether or not he catches Díaz in the batting race, what he has done in the first half of 2026 is already something Astros fans will be talking about for a long time. The quiet superstar is having anything but a quiet season, and it seems like everyone is rooting for him.
