Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez has some ground to make up as he aims to win the Triple Crown.
The Houston Astros have had an up-and-down season thus far and need to be more consistent in the final four games of the regular season as they are tied with the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the AL West following a tough loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
In terms of individual performances, the Astros have gotten solid ones, but without a doubt, the best performance on the team this season has been by designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, who is on a chase for the Triple Crown.
When it comes to winning the Triple Crown, Alvarez needs to lead the American League in batting average, RBIs, and home runs, and so far, Alvarez has put himself in a good position, but he does have some ground to make up.
So, with that in mind, let's take a look at where Alvarez stands heading into the final series of the regular season, as the Astros will take on the Athletics.
Starting with batting average, Alvarez leads the AL with a .316 average this season and has a solid lead as the next closest batter is Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson who has a batting average of .309.
At this point, Alvarez does have a solid lead, but he does need to remain consistent, otherwise that could give Simpson an opportunity to catch up.
Now looking at RBIs, Alvarez has 102 RBIs this season, but that only ranks No. 2 in the AL as Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso has 110 which has him ranked No. 1 in the AL.
With that said, that is quite a bit of ground to make up in four games, but if Alvarez can get hot and take advantage of opportunities where the Astros can players on base, he has the ability to catch up and pass Alonso.
Lastly, when it comes to home runs, Alvarez has 41 home runs this season and is tied for No. 1 with Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, New York Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice, and Alonso, who also have 41 home runs.
As a result of the margin being this close, Alvarez needs to find a way to hit at least one more home run, potentially two, so he can be in a comfortable position even if the other batters are able to hit one home run down the final stretch.
So, if Alvarez can maintain his lead in batting average and take a lead in home runs he should be in a good position for those categories, but ultimately it will come down to whether or not he can catch up to Alonso for RBIs, and if he does, Alvarez will put his name in MLB history as the second player in the MLB since 1967 to win the Triple Crown.
