In two at-bats against Gerrit Cole on Thursday, the Astros’ 23-year-old DH, Yordan Alvarez, took the Yankees’ ace deep twice, keeping his squad in a game they would eventually win. Alvarez looked as unstoppable as a prime David Ortiz — and nearly as large, at 6’5”, 227 pounds.
Although his numbers against the Yankees are relatively unimpressive, carrying a career .269 wOBA against New York’s pitching, Alvarez’s herculean raw power makes him the kind of hitter that, with a little more polish, can get back to the levels he reached in his 2019 American League Rookie of the Year winning campaign.