Yordan Alvarez Chosen Best Left Fielder in MLB

January 30, 2025

All news media are echoing the new success of Cuban player Yordan Álvarez, chosen for the third consecutive time as the best left fielder in MLB. The left fielder for the Houston Astros is the best Cuban batter currently in Major League Baseball. His consistent batting and the power of his arms are tools feared by most pitchers in the Big Leagues. In fact, Yordan is for many part of the select club of "the most feared" in professional baseball in the United States.

The designation was ratified by MLB Network, which chose Yordan as the position leader for the third consecutive season. The slugger born in Las Tunas has no rivals there and the baseball world recognizes it.

Continuing with its usual annual selection, the prestigious sports channel announced its Top 10 left fielders in MLB.

Cuban Yordan Álvarez was ratified as the best, followed by Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox and Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs. The Top 5 was completed with Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers and Riley Green of the Detroit Tigers. Also appearing on the list are Brandon Nimmo (6th, New York Mets), Jackson Chourio (7th, Milwaukee Brewers), Stever Kwan (8th, Cleveland Guardians), Taylor Ward (9th, Los Angeles Angels) and Bryan Reynolds (10th, Pittsburgh Pirates).

"What Yordan Álvarez causes at home plate… is fear. You know he's a player who changes the game," MLB Network stated in its selection. The selection was based fundamentally on the statistics achieved during the 2024 MLB season. The Cuban, although he was injured at some point in the campaign, played 147 games for the Houston Astros and had a great performance, earning him selection to the All-Star Game.

Yordan left an offensive average of .308, with 170 hits, including 35 home runs, 34 doubles and a pair of triples. He drove in a total of 86 runs and scored 88, leaving an offensive line of .392/.567/.959 (OBP/SLG/OPS). He was the fifth highest home run hitter in the American League, the sixth best batting average in all of Major League Baseball and the fifth highest OPS. Simply spectacular!

The Houston Astros slugger won the award for the third consecutive time, after Jesse Winker was the best in 2022. Only Ryan Braun (2011-2013, Milwaukee Brewers) was able to string together a triple selection from 2010 to date in left field, winning another leadership in 2017. By the way, the popular Dominican Juan Soto was the one chosen in 2020.

Returning to Yordan Alvarez, his OPS+ has been 170 or higher in four of his five complete seasons in MLB, excluding the shortened 2020 campaign. He has the fourth highest offensive average in Major League Baseball from 2022 to date, with .303 and an OBP of .401, the third in that period. In addition, he has the third highest SLG with .587 and the second highest OPS+ with 176, considering hitters with more than a thousand offensive appearances.

Undisputed leader of the Houston Astros offense, the Cuban was a key piece in the World Series title achieved in 2022. For the 2025 campaign, he will continue to occupy the positions of greatest responsibility in manager Joe Espada's daily lineup. He is Cuban pride and one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball!