2019 Houston Astros Thread

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

It’s not serious until she starts rolling with the other Astro wives / gfs 

Ugh, she's probably friends with that rib-breaking Aggy succubus. 

[tx 3 putt 75959]

23 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Ugh, she's probably friends with that rib-breaking Aggy succubus. 

They’ve had a couple of big outings recently and she wasn’t part of the crew yet

 

[rvm96 1643]

 

[Gourmand 7774]

10 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

They’ve had a couple of big outings recently and she wasn’t part of the crew yet

 

she's been to NYC with Breg's hot sister though and is instafriends with Daniella. 

Bregman  posting her on his social media means they're definitely serious now. She hit the jackpot. 

 

[UTPhil2006 3785]

Just now, Gourmand said:

she's been to NYC with Breg's hot sister though and is instafriends with Daniella. 

Bregman  posting her on his social media means they're definitely serious now. She hit the jackpot. 

 

My stupid sister. 

“He’s too young for me”

you know what’s not young? 100 million. 

[TonyTexas 10467]

Chronicle article. A few new insights

 

Delayed only by defensive questions and service time tinkering, Yordan Álvarez's improbable ascent of the Houston baseball hierarchy reached its apex on June 9. He saw four pitches as a major league hitter before announcing his arrival.

 

Against Orioles righthander Dylan Bundy in the fourth inning of a 4-0 win, Álvarez annihilated a changeup to the opposite field.

 

Television analyst Geoff Blum unleashed a maniacal laugh while the baseball flew through the air. Tales of Álvarez's ambushes on the spring training back fields and in minor league games were legendary. To see it finally manifest on the major league level was a stupendous sight.

 

"We had very strong conviction that he'd be here and be doing what he's doing," said Oz Ocampo. "Not to this extent obviously — so immediately – but we knew he was going to be an impact player at the big league level."

 

The baseball landed where most home runs do not, over a gas pump and onto the small porch overlooking left-center field at Minute Maid Park. Álvarez rounded the bases, met countryman Yuli Gurriel at home plate and officially began the latest anticipated careers of an Astros prospect.

 

Once an afterthought on the international market, Álvarez became an Astro only because of an often forgotten about trade. The massive 22-year-old slugger has since authored a big league debut few in this sport have matched. In his first 12 major league games, Álvarez struck seven home runs and drove in 16 runs.

Manager A.J. Hinch hit him cleanup on his fourth day as a big leaguer. Álvarez rewarded the skipper with a three-hit game that included a home run. He won American League Rookie of the Month honors despite playing only 16 games during June.

 

With Class AAA Round Rock, Álvarez had 23 home runs in 56 games. Teams began intentionally walking him in fear of facing him. Thirty of his 92 professional hits this season are long balls.

 

"It is incredible," said Astros pitcher Cy Sneed who was with Álvarez in Round Rock. "I've never seen anything like it. He cooled off before he came up here. But when he's hot, he's hitting 405, 410 (feet). What he was on pace for, he was on pace for 68 home runs in a 140-game season. It was absolutely ridiculous what he was doing."

 

Hits first, power second

 

Pigeonholing Álvarez as a power-only player is dangerous. Those who scouted him speak of a hitter far more advanced than most young Latin players. His pitch recognition is refined and poise inordinate for a man his age. Álvarez has seven home runs and 11 extra-base hits — four on breaking balls, four on fastballs and two on offspeed pitches.

 

Innate ability to connect barrel to baseball allows an abundance of hard contact. Twenty-two of his first 44 big-league balls in play were struck 95 mph or harder.

 

"He's always been a hit over power guy," said Ocampo, the Astros' former director of international scouting who now serves as the team interpreter and a special assistant to general manager Jeff Luhnow.

 

"When you look at his swing and the quality of his contact, he's had that from day one. It's been more about hitting line drives and hitting the ball hard and not about trying to hit it over the fence. He's always had that consistently ... it's always been hit and then power. Power would come because of the quality of contact and the strength and physicality."

 

Many heralded Houston prospects have arrived with similar fanfare. Almost all have failed to fulfill it. Whether Álvarez can buck the recent norm is still a mystery. Sixty-nine major league plate appearances are not enough to draw grandiose conclusions. Álvarez must maintain his production to prove he is more than just a one-month wonder.

 

"It's my personality to be calm and levelheaded," Álvarez said this week through Ocampo, his interpreter. "I've worked really hard to get to this point, and in that sense, nothing really surprises me."

 

 

Photo: Karen Warren/Staff Photographer

Yordan Alvarez, celebrating his first home run as an Astro, was a hit from the start.

An easy transition

 

Álvarez never considered leaving Cuba. When he was 15, a trip to an international tournament allowed him to meet and converse with Venezuelan and Mexican players with major league dreams.

 

"We started talking about baseball in the U.S., and at that point I realized, 'Oh, maybe there is a possibility of playing in the U.S.,' " Álvarez said. "It just went from there."

 

Defecting Cuban ballplayers must leave their home country and establish residency elsewhere before signing with a major league team. Álvarez started his journey in the Dominican Republic, boarded a "very small plane," and ended up in Haiti during 2016.

 

Álvarez made an appointment with Haitian immigration officials to begin the process of procuring a passport. On the day he arrived, he stood in line. One other countryman was present.

 

"When I saw him," Yuli Gurriel said, "I was like, 'Oh my God.'"

 

Gurriel and his brother, Lourdes, are part of Cuban baseball royalty. Their clandestine escape from the national team hotel at that year's Carribean Series sent shockwaves through the country. The brothers kept their location a secret. Álvarez was now clued in.

 

"Don't tell anybody that I'm here," Yuli told him.

 

"Yeah," replied the 19-year-old Álvarez. "Of course I won't tell anybody."

 

The two players had never met in person. Three years later, they share a major league clubhouse. Gurriel marvels at Álvarez's seamless assimilation into the Astros culture, a process the 34-year-old first baseman unknowingly has aided.

 

The Cuban contingent is a tightknit group. Aledmys Diaz was among the first players to reach out on the day Álvarez was called up.

 

"When I knew him, I knew he was going to be a big prospect, but I didn't know he was going to get to the big leagues so quickly and have the impact that he's had so quickly," Gurriel said through an interpreter. "He's changed a lot from one year to the next."

 

One fact remains the same, Gurriel said. Álvarez does not talk. Banter in Spanish between he and Latin teammates is brief. Myles Straw, a longtime minor league teammate, connected with Álvarez early in their careers at Buies Creek in the Carolina League. The speedster speaks rough Spanish. Álvarez's English is basic, too.

 

"He's definitely goofy. He's got some goofy to him," Straw said. "Once he gets to know you, like me and Yuli, he'll say whatever. He jokes around a lot and is a good guy to talk to him. It's never boring with him."

 

The aura around him remains unmistakable. Fans applaud each announcement of his name and expect excitement each time he bats. The Astros list him at only 6-5, 225 pounds. One look at him reveals the silliness of such a claim.

 

Álvarez is at least two years younger than any of his Astros teammates and says next to nothing when seated among them. He is a stoic slugger in every sense.

 

"He's never been a big talker," said Astros senior scouting adviser Charlie Gonzalez. "But he kind of knows what he wants."

 

Astros miss first chance to sign Álvarez

 

Gonzalez got a head start on every other major league team and first alerted the Astros of Álvarez's existence. The veteran scout patrols the Cuban market and sees the Astros top draft picks. He's worked with Luhnow since 2005, dating back to his days in St. Louis.

 

 

Photo: Charlie Gonzalez

Astros senior scouting adviser Charlie Gonzalez remains one of the sole reasons Yordan Álvarez is with the organization.

Gonzalez remains one of the sole reasons Álvarez is even in the organization. A preexisting relationship with Álvarez's agent allowed Gonzalez a first look at the revolutionary rookie. It was somewhere in Florida — St. Petersburg, Dunedin, some city that the passage of time has faded.

 

"He had the big, raw power," Gonzalez said. "He had the beautiful, Fred McGriff-type looking swing. It's a really balanced swing. He uses his hips. They're engaged, with the bat speed and all that."

 

Gonzalez set up some private workouts with Álvarez, but he can't discern much from those. Live situations serve as separators, Gonzalez said, between "guys who are just a toolbox — and they're not really a baseball player — and the guys that are real."

 

"I saw Yordan one time take a ball right under his chin at about 95 mph," Gonzalez said. "He just kind of moved his head back casually. It was about Adam's-apple high. He just kind of tilts his head back a little bit.

 

"The next pitch, you're thinking, 'He's going to bail out. He's got no shot.' And he just hung in there, very poised with his clock and his demeanor.

 

"You can get guys that have bat speed, you can get guys that have big raw power. And they're speeding the game up and going 100 mph in the box. They don't have that thing that holds it all together. And the good ones do."

 

Gonzalez grew closer with Álvarez, who informed the scout he had eyes on an apartment in West Palm Beach, Fla., within four or five blocks of the spring training facility the Astros would begin using in 2017.

 

Álvarez was eligible to be signed during the 2015-16 international signing period.

 

"He would call me twice a week. 'Let's go hit. Let's do this. Make sure you take me,' " Gonzalez recalled. "He said, 'You gotta take me. You gotta take me.' "

 

But that decision was not up to Gonzalez. The scout first fed information back to Ocampo. Ocampo never saw Álvarez in person during the process, relying solely on video and Gonzalez's trusted intel.

 

"He became a pretty clear target for us," Ocampo said. "Just an athletic, young kid with a great, deluxe body and a beautiful swing. He always had a great swing. The ball was jumping off the bat. Very level with a ton of contact.

 

"He just has the innate ability to just center the ball consistently (and) the plate discipline at being able to identify pitches, identify whether those are balls or strikes. Having that at such a young age, early, that is an innate ability. And he had it. And it's rare for young, Latin prospects to have that. He had it in spades."

 

Convinced the Astros needed to pursue Álvarez during the international signing period, Ocampo and Gonzalez pitched the prospect to Luhnow. All were aware the Dodgers were in pursuit and willing to extend a lucrative offer.

 

The Astros, meanwhile, were saving for an anticipated year of big international spending in 2016-17, a year that netted them Cionel Perez and Freudis Nova.

 

Teams that exceed their international signing bonus pool are penalized during the next year's signing period. Doing so in 2015-16 would have sabotaged the plan.

 

"We were actually hoping he'd roll over to the next signing class so we could use the money from the new signing year," Luhnow said. "Didn't happen, and then we kind of knew the Dodgers were going to put a big number out there. We let him go."

 

The Dodgers paid Álvarez $2 million, according to reports at the time. Because they'd gone over their bonus allotment, there was a 100 percent tax, so the final tally was $4 million.

 

"Charlie and I advocated for this player as if he were our own son," Ocampo said. "We loved this guy. And we wanted to sign him. And we knew he checked every single box that we were looking for from a prospect perspective.

 

"When he checks all the boxes and you have the opportunity to sign him, what you want to do is get him on board and get him to your team. And on top of that, we loved him. We had a great relationship with him. He wanted to be an Astro. So knowing all those factors, it was really disappointing when we did not sign him."

 

Asked about the ordeal this week, Álvarez was diplomatic. He said he "was not thinking of any team" during the signing period. He appreciated the Dodgers giving him an opportunity. He reported to their facility in the Dominican Republic.

 

 

Photo: Karen Warren/Staff Photographer

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) sits in the dugout during the third inning of an MLB game at Minute Maid Park, Sunday, June 9, 2019, in Houston.

A trade for the other Álvarez

 

Six weeks later, Gonzalez sat at the East Coast Pro, an annual Southern baseball showcase in Hoover, Ala. The sting of losing Álvarez was tough, he said, but a part of scouting and a reality of baseball.

 

His cellphone rang. Luhnow informed his scout the team was in deep discussions with the Dodgers about a trade for reliever Josh Fields. Did he have anyone in mind?

 

'What do I got?" Gonzalez exclaimed. "Are you kidding? Is this a cruel joke?"

 

Five and a half games out of first place in the American League West as July drew to a close, the Astros did nothing of substance at the 2016 trade deadline. Reports from the time suggest the prospect price was too high to incrementally improve the team. Luhnow often prefers not to mortgage his future for a short-term gain.

 

Hindsight proves Houston was trying to clear its 40-man roster of an unreliable major league reliever with impressive minor league numbers. Fields yielded 23 hits in 15⅔ big league innings that season. His ERA was 6.89.

 

Two or three other clubs, in addition to the Dodgers, expressed interest. Luhnow asked Los Angeles GM Farhan Zaidi for "three or four" players. All were at full-season affiliates. The Dodgers declined each request.

 

"We got to the point where, literally, our evaluators were saying, 'That's it. Fields is too valuable to trade for anybody below this line,' " Luhnow said. "Finally, kind of out of options, and I remembered that they'd signed Álvarez."

 

Luhnow asked Zaidi for Álvarez. Zaidi reacted with incredulity, according to Luhnow, rattling off the large sum of money his franchise just invested in this Cuban player. The Astros general manager was puzzled. He asked Zaidi if perhaps there was another Álvarez in the system.

 

"Yeah, Zaidi said, "we have a Cuban hitter."

 

Yadier Álvarez is an 18-year-old Cuban pitcher to whom the Dodgers gave a $16 million signing bonus during the 2014-15 international free agent period. It was, at the time, the second-largest bonus given to an international amateur free agent. Luhnow assumes this was the other Álvarez that Zaidi assumed he was asking for.

 

Luhnow clarified that he meant Yordan Álvarez. Even when he pitched it, Luhnow acknowledged he "wasn't sure I'd do that deal yet." Yordan Álvarez had not yet played a professional game on American soil. Gonzalez doesn't think he even had a Dodgers jersey.

 

"I was trying to downplay it," Luhnow said. "(Zaidi) said, 'OK, we may be able to do that.' "

 

Luhnow called Gonzalez back. Assistant general manager Brandon Taubman listened in.

 

"Charlie, what would you think if we got you Yordan Álvarez?" Luhnow asked.

 

"BROOOOO!" Gonzalez yelled. "BROOOOO!"

 

"He was so excited," Luhnow said. "Brandon still makes fun of him for his bro comment. He was just so excited about it. I said, 'OK, let's do it.' Farhan did it."

 

Eventually, someone had to inform the player.

 

"Someone called me from the Dodgers and told me I'd been traded," Yordan Álvarez recalled. "I had no idea what a trade was, so that needed to be explained to me. Once I understood, I knew I was going to the Astros."

 

 

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

For Yordan Alvarez, hitting a double against the Mariners, the hits come first and then the power.

At home in Houston

 

Álvarez departed the Dodgers Dominican academy for the Astros' facility. Gonzales met him.

 

"He had a big ol' grin on his face at our complex at the (Dominican Republic). We just both had the same look, from 100 feet away, the same look of 'Man, we got it done,'" Gonzales said.

 

The trade, as of now, is the biggest outright coup of Luhnow's eight-year Astros tenure as general manager. Acquiring Justin Verlander still remains the most meaningful deal in franchise history. It brought the biggest short-term dividend imaginable, a World Series championship.

 

In Game 2 of that series, Fields surrendered two home runs to his former club. In two and a half seasons as a Dodger, he threw to a 2.61 ERA, and Los Angeles won two pennants with him in the bullpen. He is currently unemployed. The Rangers released him from a minor league contract last month.

 

Álvarez's long-term future projects as slightly more prodigious. Whether Álvarez-for-Fields ever rivals the 1990 Jeff Bagwell-for-Larry Andersen steal remains to be seen. Should Álvarez's final 2019 slash line approaches the .317/.406/.733 he took into the weekend, he might join the Hall of Famer as a Rookie of the Year honoree.

 

"I think we all know now he hits the ball stupid hard," Straw said. "Some teams, who knows what they're doing to prepare for that guy? It's pretty hard. He'll lay off close pitches and attack pitches in the zone. To see how advanced he is, it's impressive.

 

"I've never seen anything like this in person. I'm just glad I'm around to witness it."

 

Work still remains on Álvarez's defense. Major league pitchers will readjust to his tendencies after a few more weeks in the major leagues. Sustaining the success is the next chapter in Álvarez's career.

 

"I feel good," Álvarez said, "I feel normal. I feel at home."

[Guest]

all of that would be great if they didn't have his ass riding the pine.

In Denver, Tyler fucking White got an AB as a pinch hitter and Tony Kemp did too, but not the hottest power hitter in the league.

 

Idiotic.

Edited July 5, 2019 by slorch

[rvm96 1643]

31 minutes ago, slorch said:

all of that would be great if they didn't have his ass riding the pine.

In Denver, Tyler fucking White got an AB as a pinch hitter and Tony Kemp did too, but not the hottest power hitter in the league.

 

Idiotic.

I hate Tyler White as much as anybody, but your anger is misguided. First, the Astros won both games. Second, Alvarez was about to pinch hit twice but the last out was made both times.

[rvm96 1643]

From mlb.com

These teams could be in mix for Wheeler

July 5: When the Mets' Zack Wheeler took the mound Tuesday and struck out eight batters while holding the red-hot Yankees to just two runs in 6 1/3 innings, he did so in front of a contingent of scouts, according to Marc Carig of The Athletic (subscription required).

As an impending free agent on a team with the second-worst record in the National League, Wheeler is an obvious trade candidate, and the Yanks, who experienced Wheeler's stuff first-hand on Tuesday, have been mentioned as a potential suitor.

The crosstown rivals don't usually come together for trades, however, and while Major League sources told SNY's Andy Martino that they won't have an issue sending Wheeler to the Yankees if they make the best offer, MLB Network insider Joel Sherman predicted Wednesday in an article for the New York Post that the Mets will ultimately trade the righty to the Braves, Brewers, Twins or "someone not the Yankees."

On Friday, SNY's John Harper listed those four teams as well as the Astros as possible landing spots for Wheeler and provided speculation as to what the Mets might be able to land in a trade.

Yankees: RHP Albert Abreu (NYY's No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline)
Braves: LHP Kolby Allard (ATL's No. 8), LHP Joey Wentz (No. 9) or LHP Kyle Muller (No. 10)
Twins: C Ryan Jeffers (MIN's No. 17)
Brewers: LHP Aaron Ashby (MIL's No. 9)
Astros: OF Myles Straw (HOU's No. 13)

Carig mentioned the Brewers as a possible landing spot as well. Milwaukee nearly acquired Wheeler alongside Wilmer Flores in a 2015 deal for Carlos Gomez, and although that was under a different general manager, the team remained "enamored" with Wheeler's upside when it tried to trade for him as recently as this past offseason, Carig reports.

Although Wheeler's 4.42 ERA is more than a run higher than last season's mark (3.31), he owns a 1.86 ERA with a 20-to-4 K/BB ratio in 19 1/3 innings over his past three starts. Some may forget that Wheeler had a 4.85 ERA last year as late as June 26 before posting a 2.06 ERA over his final 15 starts.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Mets are telling other teams that they are going to wait a little longer before deciding whether to buy or sell. If they do opt to sell, their inclination is only to deal walk-year players -- Wheeler, Jason Vargas, Todd Frazier -- and not Noah Syndergaard or Edwin Diaz, per Sherman.

[tx 3 putt 75959]

Damn, I’d hate to lose straw. He’s a legit player. 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, rvm96 said:

I hate Tyler White as much as anybody, but your anger is misguided. First, the Astros won both games. Second, Alvarez was about to pinch hit twice but the last out was made both times.

it is not misguided.  "about to hit" after fatass was picked ahead of him was idiotic.

T Kemp leading off the inning as Miley's spot came up, at least halfway makes sense.

There is no excuse for Alvarez not having ABs in Colorado.   Maybe AJ was worried how far the ball might go.

Edited July 5, 2019 by slorch

[TonyTexas 10467]

^^^
Now you’re bitching just for the sake of bitching. Pick your battles bro.

[Limp Brisket 545]

I’d do Straw for Wheeler in a second.

[tx 3 putt 75959]

Meh, we won both games. He’s fully rested / healed up for this weekend 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

^^^
Now you’re bitching just for the sake of bitching. Pick your battles bro.

So he's NOT the hottest power hitter in baseball right now?

Is there a meter?  Obviously AJ's saving him for October, right?

 

i'll let it go.  It just doesn't make sense to waste him in 2 prime pinch hit spots, even if his fielding is an opportunity.  get him the ABs.

Edited July 5, 2019 by slorch

[tx 3 putt 75959]

3 minutes ago, Limp Brisket said:

I’d do Straw for Wheeler in a second.

No doubt, win / win for both teams 

tony kemp is praying the Astros make that deal 

[TonyTexas 10467]

[texashorne 1177]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

Chronicle article. A few new insights

 

Delayed only by defensive questions and service time tinkering, Yordan Álvarez's improbable ascent of the Houston baseball hierarchy reached its apex on June 9. He saw four pitches as a major league hitter before announcing his arrival.

 

Against Orioles righthander Dylan Bundy in the fourth inning of a 4-0 win, Álvarez annihilated a changeup to the opposite field.

 

Television analyst Geoff Blum unleashed a maniacal laugh while the baseball flew through the air. Tales of Álvarez's ambushes on the spring training back fields and in minor league games were legendary. To see it finally manifest on the major league level was a stupendous sight.

 

"We had very strong conviction that he'd be here and be doing what he's doing," said Oz Ocampo. "Not to this extent obviously — so immediately – but we knew he was going to be an impact player at the big league level."

 

The baseball landed where most home runs do not, over a gas pump and onto the small porch overlooking left-center field at Minute Maid Park. Álvarez rounded the bases, met countryman Yuli Gurriel at home plate and officially began the latest anticipated careers of an Astros prospect.

 

Once an afterthought on the international market, Álvarez became an Astro only because of an often forgotten about trade. The massive 22-year-old slugger has since authored a big league debut few in this sport have matched. In his first 12 major league games, Álvarez struck seven home runs and drove in 16 runs.

Manager A.J. Hinch hit him cleanup on his fourth day as a big leaguer. Álvarez rewarded the skipper with a three-hit game that included a home run. He won American League Rookie of the Month honors despite playing only 16 games during June.

 

With Class AAA Round Rock, Álvarez had 23 home runs in 56 games. Teams began intentionally walking him in fear of facing him. Thirty of his 92 professional hits this season are long balls.

 

"It is incredible," said Astros pitcher Cy Sneed who was with Álvarez in Round Rock. "I've never seen anything like it. He cooled off before he came up here. But when he's hot, he's hitting 405, 410 (feet). What he was on pace for, he was on pace for 68 home runs in a 140-game season. It was absolutely ridiculous what he was doing."

 

Hits first, power second

 

Pigeonholing Álvarez as a power-only player is dangerous. Those who scouted him speak of a hitter far more advanced than most young Latin players. His pitch recognition is refined and poise inordinate for a man his age. Álvarez has seven home runs and 11 extra-base hits — four on breaking balls, four on fastballs and two on offspeed pitches.

 

Innate ability to connect barrel to baseball allows an abundance of hard contact. Twenty-two of his first 44 big-league balls in play were struck 95 mph or harder.

 

"He's always been a hit over power guy," said Ocampo, the Astros' former director of international scouting who now serves as the team interpreter and a special assistant to general manager Jeff Luhnow.

 

"When you look at his swing and the quality of his contact, he's had that from day one. It's been more about hitting line drives and hitting the ball hard and not about trying to hit it over the fence. He's always had that consistently ... it's always been hit and then power. Power would come because of the quality of contact and the strength and physicality."

 

Many heralded Houston prospects have arrived with similar fanfare. Almost all have failed to fulfill it. Whether Álvarez can buck the recent norm is still a mystery. Sixty-nine major league plate appearances are not enough to draw grandiose conclusions. Álvarez must maintain his production to prove he is more than just a one-month wonder.

 

"It's my personality to be calm and levelheaded," Álvarez said this week through Ocampo, his interpreter. "I've worked really hard to get to this point, and in that sense, nothing really surprises me."

 

 

Photo: Karen Warren/Staff Photographer

Yordan Alvarez, celebrating his first home run as an Astro, was a hit from the start.

An easy transition

 

Álvarez never considered leaving Cuba. When he was 15, a trip to an international tournament allowed him to meet and converse with Venezuelan and Mexican players with major league dreams.

 

"We started talking about baseball in the U.S., and at that point I realized, 'Oh, maybe there is a possibility of playing in the U.S.,' " Álvarez said. "It just went from there."

 

Defecting Cuban ballplayers must leave their home country and establish residency elsewhere before signing with a major league team. Álvarez started his journey in the Dominican Republic, boarded a "very small plane," and ended up in Haiti during 2016.

 

Álvarez made an appointment with Haitian immigration officials to begin the process of procuring a passport. On the day he arrived, he stood in line. One other countryman was present.

 

"When I saw him," Yuli Gurriel said, "I was like, 'Oh my God.'"

 

Gurriel and his brother, Lourdes, are part of Cuban baseball royalty. Their clandestine escape from the national team hotel at that year's Carribean Series sent shockwaves through the country. The brothers kept their location a secret. Álvarez was now clued in.

 

"Don't tell anybody that I'm here," Yuli told him.

 

"Yeah," replied the 19-year-old Álvarez. "Of course I won't tell anybody."

 

The two players had never met in person. Three years later, they share a major league clubhouse. Gurriel marvels at Álvarez's seamless assimilation into the Astros culture, a process the 34-year-old first baseman unknowingly has aided.

 

The Cuban contingent is a tightknit group. Aledmys Diaz was among the first players to reach out on the day Álvarez was called up.

 

"When I knew him, I knew he was going to be a big prospect, but I didn't know he was going to get to the big leagues so quickly and have the impact that he's had so quickly," Gurriel said through an interpreter. "He's changed a lot from one year to the next."

 

One fact remains the same, Gurriel said. Álvarez does not talk. Banter in Spanish between he and Latin teammates is brief. Myles Straw, a longtime minor league teammate, connected with Álvarez early in their careers at Buies Creek in the Carolina League. The speedster speaks rough Spanish. Álvarez's English is basic, too.

 

"He's definitely goofy. He's got some goofy to him," Straw said. "Once he gets to know you, like me and Yuli, he'll say whatever. He jokes around a lot and is a good guy to talk to him. It's never boring with him."

 

The aura around him remains unmistakable. Fans applaud each announcement of his name and expect excitement each time he bats. The Astros list him at only 6-5, 225 pounds. One look at him reveals the silliness of such a claim.

 

Álvarez is at least two years younger than any of his Astros teammates and says next to nothing when seated among them. He is a stoic slugger in every sense.

 

"He's never been a big talker," said Astros senior scouting adviser Charlie Gonzalez. "But he kind of knows what he wants."

 

Astros miss first chance to sign Álvarez

 

Gonzalez got a head start on every other major league team and first alerted the Astros of Álvarez's existence. The veteran scout patrols the Cuban market and sees the Astros top draft picks. He's worked with Luhnow since 2005, dating back to his days in St. Louis.

 

 

Photo: Charlie Gonzalez

Astros senior scouting adviser Charlie Gonzalez remains one of the sole reasons Yordan Álvarez is with the organization.

Gonzalez remains one of the sole reasons Álvarez is even in the organization. A preexisting relationship with Álvarez's agent allowed Gonzalez a first look at the revolutionary rookie. It was somewhere in Florida — St. Petersburg, Dunedin, some city that the passage of time has faded.

 

"He had the big, raw power," Gonzalez said. "He had the beautiful, Fred McGriff-type looking swing. It's a really balanced swing. He uses his hips. They're engaged, with the bat speed and all that."

 

Gonzalez set up some private workouts with Álvarez, but he can't discern much from those. Live situations serve as separators, Gonzalez said, between "guys who are just a toolbox — and they're not really a baseball player — and the guys that are real."

 

"I saw Yordan one time take a ball right under his chin at about 95 mph," Gonzalez said. "He just kind of moved his head back casually. It was about Adam's-apple high. He just kind of tilts his head back a little bit.

 

"The next pitch, you're thinking, 'He's going to bail out. He's got no shot.' And he just hung in there, very poised with his clock and his demeanor.

 

"You can get guys that have bat speed, you can get guys that have big raw power. And they're speeding the game up and going 100 mph in the box. They don't have that thing that holds it all together. And the good ones do."

 

Gonzalez grew closer with Álvarez, who informed the scout he had eyes on an apartment in West Palm Beach, Fla., within four or five blocks of the spring training facility the Astros would begin using in 2017.

 

Álvarez was eligible to be signed during the 2015-16 international signing period.

 

"He would call me twice a week. 'Let's go hit. Let's do this. Make sure you take me,' " Gonzalez recalled. "He said, 'You gotta take me. You gotta take me.' "

 

But that decision was not up to Gonzalez. The scout first fed information back to Ocampo. Ocampo never saw Álvarez in person during the process, relying solely on video and Gonzalez's trusted intel.

 

"He became a pretty clear target for us," Ocampo said. "Just an athletic, young kid with a great, deluxe body and a beautiful swing. He always had a great swing. The ball was jumping off the bat. Very level with a ton of contact.

 

"He just has the innate ability to just center the ball consistently (and) the plate discipline at being able to identify pitches, identify whether those are balls or strikes. Having that at such a young age, early, that is an innate ability. And he had it. And it's rare for young, Latin prospects to have that. He had it in spades."

 

Convinced the Astros needed to pursue Álvarez during the international signing period, Ocampo and Gonzalez pitched the prospect to Luhnow. All were aware the Dodgers were in pursuit and willing to extend a lucrative offer.

 

The Astros, meanwhile, were saving for an anticipated year of big international spending in 2016-17, a year that netted them Cionel Perez and Freudis Nova.

 

Teams that exceed their international signing bonus pool are penalized during the next year's signing period. Doing so in 2015-16 would have sabotaged the plan.

 

"We were actually hoping he'd roll over to the next signing class so we could use the money from the new signing year," Luhnow said. "Didn't happen, and then we kind of knew the Dodgers were going to put a big number out there. We let him go."

 

The Dodgers paid Álvarez $2 million, according to reports at the time. Because they'd gone over their bonus allotment, there was a 100 percent tax, so the final tally was $4 million.

 

"Charlie and I advocated for this player as if he were our own son," Ocampo said. "We loved this guy. And we wanted to sign him. And we knew he checked every single box that we were looking for from a prospect perspective.

 

"When he checks all the boxes and you have the opportunity to sign him, what you want to do is get him on board and get him to your team. And on top of that, we loved him. We had a great relationship with him. He wanted to be an Astro. So knowing all those factors, it was really disappointing when we did not sign him."

 

Asked about the ordeal this week, Álvarez was diplomatic. He said he "was not thinking of any team" during the signing period. He appreciated the Dodgers giving him an opportunity. He reported to their facility in the Dominican Republic.

 

 

Photo: Karen Warren/Staff Photographer

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) sits in the dugout during the third inning of an MLB game at Minute Maid Park, Sunday, June 9, 2019, in Houston.

A trade for the other Álvarez

 

Six weeks later, Gonzalez sat at the East Coast Pro, an annual Southern baseball showcase in Hoover, Ala. The sting of losing Álvarez was tough, he said, but a part of scouting and a reality of baseball.

 

His cellphone rang. Luhnow informed his scout the team was in deep discussions with the Dodgers about a trade for reliever Josh Fields. Did he have anyone in mind?

 

'What do I got?" Gonzalez exclaimed. "Are you kidding? Is this a cruel joke?"

 

Five and a half games out of first place in the American League West as July drew to a close, the Astros did nothing of substance at the 2016 trade deadline. Reports from the time suggest the prospect price was too high to incrementally improve the team. Luhnow often prefers not to mortgage his future for a short-term gain.

 

Hindsight proves Houston was trying to clear its 40-man roster of an unreliable major league reliever with impressive minor league numbers. Fields yielded 23 hits in 15⅔ big league innings that season. His ERA was 6.89.

 

Two or three other clubs, in addition to the Dodgers, expressed interest. Luhnow asked Los Angeles GM Farhan Zaidi for "three or four" players. All were at full-season affiliates. The Dodgers declined each request.

 

"We got to the point where, literally, our evaluators were saying, 'That's it. Fields is too valuable to trade for anybody below this line,' " Luhnow said. "Finally, kind of out of options, and I remembered that they'd signed Álvarez."

 

Luhnow asked Zaidi for Álvarez. Zaidi reacted with incredulity, according to Luhnow, rattling off the large sum of money his franchise just invested in this Cuban player. The Astros general manager was puzzled. He asked Zaidi if perhaps there was another Álvarez in the system.

 

"Yeah, Zaidi said, "we have a Cuban hitter."

 

Yadier Álvarez is an 18-year-old Cuban pitcher to whom the Dodgers gave a $16 million signing bonus during the 2014-15 international free agent period. It was, at the time, the second-largest bonus given to an international amateur free agent. Luhnow assumes this was the other Álvarez that Zaidi assumed he was asking for.

 

Luhnow clarified that he meant Yordan Álvarez. Even when he pitched it, Luhnow acknowledged he "wasn't sure I'd do that deal yet." Yordan Álvarez had not yet played a professional game on American soil. Gonzalez doesn't think he even had a Dodgers jersey.

 

"I was trying to downplay it," Luhnow said. "(Zaidi) said, 'OK, we may be able to do that.' "

 

Luhnow called Gonzalez back. Assistant general manager Brandon Taubman listened in.

 

"Charlie, what would you think if we got you Yordan Álvarez?" Luhnow asked.

 

"BROOOOO!" Gonzalez yelled. "BROOOOO!"

 

"He was so excited," Luhnow said. "Brandon still makes fun of him for his bro comment. He was just so excited about it. I said, 'OK, let's do it.' Farhan did it."

 

Eventually, someone had to inform the player.

 

"Someone called me from the Dodgers and told me I'd been traded," Yordan Álvarez recalled. "I had no idea what a trade was, so that needed to be explained to me. Once I understood, I knew I was going to the Astros."

 

 

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

For Yordan Alvarez, hitting a double against the Mariners, the hits come first and then the power.

At home in Houston

 

Álvarez departed the Dodgers Dominican academy for the Astros' facility. Gonzales met him.

 

"He had a big ol' grin on his face at our complex at the (Dominican Republic). We just both had the same look, from 100 feet away, the same look of 'Man, we got it done,'" Gonzales said.

 

The trade, as of now, is the biggest outright coup of Luhnow's eight-year Astros tenure as general manager. Acquiring Justin Verlander still remains the most meaningful deal in franchise history. It brought the biggest short-term dividend imaginable, a World Series championship.

 

In Game 2 of that series, Fields surrendered two home runs to his former club. In two and a half seasons as a Dodger, he threw to a 2.61 ERA, and Los Angeles won two pennants with him in the bullpen. He is currently unemployed. The Rangers released him from a minor league contract last month.

 

Álvarez's long-term future projects as slightly more prodigious. Whether Álvarez-for-Fields ever rivals the 1990 Jeff Bagwell-for-Larry Andersen steal remains to be seen. Should Álvarez's final 2019 slash line approaches the .317/.406/.733 he took into the weekend, he might join the Hall of Famer as a Rookie of the Year honoree.

 

"I think we all know now he hits the ball stupid hard," Straw said. "Some teams, who knows what they're doing to prepare for that guy? It's pretty hard. He'll lay off close pitches and attack pitches in the zone. To see how advanced he is, it's impressive.

 

"I've never seen anything like this in person. I'm just glad I'm around to witness it."

 

Work still remains on Álvarez's defense. Major league pitchers will readjust to his tendencies after a few more weeks in the major leagues. Sustaining the success is the next chapter in Álvarez's career.

 

"I feel good," Álvarez said, "I feel normal. I feel at home."

With Alvarez's kind of power he could wind up being our leadoff hitter.. 

[Wishbone 4729]

24 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

 

THis may be (on paper anyway) the second strongest lineup we can field this year. A healthy Correa (I know....) at short would have to be the best.

[APMP 684]

With Alvarez's kind of power he could wind up being our leadoff hitter.. 

BROOO

...

BROOOOOOOO

[Scraps 13518]

31 minutes ago, Wishbone said:

THis may be (on paper anyway) the second strongest lineup we can field this year. A healthy Correa (I know....) at short would have to be the best.

yep.  They should score about 23 tonight 

[DaysOff 7785]

JV gives up 2 solo shots and we win 23-2.

[SimonBolivar 10890]

1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

 

That 1-7 and then that 1-8 with Correa is just insane.

[Wishbone 4729]

7 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

That 1-7 and then that 1-8 with Correa is just insane.

1-8 ain’t bad, considering how rare it is to have a catcher who is at least a threat at the plate. 1-9 with Correa is definitely appealing.

[SimonBolivar 10890]

2 minutes ago, Wishbone said:

1-8 ain’t bad, considering how rare it is to have a catcher who is at least a threat at the plate. 1-9 with Correa is definitely appealing.

Yeah he hasn't been that "Oh Brad Ausmus is about to bat let's go get a hot dog before the next inning" catcher that I thought he was going to be.

[HtownHorn 14395]

8 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

That 1-7 and then that 1-8 with Correa is just insane.

With Gurriel doing much better after seeing the hit dr. You have the following order with OPS+

1. Springer - 160

2. Altuve - 109

3. Bregamn - 147

4. Brantley - 127

5. Correa - 138

6. Alvarez - 195

7. Gurriel - 102

8. Reddick - 105

9. Chirinos - 120

So a lineup where every starter is above average hitter right now. You also have Diaz(118), Straw (114), and Marisnick(107) on the bench.

[Wishbone 4729]

30 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

With Gurriel doing much better after seeing the hit dr. You have the following order with OPS+

1. Springer - 160

2. Altuve - 109

3. Bregamn - 147

4. Brantley - 127

5. Correa - 138

6. Alvarez - 195

7. Gurriel - 102

8. Reddick - 105

9. Chirinos - 120

So a lineup where every starter is above average hitter right now. You also have Diaz(118), Straw (114), and Marisnick(107) on the bench.

You forgot Tyler White ....(ducks)

[rvm96 1643]

Just now, Wishbone said:

You forgot Tyler White ....(ducks)

Smart move on his part.

[tx 3 putt 75959]

Show me a loss !

[Wishbone 4729]

As we add to the roster, besides White, is Kemp on the way out next?

[tx 3 putt 75959]

11 minutes ago, Wishbone said:

As we add to the roster, besides White, is Kemp on the way out next?

Only Left handed bat on the bench. Plus straw has options left 

[Wishbone 4729]

4 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Only Left handed bat on the bench. Plus straw has options left 

This is true. Also depends on who we add. Tucker for example.

Edited July 5, 2019 by Wishbone

[tx 3 putt 75959]

I don’t think we’re adding a bat unless Correa isn’t coming back this season 

[Wishbone 4729]

1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

I don’t think we’re adding a bat unless Correa isn’t coming back this season 

Just edited my post above. Tucker coming up would bump Kemp imo.

[rvm96 1643]

Oh shit, the hot Rockets courtside reporter is working the Stros game tonight. 

[UTexasFight 9362]

Trout’s incredible

 

This sounds silly but that was an amazing walk.

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

Looked like a good pitch

[tx 3 putt 75959]

Zero issues walking trout 

[Scraps 13518]

Pound these chumps early plz

[Scraps 13518]

And often

[Scraps 13518]

Zzzzzzz

[Wishbone 4729]

Boom

[WBT 20376]

Uncle Mike!!

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

Professional Hitter

[WBT 20376]

26 minutes ago, rvm96 said:

Oh shit, the hot Rockets courtside reporter is working the Stros game tonight. 

Definitely an upgrade over Bart Ennis as a fill-in for Julia

[UTexasFight 9362]

Sommmebody is getting excited about going back to Cleveland

[Jshep34 2297]

Lexus field club tonight

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[Wishbone 4729]

Of course.

[Jshep34 2297]

Like clockwork

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[Limp Brisket 545]

What Berkman said.