Yordan Alvarez won’t take part in Home Run Derby

Alvarez got the scoring started with a solo shot off Slade Cecconi in the bottom of the first. It was his 25th homer of the season. Fantasy managers are likely holding their breath with every game he plays, as his injury history has been painful to stomach at times. But so far in 2026, everything is coming together the way projections always made it seem possible. Alvarez has started all but one game for the Astros, putting him on track to set career highs across the board in counting stats.

Alvarez is on a different level right now. He became the first Astros player since Jeff Bagwell in 1994 to hit two home runs in the same inning, and Alvarez did so in the first. The second of which was a grand slam that capped off a legendary nine-run top of the first for the Astros where Alvarez drove home six of those runs. Those homers brought him to 24 on the season, which tied Kyle Schwarber for the league-lead. His 1.092 OPS also leads the league by a longshot and his .321 batting average is second in the AL. As of this moment, he’s the clear-cut MVP frontrunner in what’s been a sensational bounceback season after an injury-marred 2025.

There has been some speculation that the Astros could look to trade Alvarez at the deadline this year if they continue to fall out of playoff contention. The idea behind the speculation was that Alvarez would bring in a huge influx of talent for a roster that seems to lack depth, and it would rid the Astros of a defensive logjam created by Alvarez’s being a designated hitter. However, as Brown mentioned, Alvarez is in the fourth year of a six-year, $115 million extension, so there is no pressure on the Astros to trade him. They traded Kyle Tucker when he was heading into his final season, so there may be more reason to trade Alvarez after the 2027 season, if they followed the same path, but he’s not going anywhere for now.

Alvarez greeted rookie Kade Morris rudely in his major league debut with a second inning grand slam to put this game out of reach early. The ball got out in a hurry and nearly landed in the upper deck in right field at Daikin Park in Houston. He now has a 1.084 OPS to lead the league along with 22 home runs, one shy of Kyle Schwaber for the league lead there. If you told someone that Alvarez was the best hitter in baseball right now, they would struggle to argue with it.

Alvarez got the scoring started early, taking Bubba Chandler deep for a two-run homer in the first inning. He later drew a walk in the third, then drove in a run with a base hit in the ninth. The 28-year-old slugger is up to 21 homers while hitting an incredible .305/.419/.645 with 40 runs scored and 42 RBI across 267 plate appearances.

Paredes has been struggling of late, hitting .164 (9-for-55) with three homers and five RBI over his last 15 games. Astros manager Joe Espada has opted to move him down in the order after mostly hitting second in recent weeks. It’ll be red-hot sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker moving up to second and third in the order to pick up a few additional at-bats with Taylor Trammell moving into the cleanup spot.

Alvarez hit his 19th and 20th homers of the season in this one, with his first coming in the third inning off Jacob deGrom to tie the game at 2-2. Alvarez would later hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning off of reliever Tyler Alexander to put the Astros up 3-2. The 28-year-old lefty has been on a tear this month despite slashing just .250/.366/.560. His eight homers being tied for the second-most of any player in May.

Alvarez hit one 449 feet off Jack Leiter and another 422 feet versus Jalen Beeks. He has 18 homers this year and 50 points of OPS on anyone else in the league (1.045 to Ben Rice’s .993).

Alvarez, who was back in Houston’s lineup after missing his first game of the season due to a minor back issue over the weekend, mashed a 415-foot no-doubter to right-center field off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Clearly, he’s feeling just fine from a physical standpoint. The 28-year-old run-producing force is hitting .301/.415/.606 with 32 runs scored, 16 homers, 33 RBI and one stolen base through 54 games this season.

Alvarez is back at DH and hitting third following a brief one-game absence due to back discomfort. The 28-year-old middle-of-the-order force is hitting .208 (15-for-72) with three homers and four RBI in 21 games since the start of May. Back issues can be tricky and sometimes recurring, but there doesn’t appear to be significant concern moving forward, which is a relief for fantasy managers.