"Yordan Alvarez is up there with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani" - MLB analyst hails Astros star despite defensive weaknesses

MLB analyst Brian Kenny made an argument on Wednesday for Houston Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez. When naming some of the biggest stars in the league, the likes of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani come to mind. Kenny feels Alvarez is right there.

Last season, Alvarez posted an impressive .392 on-base percentage and a .567 slugging percentage. While he started the season slowly, he turned things around in his last 90 games, slugging .648.

During a segment of MLB Network, Kenny made his thoughts clear after he went through Alvarez's numbers.

"Take a look at Alvarez's offensive rankings over the last three years — he's up there with Judge, Ohtani and Soto," Kenny said. "In fact, in OPS+ and xwOBA, which judge the quality of contact, only Aaron Judge has been more productive than Yordan Alvarez."

One of the few criticisms of Alvarez’s game is his defense. The slugger posted a negative five rating in both major defensive metrics last season, making him a below-average fielder.

While Kenny acknowledged Yordan Alvarez's defensive shortcomings, it's a good bargain for an elite bat, as per him.

"I love a complete player, but if you can hit like that, you don’t need to be one," Kenny added. "If you hit at an elite level, defensive metrics can take a backseat."

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Yordan Alvarez comes No. 1 for the third straight year in MLB's Top 10 LF rankings

Like for every position, MLB Network released their Top 10 rankings for the left field position. Unsurprisingly, Yordan Alvarez leads the list heading into the 2025 season. That's no surprise because he has topped the rankings in the past two years as well.

After Alvarez, the list gets a little interesting. Neither the No. 2 or the No. 3 on the list were previously ranked last season. The Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran makes a notable debut at No. 2, followed by Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs at No. 3. Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers climbs to No. 4 after ranking eighth last year, while Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers makes his first appearance at No. 5.

Brandon Nimmo of the New York Mets, who was ranked second last year, drops to No. 6. Rising star Jackson Chourio of the Brewers secures the No. 7 spot in his debut, while Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians and Taylor Ward of the Los Angeles Angels make their first appearances at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.

Rounding out the list is Bryan Reynolds of the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 10, dropping from his previous No. 4 ranking.