With just over a month remaining in the regular season, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Astros designated hitter/outfielder Yordan Alvarez look like the clear-cut front-runners for Rookie of the Year honors in their respective leagues. Alonso has been brilliant all season, and his excellence this summer has helped lead the Mets out of despair and into National League wild-card contention. Alvarez, meanwhile, has given the already loaded Astros yet another tremendous hitter in a lineup chock-full of them since the club promoted him to the majors June 9. But which of the two would you rather have for the long haul?
At least in terms of home runs, the 24-year-old Alonso has enjoyed one of the greatest first seasons in recent history. The Mets have been around since 1962, but Alonso already holds the franchise’s single-season record for most homers in a year. Alonso swatted his 42nd of the year Tuesday, thus helping him to an overall line of .265/.367/.596 across 556 plate appearances. The right-handed swinger has shown no vulnerability while facing either same-sided or lefty hurlers, evidenced by a 147 wRC+ against the former and a 149 mark versus the latter. Alonso’s 148 wRC+ ranks eighth among qualified hitters, while his 4.2 fWAR ties him for 23rd with Cubs third baseman and former NL MVP Kris Bryant. Plus, Alonso’s .382 expected weighted on-base average falls in the league’s 92nd percentile, per Statcast, and doesn’t sit too far behind his real wOBA of .398.
Statcast has looked even more favorably on the 22-year-old Alvarez’s production, giving him an eyebrow-raising .421 xwOBA that ranks fifth in the majors among those with 100 or more trips to the plate. Only offensive luminaries Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Nelson Cruz and Christian Yelich have outdone Alvarez in that category. Trout and Yellich have already won MVPs, while Bellinger could join them in the next couple months. Meantime, Alvarez’s actual wOBA (.456) outdoes every other batter’s by at least 10 points. His line of .329/.420/.703 with 21 homers in just 257 PA amounts to a 190 wRC+, which ranks first out of those with 200-plus trips to the plate, while he has already racked up 2.9 fWAR.
The lefty-hitting Alvarez, like Alonso, has brutalized pitchers of either handedness (199 wRC+ against righties, 170 wRC+ versus southpaws). Although Alvarez’s .367 batting average on balls in play seems unlikely to hold as he moves forward, it’s clear the stacked Astros have yet another world-class offensive building block on their hands.
MLB.com placed Alvarez 23rd among the game’s prospects at the time of his promotion, while Alonso was 51st shortly before the Mets elected to place him on their season-opening roster. It’s evident now they deserved better than even those high rankings. Alvarez seems likely to go down as one of the top heist pickups in recent memory, as the Astros acquired him from the Dodgers for reliever Josh Fields back in August 2016, while Alonso has been a steal of a draft pick for New York – which landed him in the second round in 2016. These two can already count themselves among baseball’s fiercest sluggers just a few months into their respective careers, and they’re likely on their way to ROY honors as a result. Who’s the better building block, though?
(Poll link for app users)
No contest! Pete Alonso! And I’m a Yankee fan
Seems like the younger guy hitting better makes it a pretty close contest, unless it’s going the other way.
Alonso has done it over a whole year but that’s probably the only argument for him at this point. Yordan has been absolute unstoppable at the plate.
Alonzo has very little support, if any batting behind him. Alvarez, while pretty damn impressive, does have a loaded Astros lineup ahead of him. Pitchers have to throw strikes to someone in that lineup.
Alonzo wins since he’s done it all season.
Not only is that the lone argument, it’s probably not even the best argument. Pete Alonso has done it in a division loaded with top tier pitching… Scherzer, Strasburg, Corbin, Anibal, Nola, Soroka, Fried, Teheran, and the solid young guys for the Marlins.
Meanwhile, Yordano has been padding his numbers aginst my woefully awful Mariners staff, the glut of replacement arms being use to replace the shelved A’s pitchers, a staff from Arlington with pitchers where all but Lynn and Minor suck, and the Angels who were average at best before tragically losing Skaggs. If anyone honestly believes the AL West is much better than the PCL in terms of piching right now, they clearly don’t watch enough baseball nor realize how piching friendly ball parks only help real pitchers and that a MLB batter could take anyone on the Mariners deep in Yellowstone. It’s quite telling that one of the top relievers is Tom Murphy.
So I guess being in a loaded lineup serves as a,disadvantage for getting accolades. We don’t know how good Yordan would be if he wasn’t surrounded with the talent he has already.
Alonso is already the face of the franchise and handles the NY media extremely well while Alvarez might be the better hitter. Pete fits the Mets better as a building block
Ah, now there’s a solid argument for Alonso. I would agree that he may very well be the more sensible building block of the two for the Mets, specifically. The distinction between superiority in a vacuum versus appropriate building block for a specific franchise is important here, and I think you are spot on.
Alonso has more pop and that’s what’s important. Yordan can hit .300 but doesn’t produce nearly as much
Yordan doesn’t produce as much? He has played fewer games for sure, but hits a HR every ten ABs compared to Alonso’s every 14. And then Yordan has slightly more RBIs than games played, Alonso is not close to this. Baseball Reference dot com projects both of them to a full 162 games, Yordan takes Alonso in every single offensive category, and even projects at close to 200 hits, not a chance of Alonso ever doing this.
The Mets did right by Alonso by starting the season with him. The Astros knew Yordan was ready in the spring, but didn’t need his bat yet. They made him tear up AAA pitching to the tune of 23 HRs, and 71 RBIs, in 56 games, kept him away from a potential Super Two status, and then brought him up. Yordan’s production in MLB is identical to his production in AAA. For the season he has combined for 44 HRs, 123 RBIs, and a 358 BA.
Alonso is a great young player with outstanding power. He and Yordan will be pretty equal power producers for years, but Yordan will outhit him for average by 50 points. He has been a 300+ hitter at every level, including MLB.
Alvarez doesn’t produce nearly as much as Alonso? That’s completely ridiculous, he has the highest OPS of any rookie in MLB history!
8/1/16. #NeverForget
.@Dodgers acquire RHP Josh Fields from @Astros for 1B Yordan Alvarez. #MLBOnTheMove
*snicker*
Dodgers are quite fine thank you.
Is it their turn? Probably not.
It will be remember as the worst trade since Babe Ruth went to NY!
Both are good pieces to build around
I’d go Alonso just because he can play the field. both those bats are insane, though.
Yordan is an outfielder and the only reason he isn’t in the field is because of the Astros outfield already being supertars
Josh Reddick? Superstar? I’ll give you Brantley and Springer. Not Reddick in his best year. Decent player though.
Reddick is the best defensive outfielder of the three. That holds a ton of value when our aces are on the mound.
Reddick has won a Gold Glove. Springer is a very good outfielder, but has not been awarded a GG. Brantley is an avrage outfielder and no GG either.
…and not that he’s a superstar, but don’t forget Marisnick. He’s the best outfielder on the Astros. Alvarez is only going to get limited fielding time on one of the top defenses in baseball.
Yordan is slow on his feet so he’ll be a career DH. I tend to like gym rats rather than buffet rats, so I’ll take Alonso.
Pete Alonso is not a good defender and Yordan Alvarez is not fat. So I’m not sure where this defense and body type crap is coming from. Alvarez is likely going to be a slightly to below average outfielder but Alonso isn’t a GG 1B.
“Only reason he’s not in the field”. Dude have you read any scouting reports on Alvarez’s Defense? Apparently he’s like laughably atrocious. But he does mash for sure.
Yordan, lots of power, fits a DH description to me.
Polar Bear, also lots of power, fits that 1B role.
In my opinion, Pete Alonso is better to build around because he is more of a defensive guy.
I am not going off of davengmusic’s comment
Pete Alonso is a poor defensive 1B and Yordan plays LF respectibly. Not a good point by my speculation.
@Wannabekllerb
Alonso is much better defensively than the reputation. He’s really good around the bag. He’s tireless worker who will continue to improve.
I’m a Mets fan. Seen plenty of their games. Alonso is not a good defensive first baseman, although he does try. If the Mets had a DH spot, that would be his position.
“Yordan plays LF respectively”. Dude it’s a none fact Yordan is truly awful in the field. There are articles all over about how bad he is on defense. So your point is just not true at all.
Yordan, lots of power, fits a DH description to me.
Polar Bear, also lots of power, fits that 1B role.
In my opinion, Pete Alonso is better to build around because he is more of a defensive guy.
Neither are defensive guys at all. Alonso is probably slightly less awful in the field though for whatever that’s worth.
Imagine those two on the same team hitting 3 and 4…wow!
You don’t need to imagine. Just watch the Astros.
Bregman/Alvarez
Brantley/Alvarez
Altuve/Alvarez
Gurriel/Alvarez
Their batting order is insane.
Or Correa/Alvarez or Springer/Alvarez. But Springer is not going to have his lead off spot changed, so that’s that!
Weird to ask this question and write a whole comprehensive article that completely ignores defense. Alonso plays a defensive position regularly so I’d go with him, but I have no idea how good Alvarez is in the outfield.
He’s also made 12 errors and has a -1.5 dWAR lol both guys’ value is all in their bat
Yordan is none to be truly awful in the field which is why he DH’s at such a young age. Neither are good fielders at all, which is why it probably wasn’t brought up.
Lol Alonso plays 1b because there’s no DH option for the Mets. If the Astros were still in the NL, I’m sure Alvarez could out up a similar -1.5dwar to Alonso.
Bryan Reynolds is leading the NL in hitting, and barely behind Alonso in WAR with 100 fewer ab’s.. I’m not saying it probably won’t be Alonso, but is it clear cut? Better to be in NY than Pitt i guess.
The homeruns are too flashy, he’s damn near guranteed to win
Might wanna ask Bobby Bo that question…
Bryan Reynolds. Lol
. More Hits in 100 Fewer at bats, more doubles, triples, better OBP, can play defense. It would be interesting dilemma if a rookie won home run title & another rookie won Batting Title.
Yeah I realize he’s good at getting base hits, but that’s all. And singles aren’t worth that much in today’s baseball.
RE: “And singles aren’t worth that much in today’s baseball.”
Bwahahahaha….that may be the funniest thing I’ve read in months. So what….all solo shots for you, huh? Tell that to the guy in a hitting slump. Tell that to the pitcher when there’s a guy on second. Yes, there are more homers and that is having a dramatic change in the game. Maybe if you’d said “as” much instead of “that” much, it wouldn’t have been as bad. Even so, it’s a silly comment that betrays a level of disrespect for the game. And of course, you totally sidestepped the doubles and triples point that the Stu made. Wow.
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Agreed. Coming into the season, Guerrero has all the rookie hype. I think as careers pan out, out of this rookie class, Tatis is going to be the best player of the bunch. He truly has that 5 tool talent, and is a middle infielder. To think, they got him for James Shields.
Tatis had every bit as much hype coming into the year
Nah Vlad Jr was more hyped for sure. Tatis was very well thought of, just not nearly as hyped as Vlad Jr
They are about even on the field, but I have to go Pete Alonso from a marketing standpoint. If he has ANY personality, unlike Mike Trout, he could be the face of baseball for the next decade. Alvarez is a dynamite player, but it’s harder for Spanish speakers to connect with the fans. At least in this country. Not impossible, but quite a bit harder.
Face of the Mets, yes. Face of baseball, not a chance
Alonso is a clear cut NL ROY over Soroka? No he is not.
Balls have been flying out all year for everyone. We have Ketel Marte who has cranked out 28. Max Kepler knocking out 35. MLB on a record pace as a league by far.
Meanwhile Soroka sitting 3rd in the league in era and 10-3 on the year.
If the season ended today Soroka has an argument for a top 3 finish in Cy Young
Alonso meanwhile is buried beneath Yelich, Bellinger, Acuna, Rendon, Freeman and Arenado in the MVP race once you factor in defense.
I’d say it’s more like Alonso is in the NL ROY race with some work to do at present if anything.
So who do I want to build around?
Option C: Mike Soroka
Building around pitching isn’t a great idea example being the Mets. Who would’ve said Matt Harvey wasn’t going to get a contract over 100 mill 3 years ago?
Building around Alonso has gone so much better for them so far lol
It’s the Mets. They’ll mess this up regardless who they build around.
Building around hitting isn’t a great idea example being the Angels.
One player, no matter how good they are, isn’t going to win you a championship in baseball.
Building around young hitting worked well for the Astros. And the Cubs. And the Royals. All three of them won World Series titles with mostly homegrown hitting and veteran aces acquired by either trade or FA.
The Angels would have been a lot better this past decade if they could have stayed healthy. They dominated the West the one year (2014 I think) their pitching stayed healthy.
The fact you have people throwing out other hitters like Reynolds and Tatis within range of Alonso’s year really says it all and how less than special Alonso (and other hitters) seasons have been.
Anyone want to venture a guess who the next best rookie pitcher is this year?
It’s up for debate, but potentially his own teammate Max Fried who’s all the way back of Soroka with a 4.03 era and 1.40 whip.
Honorable mention to Chris Paddack though the wheels have most definitely fallen off for that man.
Yes I’m pushing Soroka’s case heavily because everyone seems to be pretending it’s not happening.
Paddack has a better ERA and WHIP than Fried…Fried has 18 more K’s but also 20 more innings…granted he’s got double the wins too
Fair enough, the point is how far behind the second best rookie pitcher is compared to Soroka. Whether your choice is Fried or Paddack as runner up rookie pitcher isn’t really the point.
Get that “double the wins” out of here mcmillankmm! Pitcher wins and losses are IRRELEVANT!
@MJ Fried isn’t a rookie
Stop trying to tell people what to believe. You might not like a stat, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant to anything. Wins might not mean as much to people as they used to, but if you would stop being so closed-minded, they can still tell you something.
All wins tell you is that the team won that day and the pitcher recorded at least one out. That’s it. They do not and have never meant anything. They need to be struck from the record books.
I’m in agreement with you as far as a pitcher’s stat is concerned. Wins mean nothing. As far as team stats are concerned, however, one could make the argument that it’s the only stat that matters
insert k but u wrong doe gif
We’ll see who’s wrong when they’re handing Soroka the trophy
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And I’m taking about the WS trophy
He doesn’t play for the Astros.
Doing something special means only few can do what you do. Hitting homeruns is no longer special. Soroka would be my ROY vote. Nothing against Alonso. Soroka is doing what he’s doing under tougher circumstances and under more pressure.
Soroka’s top 10, not top 3. He’s not getting more votes than Scherzer, Degrom, Buehler, Strasburg ,Thor or Corbin. That’s too much star power the voters wont ignore and Soroka’s peripheral stats aren’t as good as his unsustainable ERA anyway. He’s got a lot of potential but that ERA isn’t real…yet.
Actually the era is what’s real.
It really is the physical runs that have touched the plate on him.
How ironic that you fail to understand advanced metrics are often projections, yet you’re so influenced by them that’s what you consider “real”.
This isn’t a knock on sabermetrics at all. It’s just funny that of all the things you could say it’s that his ERA isn’t “real”.
Sorry but when voters sit down to vote they look at the results. Not whether it’s sustainable for 2020 and beyond. The only thing that’s real is the counting stats when game 162 concludes.
It’s ironic when people proceed to tell other people about how they are using advanced stats wrong AND they are in fact using them wrong.
FIP, xFIP, SIERA are NOT projections. They are different methods to calculate a pitchers actual performance. Each attempt to remove noise that can paint an incorrect picture of performance. They do hold predictive power only so much in a player’s “real” performance tends to regress to their true talent level.
Soroka is a fine pitcher. But any guy, in this environment, who has a K9 under 7 and lacks pinpoint control is asking for trouble. Feel free to build a franchise around him. Unfortunately, history is not on his side. Pitchers with those peripherals tend to be more mediocre than great.
Mike Soroka does have elite control. His .264 WOBA outpaces his .294 xWOBA but he still figures to be a very good pitcher. He’s doing this in his rookie season which bodes well for the future. I’m not sure he’s a sure fire #1 moving forward but he’s going to be real close. I think he’s a low 3 ERA guy moving forward as the peripherals would suggest. He does that for 200 innings a year and he’ll be just fine.
MJ
You’re misapplying MVP and CY Young. to argue ROY.
Soroka’s having a fine rookie season, but it isn’t record-setting. .
He has 113 K’s in 147.2 innings and his average fastball velocity is 92.5. No one’s shaking in their boots facing him.
Alonso is a whole different animal, having a whole different season doing things that hasn’t ever occurred.
Top 3 in Cy Young voting? I think not. But he has had a good year.
I said he has an argument for top 3 and he absolutely does
Any other opinion is purely coping.
Have to consider personality, accountability, work ethic, effort, hunger to improve, leadership and ability to play in New York under pressure.
I don’t know how Alvarez stacks up with these qualities, but I know Alonso is A+ in all.
Lol
joke post – only new yorkers think theyre this big a deal lol
NY’s the hardest place to play..
Only hard for mentally weak players
Or Correa/Alvarez or Springer/Alvarez. But Springer is not going to have his lead off spot changed, so that’s that!
1. New York pressure is an idea completely made up by people in New York
2. If it was real, it’d only be for the Yankees. Nobody cares about the Mets.
Priggs89
Actually, no team has more pressure on them day to day than the Mets sharing a city with the most successful sports franchise in history.
New York also has the biggest media presence by far. They’re in the players faces every day.
You don’t have to believe me. The players, coaches, managers, front office who come New York from elsewhere are the ones who vouch for this, So too the ones who leave NY for elsewhere.
Wants us to consider pressure for NY but tosses out deGrom and Thor for a .500 team higher in Cy Young race than Soroka who’s starts actually count for something every time he takes the mound.
Where’s the pressure playing for a perennial loser?
MJ
144 years of existence for your franchise – 3 championships
baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/
58 years Mets – 2 championships.
baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/
I’d go with Yordan. He’s not a bad left fielder and is learning to be a first baseman. It would be interesting to compare them through the same amount of PAs
Actually Yordan is widely known as a truly awful defender. Like worst fielder in the big leagues awful. Look it up, his defense is none to be just flat terrible as there are articles about how bad it is.
Dude, quit making stuff up and/or adding to it.. Alvarez is known (not none) to be sub-par. I’ve never seen any articles calling him as “truly awful” of “just flat terrible”. I’ve also yet to see him make an error in the limited time he has played in the field. Yes, his defense needs work. That is something that you do in the off-season. But you’re taking small comments and applying a level of hyperbole that is staggering, in what appears to just be a kneejerk reaction to anyone who isn’t on board with you regarding your fanboy crush on Alonso.
Full disclosure: I’m an Astros fan. But I’m a baseball fan first. In fact, I happen to like the Mets…a lot. They moved things around to accommodate the Astros back in 2017. Then they came to Houston and on their off-day, they spent the day helping with relief efforts. They then showed extreme grace by losing 3 straight to the ‘stros. 🙂
Seriously though, I do like the Mets…and Alonso, and Alvarez. Personally, I think the premise (the writer’s question) is kind of silly and I don’t even know how to answer it. Who would you build a team around? Seriously? I don’t think there’s a GM out there who goes looking for someone to build a team around. Shoot, look at how long it took for Altuve to even get on their radar. They didn’t build the team “around him”, they simply built a team. Yes, they are committed to him. Yes, he’s been the face of the Astros for several seasons. But if you were going to build a team around someone, there are six or seven guys in that lineup who would qualify.
Okay, I’ve rambled too long. I’ll close by repeating: I like the Mets. (don’t ask me about that other NY team).
Alvarez
No contest. Alvarez is a once in a lifetime bat. Alonzo is very good but .265 ba before the league makes adjustments? I’d want them both but if I had to choose Alvarez for sure. That Houston team is ridiculous! They legit have 4 or 5 mvp candidates and legit 3 cy young candidates. A player who can hit for power andddd average is hard to find. Yelich, Bellinger, Trout and 4 Astros jeez
You think a non-spray hitter will sustain a .367 BABIP (including a .412 at home)? I don’t. Alvarez and Alonso are probably about the same guy, when all is said and done. Alvarez plays in an extreme hitters park and Alonso doesn’t. I think Alonso’s numbers might be real (.287 BABIP), but Alvarez is not even CLOSE to a “once in a lifetime” bat – after 60 games? Clown comment, bro.
Why can’t everyone learn that baseball is a long season? Non-Trout guys aren’t going to go off for 60 games and stay going off and none of you have any right to predict that, its impossible. Stop it.
Alvarez will be the better hitter over the long haul. While his BABIP is unsustainable, his exit velo is elite. So while high, I doubt it will go down to league average.
Minute Maid is NOT an extreme hitters park, especially for a left-handed hitter like Alvarez. The only benefit would be if he was right-handed and got to hit into the Crawford Boxes on a regular basis.
Alvarez is benefiting from playing in that lineup. Have you seen the Mets supporting cast around Alonso?
Tatis is on a different planet to those two.
It’s very tight. As Pedro said tonight, Alvarez has almost no zones that he hasn’t hit through.
But he gets to play in Houston, with all those very good hitters, a “quieter” market, and a saner organization. Alonzo has to be the “face”, as a rookie, in a market where if you fart it makes headlines, and who really knows what goes on in the Mets’ hallowed halls.
A virtual tossup, but I think Alvarez has the higher ceiling. But again, not by much.
And I’d agree that Tatis, at the end of the day, dwarfs both of them.
Alvarez is 2 years younger and hits for a way higher average. Alonso is a GREAT power hitter but I’m not sure I’d call him a great hitter. Alvarez is probably a little bit more risky of a pick than Alonso given that he’s had far less time in the Majors – – and even so when it comes to minor league track record. But at this point a guy who’s hitting like .330 with 40+ HRs (between AAA and the Majors) is a better all around “building block” than a 24 year old hitting .265
It’s impossible to pick one based on play so I’ll take both.
It’s funny how “dealing with the New York media” is a consideration… I voted for Alvarez, probably a better hitter in the long run, elite exit velo and seemingly perfect fit for the DH role (won’t need as many days off)… I’m an Alonzo fan though. Great face of the franchise guy, especially after the HR derby.
It’s only been a few months next yr when everyone has a card on them and know there weaknesses then ask the question
Two one dimensional players that can’t field well at any position. If I have a choice of players to build a franchise around neither one would be my choice.
Guys like Tatis Jr,, Acuna, Robles, Soto, Reynolds would be my choice.
Yes. Because that was the hypothetical posed.
They both are good sluggers. One has a better OBP and will therefore help his team win more games. Unless you are worried he will clog up the bases and your name is Dusty Baker.
Soroka is 21 years old, so he’s out of ROY consideration. In most organizations, he comes up at age 23-25 and more than likely does win ROY but he’s just not an impressive pitcher. Effective, yes. Impressive, no. Alvarez and Alonso both have old player skills, which don’t age well if you’re already a poor defender at 22 and 24 respectively. I’ll go with Alvarez over Alonso because he’s 2 years younger and doesn’t have (has smaller) man boobs than Alonso.
FWIW Tatis is the best building block of anyone that’s going to be mentioned in this comment, but it’s frightening that Tatis is already this hurt at 20 years old. It would be a relief to see him play 150 games next year.
I find it interesting that both were rated as low as they were as prospects. Goes to show just how good that system is. LOL
It’s Yordan Alvarez by a mile. His rookie numbers are comparable to those of Hall of Famers like Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. If he had played since the beginning of the season he would be shattering all batting records by a rookie.
The answer will become obvious next year when Yordan Alvarez plays an entire season in the majors. His numbers would be even better than Alonso’s if he had played the whole year too.
Alonso: .260/.359/.586, 154 hits, 102 runs, 30 doubles, 2 triples, 120 RBI’s, 72 walks, 53 HR’s, 181 K’s
Alvarez (for an entire season): .317/.415/.663, 184 hits, 109 runs, 48 doubles, 146 RBI’s, 95 walks, 50 HR’s, and 172 K’s
The only numbers that are even close are the home runs.