AL batting champ Alvarez named to All-MLB First Team
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HOUSTON -- The accolades continue to pile up for Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.
Alvarez, one of three finalists for the American League Most Valuable Player Award, was named to the All-MLB First Team at designated hitter on Wednesday at The MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards in Las Vegas. The All-MLB honors, established in 2019, recognize baseball’s best at each position based on regular-season play.
The initiative was introduced to honor players’ full-season contributions, given that All-Star selections are based on first-half performance. Fans were asked to vote at MLB.com to help choose First- and Second-Team selections at each position (including three outfielders, a designated hitter, five starting pitchers and two relievers) among this year's nominees.
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Alvarez won the AL batting title in 2026 by hitting .316 while leading the league in on-base percentage (.432), slugging percentage (.601), OPS (1.033), offensive WAR (7.2), total bases (341), walks (109) and extra-base hits (77). He finished second in RBIs (106) and tied for second in home runs (42), each of which was a career high.
Alvarez is the third player since 1970 to win the AL batting title while hitting at least 40 homers, joining Aaron Judge (2025) and Miguel Cabrera (2012-13).
Alvarez was named AL Player of the Month twice (March/April and July) on his way to leading the Majors in batting average, OBP and slugging percentage.
Alvarez drew 33 intentional walks, breaking Jeff Bagwell’s club record of 27 in 1997. The only player in AL history to have more intentional walks in a season is Judge (36 in 2025).
When it came to big moments during games, Alvarez was front and center for the Astros. He hit a two-run homer and a grand slam during a nine-run first inning on June 12 in Kansas City, driving in a franchise-record six runs in one inning.
He provided early fireworks on July 4 at Daikin Park by hitting two homers, including a two-run walk-off homer to straightaway center during a come-from-behind win over the eventual AL champion Rays. On Aug. 2, Alvarez went 4-for-5 to complete a sweep of the first-place Rangers for Houston’s sixth consecutive win.
The MVP winners in each league will be announced at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday on MLB Network. Alvarez is one of three finalists for the AL MVP, along with Junior Caminero of the Rays and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals. Alvarez is looking to join Bagwell (1994 in the National League) and Jose Altuve (2017 in the AL) as the only MVP winners in Astros history.