Yordan Alvarez is having a season for the ages in 2026.
The slugging Astros lefty is running a ridiculous .329/.442/.640 slash line with 35 home runs and 85 RBIs. He’s pretty clearly the AL MVP frontrunner right now but he’s also attempting to do something we haven’t seen in 70 years.
Alvarez isn’t just leading the American League in batting average (.329), home runs (35) and RBIs (85) -- he’s leading the MAJORS in average and home runs and is vying for the overall lead in RBIs. Nobody has won the MLB Triple Crown since Mickey Mantle in 1956.
There are only four players to lead the Majors in all three categories, since RBIs became an official stat in 1920:
- Mickey Mantle in 1956
- Ted Williams in 1942
- Lou Gehrig in 1934
- Rogers Hornsby in 1925
Those are four inner-circle Hall of Famers, and Alvarez has a chance to match their feat this season. With this in mind, let’s take a look at each of those categories and examine the players that Alvarez will need to fend off to win the MLB Triple Crown.
Alvarez: .329 batting average
Competition: Luis Arraez (.326), Otto Lopez (.318)
The good news is Alvarez is truly only battling two guys for the MLB batting title -- the next-closest hitter after Arraez and Lopez is Freddie Freeman at .310.
The bad news is Alvarez is trying to win this award against Arraez, a three-time batting title champion from 2022-24. Owner of a career .318 average, Arraez dipped to a career-low .292 clip last season, but he’s bounced back with a huge season all around.
Arraez posted a .324 average with the Giants before he was traded to the Phillies before the Trade Deadline. Who’s to say how Arraez finishes his season with a contending team and lineup mates like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, but he’s the strongest competition to Alvarez.
Alvarez: 35 home runs
Competition: Kyle Schwarber (33 HR), Hunter Goodman (33), Junior Caminero (33), Matt Olson (32), Ben Rice (31)
Alvarez is one of seven players with 30 home runs, so he’ll face some stiff competition in this department.
It’s hard to not focus on Schwarber, who is tied for second in the Majors with 33 home runs, hit 56 homers last season and has gone yard 373 times since debuting in 2015. The Phillies slugger is a finely tuned machine that just keeps on moving along.
Caminero might represent the next-best threat, a 23-year-old with 78 home runs in the last two seasons. Better yet, Caminero has rapidly improved his plate discipline and has a rare blend of top-shelf power and an ability to put the ball in play. He could hit 50-plus homers in the near future.
Others vying for the home run lead are Goodman, a Rockies catcher in the midst of a breakout season, and established left-handed sluggers in Olson and Rice.
Alvarez: 85 RBIs
Competition: CJ Abrams (88 RBIs), Sal Stewart (87 RBIs)
Here’s one area that is the most out of Alvarez’s control. At the risk of rehashing old arguments, RBIs can be a team-dependent stat -- how many chances you get to bat with runners on is contingent on who is around you in the lineup.
If these were the glory days of the dynastic Astros, perhaps Alvarez would have even more runs batted in at this point. Alas, the construction of Houston’s lineup is a bit different than it’s been in a while, but it may not matter for Alvarez.
He enters Friday’s games a few RBIs behind Abrams and Stewart. After the Nationals traded key hitters in Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead before the Trade Deadline, it’s possible that Washington’s lineup -- which leads the Majors in runs -- is not quite as potent the rest of the season, therefore limiting RBI chances for Abrams.
Stewart has a 1.004 OPS with runners in scoring position, a good deal ahead of his .820 OPS in all scenarios. Perhaps Stewart keeps that up, but if that regresses in a major way, Alvarez could find an opportunity to pull ahead.