Houston Astros general manager James Click said the expectation is for outfielder Yordan Alvarez (hand) to play in Thursday's doubleheader against the New York Yankees to kick off the second half of the 2022 season. He will hit on the field on Wednesday and go from there. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect Alvarez to play in both games of the double dip, but it's great news that he's expected to play in at least one of the contests. The 25-year-old missed the final seven games of the first half with an inflamed right hand, but it looks like he's ready to go now. He's one of the best hitters in the game when healthy and is a must-start in fantasy when he's in the lineup. Alvarez enters the second half hitting .306/.405/.653 with a league-leading 1.058 OPS, league-leading .653 slugging percentage, league-leading 196 OPS+, 26 home runs and 60 RBI in 75 games.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head) is back in the starting lineup as the designated hitter and is batting third on Saturday against Los Angeles Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval. Alvarez missed the last two games after being involved in a scary collision with rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena on Thursday against the New York Yankees, but he has apparently cleared the league's concussion protocol and is good to go. Fantasy managers need to get him back into their lineups in all leagues. The 25-year-old lefty slugger is giving Aaron Judge a run for his money for American League MVP honors this year by hitting .316/.412/.658 with a 1.070 OPS, 23 home runs, 56 RBI and 49 runs scored in 67 games played.

Houston Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (head) is back at shortstop and is hitting second on Friday against Los Angeles Angels right-hander Michael Lorenzen. However, outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head), who was involved in a scary collision with Pena on Thursday, remains out for the second straight game. Alvarez seemed to take the brunt of the damage in the collision and had to leave on a cart, so it's not a surprise that Pena has returned before him. The left-handed hitter will need to clear the concussion protocol in order to return to action this weekend against the Halos. Consider him day-to-day for now. Pena is a leading candidate for American League Rookie of the Year to this point, and he should be returned to starting fantasy lineups in single-year leagues.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head) and rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (head) are both out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the New York Yankees. Alvarez and Pena were involved in a scary collision in the outfield on Wednesday, with Alvarez needing to be carted off the field. Both players were being evaluated for concussions after the game, but it's unclear what their final diagnosis was. We'll bring more details to you once we have more information, and fantasy managers should consider them both day-to-day for now. Alvarez and Pena have both been excellent at the plate this year, so hopefully they can both avoid a trip to the injured list. Aledmys Diaz is starting in left field and batting second, while Mauricio Dubon is at the 6 and hitting seventh against Yankees right-hander Luis Severino.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head) and rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (head) are both being evaluated for concussions after the two were involved in a scary collision in the outfield on Wednesday against the New York Mets, according to the team. The Astros will provide an update on Thursday. Alvarez laid motionless on the ground for a while, but he eventually walked to a cart and was taken off the field. Pena tried to remain in the game but was removed shortly after. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect either player to return for Thursday's makeup game against the New York Yankees, but hopefully they can gain clearance to return for a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels. Alvarez has been one of the best hitters in the league this year, while Pena is a front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year honors to this point.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez and shortstop Jeremy Pena both left the game early on Wednesday against the New York Mets after being involved in a scary collision in the outfield as they tracked down a Dominic Smith pop-up. Alvarez was carted off the field, and Pena later walked off the field after trying to stay in. Alvarez lay motionless on the ground for some time, but thankfully he was able to walk to the cart before being driven off the field. Our best guess is that both players might be dealing with concussions, but we'll know more when they are evaluated. Alvarez has been playing at an MVP level this season, while Pena may be the front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year, so losing one or both for any amount of time would be really bad news for the Astros and fantasy managers. Stay tuned for updates.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (hand) is back in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against right-hander Carlos Carrasco and the New York Mets. He will be slotting in at designated hitter and batting third in the game. Alvarez sat out the team's most recent game on Sunday due to hand soreness, but the team didn't seem very concerned about the injury so it's no surprise to see him back in action Tuesday. The 25-year-old has been mashing all season long. He's currently second in the majors with a 1.053 OPS and he's tied for second in the league in home runs with 22.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez has been on a tear at the plate lately. On Wednesday, the young slugger popped a pair of home runs in the victory over the New York Mets. It's worth noting that Alvarez missed Sunday's game due to a hand injury. Since then, Alvarez has three home runs in his last two games. His 1.064 OPS leads baseball and only Aaron Judge has more home runs this season. Fantasy managers should continue to lean on the 24-year-old slugger.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (hand) is back in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against right-hander Trevor Williams and the New York Mets. He will be filling in as designated hitter and batting cleanup for the contest. Alvarez sat out Sunday's game with a hand injury, but the ailment was considered to be minor. The team was off on Monday, so Alvarez only wound up missing one game with the injury. The 24-year-old has been phenomenal this year, slashing .311/.403/.623 with 18 home runs, 47 RBI and 41 runs over 59 games.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the team's 5-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday. The 24-year-old has been putting up video game-like numbers so far in June. Through 11 games this month, he's slashing .500/.560/.833 with three home runs, 14 RBI and eight runs. He's already compiled five three-hit games this month. Alvarez is slashing .315/.403/.625 over 55 games on the season. He ranks fourth in the majors in home runs with 17 and third in the majors with a 1.028 OPS.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez has officially agreed to an extension with the organization. The 24-year-old signed a six-year $115 million deal that the two sides agreed to last week. The Astros have locked up one of their franchise cornerstone sluggers through the 2028 season. This deal will extended through the rest of the salary arbitration-eligible seasons along with three additional free agent years. Alvarez is hitting .291/.374/.585 with 77 home runs and 220 RBI since 2019. The Astros are certainly happy to have their young slugger locked up long term.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez continued his hot stretch at the plate during Sunday's game against the Kansas City Royals. He went 3-for-4 with a home run and a triple during Sunday's win. Alvarez has four home runs and eight RBIs over his last six games. He is tied for second in the majors with 16 home runs on the season. The young slugger is on fire at the plate right now and is well deserving of the extension he recently received.

The Houston Astros and outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez agreed on a six-year, $115 million contract extension on Friday, according to sources familiar with the deal. Alvarez's contract will kick in next season, and it's the biggest deal ever for a DH. He'll make $26 million per year. The 24-year-old Cuban slugger exploded on the scene as a rookie in 2019, when he hit .313/.412/.655 with a 1.067 OPS, 27 home runs and 78 RBI in his first 87 big-league games. Alvarez played in only two games in 2020 due to injury, but he hit a career-high 33 homers last year and he's currently slashing .272/.367/.574 with a .941 OPS, 14 home runs, 31 RBI and 30 runs scored in his first 45 games of the 2022 season.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez's seven-game on-base streak came to an end against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Seattle shut out Houston, 6-0. Alvarez's overall offensive production has decreased this season, as evidenced by his .247/.351/.534 slash line. However, his power in 2022 has increased. In fact, his 0.293 homers per game represent the second-highest mark of his career, second only to 0.31 homers per game in 2019. Furthermore, Alvarez's Baseball Savant page confirms what many already knew: the young slugger has been hitting the ball very hard this season, all while showing impressive patience (his 14 percent walk rate ranks in the 93rd percentile).

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Texas Rangers. Michael Brantley will be slotting in as the team's designated hitter for the game. Alvarez has been fantastic at the plate so far this year. His 12 home runs on the year are second in the majors behind only Aaron Judge (14). He's slashing .248/.357/.570 with 22 RBI and 24 runs over 34 games. Expect to see him back in the starting lineup for Saturday's game.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez has been absolutely pounding the ball so far this season. His 60.4% hard-hit rate ranks second in the majors, trailing only Aaron Judge (66%) while his 95 mph average exit velocity trails only Judge (97 mph) and Giancarlo Stanton (97.4 mph). Alvarez has 12 home runs over 34 games on the year. While he's batting just .248, he has an xBA of .332, which ranks in the top 2% of the league. The 24-year-old has always displayed eye-popping hard contact metrics, but his numbers so far this year still surpass what we've seen from him in the past.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Minnesota Twins. He took Josh Winder deep in the third inning and then later crushed another homer off Cole Sands for his second blast of the game. The 24-year-old is now tied with New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge with 10 home runs for the major-league lead. Overall, Alvarez is having a terrific season, slashing .271/.377/.615 with 10 home runs, 19 RBI, and 19 runs across 27 games.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez helped lead the team to a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners this week. Across the three-game series, he went 3-for-9 with two home runs, three walks, three RBI and three runs scored. Alvarez is currently fourth in the majors in home runs with eight, but he's played in fewer games than the three players ahead of him. The 24-year-old is slashing .268/.373/.634 over 20 games on the season while ranking in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity (96.1 mph), xwOBA (.484) and xSLG (.747).

Houston Astros outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez helped the team capture a 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored. This was just the second multi-hit game of the year for the 24-year-old. Alvarez was hitting just .158/.238/.421 before this week's series with the Rangers began, but his home run on Monday and his two-hit game on Tuesday have led to a more digestible .200/.280/.511 slash line for him. As was the case last year, Alvarez has elite power peripherals across the board so far this season, including a 98th percentile hard-hit rate (59.5%) and a 96th percentile average exit velocity (94.1 mph).

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez returned to the field on Monday after spending the weekend on the COVID-19 injured list. He made a major impact in his first game back, going 3-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored. The 24-year-old has only played in five games so far this year as he was out with an illness before being sent to the COVID-19 injured list. Still, he's already accumulated three home runs on the young season to go along with a whopping 1.153 OPS.