Familiar Names Fill Houston Astros Top 5 List of Best Position Players in 2024

Who has been the best position players for the Houston Astros during the 2024 season?

Sep 24, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) and teammates celebrate defeating the Seattle Mariners and winning the American League West at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros deserve a lot of credit for the 180-degree turn they were able to pull off during the 2024 MLB season.

Things looked dire heading into the summer as they trailed the Seattle Mariners by double-digit games in the American League West. In early June, they looked like a team that would be selling ahead of the deadline.

People wondered whether their championship core would be broken up. Those questions were put to rest by the end of June, as the Astros began to heat up and caught the Mariners in the standings.

It wasn’t long before Houston overtook their rivals and conquered the AL West for the fourth straight season and seventh time in a row in a full campaign; they were second in the 2020 COVID-19 shortened year.

Several players have contributed to the turnaround. Leading the way, in terms of position players, is talented slugger Yordan Alvarez.

“Another year, another brilliant offensive season for Yordan Alvarez who is hitting .308/.392/.567 with 34 doubles, 35 home runs, 86 RBI and 5.3 WAR in 147 games. The 27-year-old has a 166 OPS+ over six MLB seasons, which ranks third among all active players with at least 2,000 career plate appearances, behind only Mike Trout (173) and Aaron Judge (173),” wrote Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report in his top five positional rankings piece for every team in the MLB.

You aren’t going to find many hitters with a more complete game than him. All of his value is in his bat, as he is a negative in virtually every other facet of the game, whether it is fielding or running the bases.

He has been on fire all season, putting the team on his back along with second baseman Jose Altuve. The former MVP was No. 2 on Reuter’s list.

Coming in at No. 3, which may surprise some people, is catcher Yainer Diaz. But, he has been a consistent source of offense for the team throughout 2024.

He has a slash line of .299/.325/.441, providing offense the team hasn’t had at the catcher spot in years with defensive whiz Martin Maldonado handling things in recent seasons.

No. 4 on the list is third baseman Alex Bregman. There is some pressure on him to perform in October as he is set to be the best third baseman available in free agency.

If he plays well, his price tag will go up. He has returned to form after a tough start and the six-year, $151 million extension Matt Chapman landed with the San Francisco Giants should be his baseline.

Last but not least is outfielder Kyle Tucker. What he has accomplished this season despite not reaching 80 games played has been incredibly impressive.

“Kyle Tucker ranks second on the Astros with 4.6 WAR, but he has only played 76 games this season, so it was difficult to decide where to place him in the rankings. It feels like everyone in the No. 2 through No. 5 spot on this list could be slotted in any order,” wrote Reuter.

This is an experienced, championship-laden group. With a deep starting rotation, this is a team that should not be taken lightly heading into the postseason.