Houston Astros Fan Favorite Pegged as Top Available Free Agent

The Houston Astros are in no shortage of superstars or fan favorites and one could be on the move this offseason.

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The Houston Astros, love them or hate them, have been one of the best teams in MLB for the better part of a decade.

The organization built a roster through an extensive rebuild, hitting on multiple prospects who have become top-tier players in the game.

The success in player development has helped the Astros win two of the last eight World Series Championships while appearing in that round in four of the last eight years.

The one downside to being so successful in player development is the fact that at some point, those players will reach free agency, and there is not enough money in the world to pay all of them what they ask.

That is certainly the case with the most recent Houston star to reach free agency, fan-favorite third baseman Alex Bregman, who Keith Law of The Athletic ranks as the fifth-best available free agent this offseason.

"Bregman is one of the purest hitters I’ve ever seen," writes Law, who specializes in scouting, "going back to high school."

That is high praise from Law, considered by many to be the go-to source for scouting reports on prospects and prep players.

Bregman has spent the first nine seasons of his Major League career with the Astros and has been a big part of their success over the years on both sides of the ball.

At the plate, Bregman enters the offseason as a career .272/.366/.483 hitter with 191 home runs, 663 RBI, and a 132 OPS+, earning two All-Star nods and finishing as the American League MVP runner-up in 2019.

This year saw a change in approach for the third baseman, as he walked only 44 times, a career low for years that saw him play 140 or more games, and struck out 86 times.

While the strikeout numbers are still impressive in this day and age, having more of those than walks is not normal for Bregman as he has finished four different seasons with more walks than strikeouts, including the last two consecutively.

Defensively, Bregman is one of the more sure-handed gloves at the hot corner, totaling 28 Outs Above Average at the position throughout his career, including six this year.

It is easy to see that Bregman can be an asset for any team in need of a third baseman, proving time and time again that he can be a valuable piece for any contending team and already has a championship-winning pedigree.