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Coming into the American League Division Series, we all expected that the most challenging bat in the Houston Astros lineup would be Yordan Álvarez. Álvarez is a tremendous hitter in the prime of his career, and is a left hander. With a playoff roster full of right handed arms, Alvarez’s elite power from the left side of the plate would surely give the Twins a handful.
Yordan Álvarez has been more impressive this series than even the most aggressive predictions.
Through the first three games in the ALDS, Álvarez is 6-for-12 with four home runs, two doubles and six RBI. Álvarez has done damage against right handed pitchers and southpaws alike and has knocked the ball all across the yard, in Houston and in Minneapolis.
Up to this point, the Minnesota Twins have not approached Álvarez any differently than they have approached any other batter. They have pitched to the left hander in each of his plate appearances and thrown him plenty of hittable pitchers (obviously). It’s clear that that approach has not been working, as Álvarez has completely taken over this playoff series from the plate.
So what can the Minnesota Twins do to limit the left hander?
The first option is the most obvious one and one that the Minnesota Twins should and most likely will employ in Game 4 – don’t pitch to Yordan at all.
Up to this point the Minnesota Twins have not given Álvarez the Barry Bonds treatment, but with the consistent damage that he has been causing against Twins’ pitching, intentionally walking the 26-year-old and only allowing him to reach first base is something that makes way too much sense for them not to try.
What makes this strategy difficult, and why the Twins haven’t tried it yet, is that the Astros have Kyle Tucker and José Abreu hitting directly behind Yordan. By intentionally walking the left hander, you’re putting a person on base for the 2023 American League RBI leader (Tucker) and the player who just hit two 440-foot home runs against the Twins on Tuesday afternoon.
The Twins won’t be able to employ this strategy in every situation, but in scenarios where first base is open, the Twins should certainly give Álvarez a free pass and make Houston’s other players beat them.
In the scenarios that the Twins aren’t able to intentionally walk Álvarez, like when there are runners on first and second, for example, the Twins need to do a better job attacking Álvarez with inside pitches. Each of Álvarez’s four home runs in this series have come on outside pitches or pitches in the middle of the zone. Outside and middle pitches are where Álvarez does most of his damage. With his large frame and huge arms, when he’s able to get extension he can hit the ball a long way. While he can still hit tanks on inside pitches, it’s clear that’s where he’s most vulnerable. Take a look at his heat map below to see.
What’s been made most clear through the first three games of the ALDS is that the Minnesota Twins cannot continue pitching the same way to Yordan Álvarez. They need to switch things up. By intentionally walking him where they can, and attacking him on the inside of the plate when they need to attack him, the Twins can hopefully limit the damage that the Cuban can do against them.
How do you think the Twins should attack Yordan Álvarez? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!
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