Astros OF/DH Yordan Álvarez was unanimously named the Rookie of the Year in the American League for the 2019 season by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is the 11th player to win the AL ROY Award unanimously, joining Carlton Fisk, Mark McGwire, Sandy Alomar Jr., Tim Salmon, Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Evan Longoria, Mike Trout, José Abreu, and Aaron Judge.
Álvarez, 22, made his major league debut on June 9 and hit the ground running. Through the end of the season, he hit .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs and 78 RBI across 369 plate appearances. FanGraphs credited him with 3.8 WAR, the second-most among rookies and most among American League rookies.
Álvarez, who was the No. 41 prospect in baseball before the start of the season, is the first Astro to win the Rookie of the Year award since shortstop Carlos Correa in 2015. He is the third Astro ever to win it, as Jeff Bagwell also won it in 1991.
Orioles starter John Means finished in second place and Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe finished in third. Also receiving votes were Eloy Jiménez, Cavan Biggio, Luis Arraez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Oscar Mercado.
