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Yordan Alvarez 2021 Player Outlook: Talent Is Elite But Health Is A Major Concern
4 years agoYordan Alvarez is a big, powerful, and strong player with an immense talent for hitting the ball very hard. Coming in at 6'5" and 225 lbs., his power profile from 2019 put him in the 94th percentile for exit velocity, 94th percentile for HardHit%, and the 98th percentile for Barrel%. That is, in a word, awesome. On top of that, he had a 14.1% walk percentage (94th percentile) which elevated him to an OBP of .412. His K% is a bit high at 25.5%, but you take that and run with everything else he brings to the table. However, he only played two games in all of 2020, and at his current NFBC ADP of 87, his injury history and ongoing knee issues have to be a major concern. The fact that he is coming off of surgery to repair a partial tear of the patella tendon in his right knee is just the latest in a series of knee problems he has had dating back to his time in the minors. Yordan is back in action this spring, looking healthy as the Astros primary DH. There's a chance that you get him with the talent upside of a Top-30 player with an ADP in the 80s. He is worth the risk at his current price, and you can cover his injury risk with a safer option later in the draft.
