The Houston Astros made it to at least the ALCS in seven straight seasons from 2017 to 2023, establishing themselves as a fringe dynasty in the process. The team has taken a few steps back in recent seasons, though. Most recently, the Astros missed the postseason altogether last year. Houston will want to prove that the glory days aren't over quite yet this year, and there is one player in particular who will have to display that he is still elite during spring training.
Yordan Alvarez is the Astros player with the most to prove
Ahead of the 2025 season, ClutchPoints ranked Yordan Alvarez as the 13th-best player in MLB. He didn't even make the top 50 when this year's rankings came out. That just goes to show how poor a season the left fielder had last year. Alvarez has often performed at an elite level when on the field, but he has regularly struggled with injuries.
In 2025, he was limited to just 48 games and 165 at-bats. The production fell greatly when he was available, too, as Alvarez batted just .273 and hit only six home runs. The year prior, Alvarez had a .308 batting average and 35 homers. Clearly, the talent is there when it comes to the three-time All-Star, so a resurgence of a season is certainly a possibility.
Expect Alvarez to play more designated hitter this year. That should help keep the slugger healthy and help ensure he is focused with the bat in his hand. A healthy Alvarez alone might be enough to get the Astros back in the playoffs. The team led the AL West for a sizeable portion of last season, and his return from injury to the middle of Houston's lineup provided a significant boost last year before he went down again late in the season.
Alvarez isn't the only one with something to prove, though. Jose Altuve, one of the greatest players of the 21st century, is coming off arguably the worst season of his career, excluding the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020. Altuve batted just .265 as he made the transition to left field and then back to second base.
Altuve will be 36 years old for much of the 2026 season. In all likelihood, his best days are in the rearview mirror, but Altuve will want to prove he still has something left in the tank. The Astros' cheating scandal will forever taint Altuve's legacy, but if the short-in-stature second baseman can continue excelling in the years after that controversy, fans will gain more and more respect for him as a talent.
The same can be said about Carlos Correa. While Correa was on the team when they won the World Series but were caught for sign stealing in 2017, he wasn't with Houston when they won fair and square in 2022. If Correa could help lead a surprising run through the playoffs, it would help vindicate his connection to the controversy.
Houston's core is getting older, and their championship window won't last much longer. The team is great at player development, but it is still Alvarez, Altuve, and Correa leading the way. This may be the final year for the team to go all in, and they need this big three to be at their best if they are to do so. Altuve and Correa may simply be regressing, though, so Alvarez is the one who really needs to prove himself, and it starts in spring training.
