Four Players To Watch In The American League Championship Series

The Houston Astros might as well just consider the American League Championship Series a part of their yearly schedule.

The Astros will play in the ALCS for a sixth straight year. This time, the Astros face the New York Yankees, and the series begins Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Both teams received byes into the American League Division Series round by having the two best records in the AL during the regular season. The Astros then swept the Seattle Mariners in three games while the Yankees needed all five games to dispatch the Cleveland Guardians.

The Astros and Yankees will be meeting in the ALCS for the third time in six years. The Astros won in 2017 and 2019.

Aaron Judge, Yankees

Judge captured national attention for a large portion of the season as he hit 62 home runs to break Roger Maris’ AL single season record of 61. The mark had stood since 1961.

In addition to breaking the record, Judge led the AL with 133 runs scored, 131 RBIs and 111 walks. He had a slash line of .311/.425/.686, topping the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Judge had three defensive runs saved while starting 74 games in center field, 54 in right field and 25 as the designated hitter.

However, defense isn’t the reason why Judge will be the hottest commodity on the market when free agency begins this month. He opted to bet on himself after turning down a seven-year, $213.5 contract extension offer from the Yankees prior to the start of the season, and it appears it is going to be a winning bet.

In the ALDS, Judge went 4 for 20 (.200) with two home runs against the Guardians while striking out 11 times in 21 plate appearances.

Nestor Cortes Jr., Yankees

The left-hander probably won’t start until at least Game 3 of the ALCS after winning Tuesday’s ALDS Game 5 against the Guardians. He pitched five innings of one-run ball after giving up two runs in five innings in Game 2 while not factoring in the decision.

Cortes had a fine regular season for the Yankees as he was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. He had a 12-4 record and 2.44 in 28 starts with 163 strikeouts in 158 1/3 innings and a 0.922 WHIP.

The Yankees lost Cortes to the Baltimore Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft at the 2017 Winter Meetings. However, the Yankees got him back following the 2019 season after he was waived by the Seattle Mariners.

Cortes has been a bargain this season with a $727,500 salary. The 27-year-old becomes eligible for salary arbitration for the first time following the World Series.

Justin Verlander, Astros

Verlander is likely to win both the AL Cy Young and Comeback Player of the Year awards after a remarkable regular season. The veteran right-hander will start Game 1 against the Yankees’ Jameson Taillon.

Despite making just one start combined in the 2020 and 2021 seasons because of an elbow injury that required Tommy John reconstructive surgery, the 39-year-old is pitching better than ever in 2022.

Verlander had an 18-4 record and 1.75 ERA in 28 starts. He had 185 strikeouts in 175 innings and a 0.829 WHIP

Verlander’s ERA led the major leagues and was the lowest by a pitcher who qualified for the title in a full season since Pedro Martinez had a 1.74 mark for the Boston Red Sox in 2000. Verlander also led the AL in wins and WHIP.

However, Verlander struggled in Game 1 of the ALDS as the Mariners scored six runs off him in four innings.

The Astros re-signed Verlander to a one-year, $25-million contract as a free agent last winter despite lengthy absence. They also hold a $25-million option on him for 2023.

Yordan Alvarez, Astros

Alvarez put the Astros on the path to sweeping the Mariners by hitting home runs in each of the first two games of the series. The left fielder wound up going 4 for 15 (.267) while adding a double and driving in seven runs.

Alvarez hit a particularly dramatic homer in Game 1, a three-run walk-off shot in the ninth inning that lifted the Astros to an 8-7 as they overcame Verlander’s poor outing.

The postseason heroics have come following a fine regular season in which Alvarez hit .305/.406/.613 with 37 home runs in 135 games. That marked Alvarez’s best season yet since making his major league debut in 2019 and winning AL Rookie of the Year.

Alvarez does not have a good reputation as a fielder and made 77 starts at designated hitter and 56 in left field during the regular season. However, he had five defensive runs saved.

The Astros signed the 25-year-old to a six-year, $115-million contract extension earlier this year that goes into effect next season.