Astros' Hitters Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz and More
Discussing the top fantasy hitters from the Houston Astros' lineup as the 2024 season approaches.
The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles about the top players at every position, and while those kinds of stories will continue until the regular season starts up, we wanted to make sure we covered as many fantasy players as possible, so it’s time to look at options on a team–by-team basis.
We’ve covered several teams already, and those articles can be found at the links below:
American League - Texas Rangers (hitters and pitchers), Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals
National League - Los Angeles Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves (hitters and pitchers)
Let’s talk about a stacked Houston Astros team, beginning with the hitters. Check back soon for the pitcher writeup.
Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!
Top Fantasy Batters
The FantasySP Average Draft Position list is stocked full of Astros’ hitters, led by Kyle Tucker. The outfielder ranks fifth overall with an ADP mark of 6.83.
Tucker has been extremely reliable for the Astros since the COVID season. He’s hit either 29 or 30 homers, drove in 90-112 runs, scored 71-97 runs and improved his steal numbers each season since 2020.
Tucker played in 157 games a season ago, finishing with a .284 average and .369 on-base percentage. He had 163 total hits, 71 extra-base hits (29 homers), 112 RBIs, 97 runs and 30 stolen bases. Those are all fantastic numbers and explain why he’s going in the first round of drafts.
I like Tucker off draft boards at pick seven in dynasty leagues and pick nine for redrafts. He offers a really high floor (as long as he’s healthy) and will be one of the top fantasy hitters by the time the season wraps up.
Yordan Alvarez is next up, ranking 14th with a mark of 14.8. Much like Tucker (who only plays right field), Alvarez only plays one position in the field (left field) - Alvarez was the team’s designated hitter on 73 occasions last year.
Alvarez has dealt with some injuries over his career. He only played in 114 games in 2023, tallying a .293 average, .407 on-base percentage, 120 total hits and 56 extra-base hits (31 homers), 97 RBIs and 77 runs.
His durability and lack of position versatility are the only things holding him back from being one of the top picks in drafts. He’s definitely a bit of a risk in round two, but I wouldn’t pass on him unless one of my first-round picks from the most recently linked stories falls to my pick.
Third baseman Alex Bregman is the next hitter on the ADP list, with Jose Altuve not far behind. Bregman ranks 38th with a mark of 38.03, while Altuve ranks 40th with a mark of 39.86.
Bregman appeared in 161 games a season ago. He tallied 163 total hits and had a .262 average and .363 on-base percentage. Bregman had 57 extra-base hits (25 homers), 98 RBIs and 103 runs scored.
I listed Bregman as a good value pick in another story, but his ADP is much lower now than I wrote about at the time. While the big drop in ADP might scare some fantasy owners off of him, I want to point out that Bregman was a top-10 fantasy hitter last season in points leagues. He plays a ton and it allows him to post big numbers, even without a really great average. Drafting him near his ADP is still likely to be a steal, but not nearly as big of one as I originally thought he could be.
Altuve appeared in just 90 contests in 2023. He hit .311 and got on base at a .393 clip. Altuve had 112 total hits and 40 extra-base hits (17 homers), 51 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and 76 runs.
Altuve has been extremely durable over his career, so last year hopefully was an outlier in terms of games played. He was great when he was out there, and there’s no reason to expect a dropoff in production this season. There’s risk involved grabbing him near his ADP, but I also think there’s good value.
Catcher Yainer Diaz is the next hitter on the ADP list. He’s ranked 139th with a mark of 134.74.
Diaz played in 104 games a season ago for Houston, finishing with a .284 average and .308 on-base percentage. He had 100 total hits, 45 of which went for extra bases. Diaz homered 23 times, drove in 60 runs and scored 51 times.
His average is great, but his OBP and total games played are definitely lacking for fantasy owners. Diaz was the team’s DH for 38 games last season, while playing at first base in eight games. If he could gain another position of eligibility, it would boost his fantasy stock for sure. For now, I view Diaz as a backup option that you could start at utility (first base or DH possibly), and if he stars, then you’re in a great position.
Chas McCormick is ranked 217th with a mark of 173.43.
He played in 115 games a season ago, collecting 110 total hits for a .273 average. McCormick got on base at a .353 clip, had 41 extra-base hits (22 homers), 70 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and 59 runs.
I’m skeptical of McCormick because he’s yet to play over 120 games in a season. You can only provide a fantasy team with so much if you are out for over 40 games of the year. This late in drafts though, there’s more boom then bust to his name, and he’d make a great bench option.
Jose Abreu is next up, ranking 223rd with a mark of 175.2.
He’s not what he once was, but his first season in Houston was also pretty strong. He played 141 games and had a .237 average and .296 on-base percentage. Abreu collected 128 total hits, 42 extra-base hits (18 homers), 90 RBIs and 62 runs.
Again, this late in a fantasy draft, there’s not too much risk involved. He plays plenty of games but is coming off one of his worst seasons in the big leagues. I’d prefer to look elsewhere for a late-round steal, but that really all depends on who else is available.
Jeremy Pena is the last Houston hitter on the ADP list, ranking 248th with a mark of 185.8.
Pena was on the field for 150 games last season, finishing with a .263 average and .324 on-base percentage. He had 152 total hits and 45 extra-base hits (10 homers), 52 RBIs, 81 runs and 13 stolen bases.
His power numbers are lacking, but he posted a solid average and played a ton of games. He’s only 26, so he might not have even hit his ceiling yet. If you are looking for a backup shortstop with some upside, Pena is a player I love later in drafts.
If you’ve been counting the players along the way, we covered all but one projected starter in the Houston lineup already. Jake Meyers is the only one who didn’t appear on the list.
He appeared in 112 games last season, finishing with a .227 average and .296 on-base percentage. He had 70 total hits, including 27 extra-base knocks (10 homers). Meyers drove in 33 runs, scored 42 times and stole five bases.
You can see from those numbers that he’s not the most reliable fantasy option. He’ll be a streaming option and could be used over his hot streaks this season, but I’d avoid drafting him outside of deep leagues and draft and hold formats.
Most of the Astros’ lineup is full of everyday players, so the bench guys would likely only be streaming options when they start. Victor Caratini is the backup catcher and worth mentioning in case Diaz misses time ever.
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