Paredes Could Decide How White Sox Handle Alvarez in Wild-Card Opener

With opponents wary of pitching to Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes looms large as Houston opens its wild-card series against Chicago at Daikin Park.

The Houston Astros begin their postseason Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park, and much of the tactical battle will revolve around one question: pitch to Yordan Alvarez or hand him first base. Nobody is more affected by that choice than Isaac Paredes, who hits directly behind the Houston slugger and whose at-bats figure to grow in significance each time Alvarez is passed.

Alvarez finished the regular season with 33 intentional walks, the second-highest single-season total ever recorded by an American League hitter. The only larger figure belongs to Aaron Judge, who received 36 from the Yankees last year while winning the AL MVP. Alvarez is now considered the leading candidate for that same award, and 26 of his 33 free passes were issued with Paredes due up next.

Paredes, speaking through an interpreter, admitted the strategy bothered him early in the year because it felt like a slight against him as a hitter. That feeling faded as the season progressed, he explained, since he considers Alvarez the finest hitter in the game today and saw no personal insult in how opponents handled the situation.

The caution is backed by Alvarez's production. Among all qualified hitters, he paced the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging, and his 1.033 OPS cleared the next-best mark by 91 points. He placed second in the AL in both home runs and RBIs, and his 109 walks overall topped the majors.

Paredes, meanwhile, built a strong season of his own. The third baseman posted a 127 OPS-plus that ranked second on the club, and he added 25 home runs and 94 RBIs — the latter tied for sixth in the AL — despite a slow start. He logged 187 plate appearances with a man in scoring position, most on the team and a product of hitting regularly behind Jeremy Peña and Alvarez. In those situations he batted .293 against a .252 league-wide average, drawing walks 10.7% of the time and striking out at a 12.3% rate.

His profile suits the job ahead. On an Astros offense that ranked 11th in the majors in swing rate and sixth in chase rate, per Baseball Savant, Paredes worked more pitches per plate appearance than any other qualified big-leaguer. He also topped the majors with 46 two-out RBIs, nearly half his overall total. Asked how he approaches spots created by an Alvarez walk, Paredes said the key is staying calm, adjusting as needed and being ready to do whatever he can to support Alvarez.

Those traits may carry extra weight in October, when a single mistake can swing a short series. Pitchers threw Alvarez a pitch in the zone just 40.3% of the time in September, his lowest monthly figure of the year, yet he still reached base at a .432 clip with 15 walks over 22 games. Peña, after a lengthy slump, closed the campaign with a .353 average across his final 12 contests. Should that continue, Paredes — whose 45 RBIs after the All-Star break trailed only RBI leader Pete Alonso among AL hitters — should keep coming up with runners on.

One health item bears watching. Paredes fouled a ball off his left knee Saturday, which created uncertainty about his defensive availability Sunday, though he did start that day at third base. He said Monday, an off-day, that the knee had been very sore the previous afternoon and that he had played at whatever capacity he could manage, but that it now felt great.

Houston is expected to use a bullpen game in the opener, with AJ Blubaugh drawing the Game 1 start. Chicago visits the Astros on Tuesday, September 29, at 5:00 PM EDT at Daikin Park, with the game airing on Peacock and NBCSN.