Former Houston Astros hitting coach Dan Hennigan offered a simple explanation for why Yordan Alvarez is such a headache for pitchers: he figures out how they’re trying to attack him, then changes the plan before they can get comfortable.
Hennigan, who served as the Astros’ director of hitting in 2025 before moving into the director of hitting and offensive coordinator roles in 2026, had a close-up view of Alvarez’s approach. In an interview with Tyler Stafford and The Athletic’s Chandler Rome on the Crush City Podcast, he laid out what separates Alvarez from the typical power bat.
It’s not just the damage he can do when he squares the ball up. According to Hennigan, Alvarez pairs that power with an ability to read the game inside the game - identifying how pitchers are working him and then making the right counter move. That mix of preparation, baseball IQ and in-the-moment adjustment is what keeps him dangerous.
Hennigan also thought a monster year was in the cards. He said Alvarez was capable of hitting 40 home runs, and the Astros slugger ended up topping that mark in the 2026 regular season.
Alvarez closed the year with 42 home runs, 106 RBIs and 105 runs scored in 567 at-bats. He also totaled 179 hits, hit .316, posted a .432 on-base percentage and finished with a 1.033 OPS. He added one stolen base as well.
Those numbers only added to the case for what Alvarez means to Houston’s lineup. Since making his Major League debut on June 9, 2019, he has put together a career .300 batting average, a .397 on-base percentage and a .975 OPS in 3,022 at-bats. His career line also includes 212 home runs and 599 RBIs.
Hennigan also pointed to the fact that Alvarez had been dealing with injuries and health problems in 2025, which complicated his production. Even so, the 2026 season served as a reminder of what he looks like when he’s right: a hitter with power, patience and the flexibility to adjust when pitchers try something new.
For Houston, that’s the difference. When Alvarez is healthy, the Astros know exactly what kind of force they’re getting in the middle of the order - and the 2026 numbers made that plain.
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Astros Enter The Offseason With One Problem They Still Havent Solved
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Astros Suddenly Face An Uncomfortable Question About Their Hitting Setup
Dan Hennigans departure from the Astros to join Wake Forest as an assistant coach leaves a familiar opening in Houstons hitting infrastructure, one that lands at a time when the club has long taken pride in the way it develops offense. Hennigan had served as the teams director of hitting and offensive coordinator, so his move is not just a staff change, but a shift in how the Astros organize one of the most important parts of their day-to-day work.
The more uncomfortable layer is what Hennigan said about the college program he is walking into, with Wake Forest offering a hitting laboratory and technology setup that apparently topped what he had in Houston. The Astros will sort out the fallout by redistributing some of his duties, including to Chuckie Caufield, but the broader question now is whether the organizations hitting setup still stacks up the way it once did. [Read more 🡒]