When Pedro Alvarez scuffled through the first two months of the season, manager Buck Showalter pointed to his track record as a proven power hitter. There was reason to believe that when the many hot bats in the Orioles lineup cooled, Alvarez would be around to pick up the slack.
He's done more than that recently, and the Orioles are fortunate for his presence.
Alvarez on Friday hit his 20th home run of the season, and 11th since the All-Star break, to spark an eight-run outburst that included four home runs -- three in the second inning.
Since the All-Star break, Alvarez' .912 OPS leads the Orioles, and he's outhitting all but a handful of regulars whose roles are much larger than his.
"It's huge," outfielder Mark Trumbo said. "He lengthens our lineup… He's one more huge power bat that hits the ball as hard as anybody. Right now, he is going really well, especially against some left-handed pitching, too. So I'm super proud of him. This is what he's capable of. It's nice."
Since the All-Star break, only three players with a minimum of 75 batted ball events have hit the ball harder than Alvarez, who's average exit velocity is 94.9 mph. Since June 1, when Alvarez came out of a two-month slump and began clobbering the ball as the Orioles' platoon designated hitter, it's been about the same.
Overall, he's eighth in the majors in average exit velocity at 94.8 miles per hour, with a league-high 8.8 mph added to his batted balls. That is tied with noted Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has put jolts into a few balls himself this season.
That Alvarez spent the first two months scuffling only makes his recent production stand out more. He was batting .194 with a .644 OPS and three home runs in 35 games (30 starts) through June 1. Since then, he's batting. 291 with 17 home runs. Manager Buck Showalter thinks one time through the league helped his designated hitter's comfort level.
"He kind of learned the league bit, the ballparks, traveling to some places he hasn't been, maybe has but not on a consistent basis," Showalter said. "A lot of pitchers he hasn't seen before. I think Pete is very capable of playing first or third, too. It's just that we have Manny [Machado] and Chris [Davis]. I wouldn't put [the DH label on him]. But I'm really proud of the way he's embraced the role, even though he knows that I know he can play other places and do a good job."
Alvarez has started to get at-bats against left-handed pitching, and had some success this week against Toronto's J.A. Happ. But he is essentially on the team to serve as the designated hitter against right-handed pitching. He's the big half of that platoon, and his 20 home runs as a part-time player is impressive on several levels.
Alvarez just enjoys being on a team where his talents are appreciated.
"Most importantly, it's just been a lot of fun to play beside all these guys, to have such a good group of talent together playing alongside one another night after night is something that it's a privilege and a treat," Alvarez said. "The thing we do so well is we go out there every day and compete, and we really don't focus on numbers and stats. All that takes care of itself at the end of the day and it's a byproduct of the work we put in every day and the trust that we have in our abilities."