The Houston Astroslove them or hate them, they were one of the best teams in MLB for the better part of a decade.

The organization built a roster through an extensive rebuild, hitting several prospects who became top players in the game.

Success in player development has helped the Astros win two of the last eight World Series, while appearing in that round in four of the last eight years.

The only downside to being so successful at developing players is that at some point those players will hit free agency and there isn’t enough money in the world to pay them all what they’re asking.

That’s certainly the case with Houston’s latest star to hit free agency, fan favorite third baseman Alex Bregman, whom Keith Law The Athletic ranks as the fifth best free agent available this offseason.

“Bregman is one of the purest hitters I’ve ever seen,” writes Law, who specializes in scouting, “going back to high school.”

That’s high praise from Law, considered by many to be the go-to source for scouting reports on prospects and draft players.

Bregman spent the first nine seasons of his Major League career with the Astros and has been a big part of their success over the years on both sides of the ball.

At the plate, Bregman enters the offseason as a career .272/.366/.483 hitter with 191 home runs, 663 RBI and 132 OPS+, earning two All-Star nominations and finishing as the 2019 American League MVP runner-up.

There was a change in the third baseman’s approach this year as he walked just 44 times, a career-low in years that saw him play 140 or more games and strike out 86 times.

While the strikeout numbers are still impressive in this day and age, having more of them than walks is not normal for Bregman, as he has finished four different seasons with more walks than strikeouts, including the last two in a row.

Defensively, Bregman is one of the more reliable gloves at the hot corner, totaling 28 Outs Above Average at the position over his career, including six this year.

It’s easy to see that Bregman can be an asset to any team in need of a third baseman, proving time and time again that he can be a valuable piece to any contending team, and he already has a championship-winning pedigree.