Being 5’5 and playing in Houston may get you overlooked but its time to start paying attention to Jose Altuve. The Astro’s second basemen is having a breakout year in his 3rd full MLB season. He may not be your prototype 2B like Cano, Utley, or Kipnis, but he is not short on talent.
This year he’s on pace for more than 200 hits, 40+ doubles, 50+ steals, and only 60 strikeouts. Altuve’s height may leave him with an advantage at the plate as he has a career contact rate of 90%. It is odd to find that Altuve doesn’t draw many walks, but this may be due to his height. Pitchers must face the incredible challenge of working with a small zone and not giving Altuve anything to drive. His bat control is so good because his zone is so small. So as a pitcher, you can’t walk him and you can pretty much account for him to make solid contact. Altuve leads the MLB in hits (105) and is top 5 in Doubles and SB. Altuve is only 24 and will be an all-star for years to come. While he won’t be on “SportsCenter” with towering HR’s, but you can count on that 90% contact rate to leave him a good stat line at the end of each season.
Don’t overlook the short guy on your All-Star ballots this season. Very well deserved.
Altuwe is an under the radar beast.