Astros: Jose Altuve Named AL Player of the Month

By Cory Farr | Jul 3, 2016

Jun 15, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa (1) celebrates with second baseman Jose Altuve (27) after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Astros won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Houston Astros‘ second baseman Jose Altuve was named the American League Player of the Month for the month of June on Saturday.

The 5’6″ 165 lb. middle infielder was named the player of the month just five days after his double play partner, Carlos Correa, earned the AL Player of the Week Award for the second to last week of June. Jose Altuve and Correa have both been an integral part of the Astros’ recent hot streak, which has seen the team win 13 of their last 15 games and move into the second wild-card slot in the AL.

Altuve has been arguably the best player in the AL this season and this award helps to validate that argument. He has hit .352/.427/.565 with 13 HR and 46 RBI this season and leads the league in batting average, hits (111) and stolen bases (21). As good as he has been throughout the 2016 campaign, he has improved greatly on his season in the last 30 days.

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In June, Altuve hit .420/.492/.620 with four HR and 15 RBI. In that span, he was able to raise his batting average an incredible 30 points. He earned 42 hits, 11 extra base hits, scored 19 runs, stole six bases and was able to reach base in all 26 games in June, amidst a 32-game reached base streak.

He was also able to play a month of outstanding defense at the second base position. He went error-less in June and was a part of 15 double plays turned and caught just about every pop-up in the infield, even if it was headed straight to another infielder.

In yesterday’s game, Altuve got the Astros offense going last night with his 14th homer of the year. He is on pace to be one of the true five-tool talents in the game with his bat, glove, and legs. We could be watching one of the best players to put on an Astros uniform.

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Although the Astros had gotten off to a slow start in 2016, Altuve’s hot month has helped them to an 18-8 record in June, and they are now six games over .500 at 43-37. Altuve is almost definitely headed toward his second straight all-star game start at second base on July 12, in San Diego. If he can keep up this hot start throughout the season, he may even be in for an AL MVP Award, in addition to possibly helping the Astros into the postseason and beyond.

**Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com**

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