Star Performer of the Week June 16 – 22

I usually don’t hand out the hardware when the team has a dreadful week — like this week’s 1-5 effort. But one Astros player was too good to ignore.

After missing a couple of games with a hand injury, Jose Altuve returned to the lineup with a bang. The Astros second-baseman had four hits, drove in a pair of runs and scored another in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to the Nationals. Altuve followed with a 2-hit effort that included a walk and a run scored on Wednesday — another 6-5 loss to Washington.

On Thursday, Jose had two more hits and two stolen bases in a 5-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The ‘Stros pulled off a 3-1 win on Friday, thanks in part to Altuve’s three hits and one run. Jose’s infield single on Saturday was the club’s only hit of the day. He also drew a walk. Altuve closed out the week with another 1 for 3 effort that also included another base on balls.

Altuve’s final line for the week looks like this: 13 for 24 with 3 walks and only 1 strikeout.

That’s a slash line of .542/.593/.625. Not bad for a guy who just sat out a few days after being hit on the hand by a pitch. Already the American League’s leader in hits, Jose’s outstanding week helped him surge ahead of Robinson Cano and move into the lead in the race for the batting title.

Altuve should get a few A.L. Player of the Week votes. But I expect that award could go to our old pal J.D. Martinez.