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Astros in Fantasy: First Half Recap

By Colin Gay

Jul 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa (1) is carried by teammates after hitting a walk off RBI single during the tenth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park. The Astros defeated the Athletics 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa (1) is carried by teammates after hitting a walk off RBI single during the tenth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park. The Astros defeated the Athletics 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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A Look at Fantasy Baseball Through the Lens’ of an Astros Fan

Jul 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Jose Altuve (27) watches from the dugout during the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Jose Altuve (27) watches from the dugout during the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

With the first half of the regular season over, the Astros have had some solid fantasy contributors for fantasy owners to keep in their lineup. We will go over those first half MVPs and then look to the second half to see who will break out for the Astros in their quest for the American League West title. Before their weekend series at Seattle, a regular Astros in Fantasy article will be posted for Week 15.

MVP Hitter:

Jose Altuve– 119/349 H/AB, 67 R, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 23 SB,  .341 BA

Not only has Altuve been the best hitter on this Astros team, but also arguably he has been in all of baseball. Altuve is in the top five in seven of the 16 major hitting categories in the American League and is the leader in batting average, at .341, hits, with 119, and games played at 89.

Altuve has been a fixture at the top of the lineup for A.J. Hinch for the entire season. The reason why Altuve is so deadly to opposing pitchers near the top of the order is that he can hurt you in more ways than one.

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For a second baseman near the top of the lineup, it is expected that he get on base. With his .341 batting average, Altuve posts a .413 on-base percentage, which is fourth in the AL. Once he gets on base, Altuve is a threat on the base paths. He is second in the American League with 23 steals in 26 attempts and has come around to score 67 times, which is fifth in the American League.

However, despite his size, Altuve has been a power threat. Ranked 11th in the AL with a .542 slugging percentage, he has 40 extra base hits, including 14 long balls and 24 doubles. Batting third in this lineup, Altuve also has had many opportunities to drive in runners. He has 51 RBIs this season and is hitting .307 with a .927 OPS with runners in scoring position.

All of this is to say that the Astros have one of the most complete players in the game today batting third in their lineup. Fantasy owners should be very pleased with his offensive production so far in 2016.

Altuve has put up AL MVP-like numbers in the first half of this season. If the Astros want to make a run at the AL West title, he needs to continue to be that offensive force. If this happens, he will continue to rack up stats for your fantasy team and maybe earn some MVP votes at the end of the season.

Next: MVP Pitcher

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