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Astros Countdown: Top Five Deserving All Stars

By Colin Gay

Jun 16, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann (16) watches a batted ball sail for a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann (16) watches a batted ball sail for a home run against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jose Altuve

Jun 20, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) falls on a swing and a miss against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) falls on a swing and a miss against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Jose Altuve is running away with the All Star second base starting spot. He currently has 2,185,035 votes cast, second to only Judge in amount of votes. The margin between first place and second place for the second base spot is pretty drastic, with Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro needing 734,563 to catch up.

The attention has been well deserved though. In 72 games played this season, Altuve is fourth in the AL with a .322 batting average with a .912 OPS, which is tenth. He has hit 32 extra base hits, including 10 home runs, and has driven in 34 RBIs. Also, he leads the Astros and is currently eighth in the AL with 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts.

After batting third for the majority of the season, Hinch and the rest of the Astros coaching staff decided to move Altuve to the two-hole with Correa hitting third. He has been hitting very well from that spot as of late. In nine games, he has a .361 batting average and a .993 OPS batting second.

Also, Altuve has been spectacular on the road. He is hitting .389 with a 1.108 OPS. He has hit six of his 10 home runs away from Minute Maid Park and has driven in 18 of his 34 RBIs.

Next: Astros: Charlie Morton throws two innings in rehab start

There is not doubt that Altuve is the best second baseman in the AL. The votes seem to say that as well.

***Stats provided by FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball Reference***

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