Astros: Jose Altuve has company for MVP but still stands tall

Will Astros second baseman Jose Altuve win the AL MVP award this season?

The Astros won their 99th game of the season last night versus the Boston Red Sox. With the potential to reach 100 wins for only the second time in franchise history, this team is built to win. With three games remaining, hopefully they will at least win a couple of them.

As I wrote yesterday, the Red Sox will be a better team to face in the ALDS. They do have Chris Sale, but they are beatable with how hot the Astros are. There are many stars on this Houston roster, but one of them stands above the rest. Carlos Correa may be one of the taller players on the team, but the shortest guy on the team could be the best.

Jose Altuve has just achieved his fourth consecutive 200 hit season. He did so on Wednesday after getting hit by a pitch on Monday evening. In the past four seasons, Altuve has changed himself from a speedy hitter to an all-around force. Is he the best hitter in baseball?

Finished close last year.

Last year it was a close finish between Altuve, Mookie Betts, and Mike Trout. With his impressive stats, Trout was able to take home the trophy. This year, Altuve has a batting average 20 points higher than the next best hitter in baseball. With three games left, Altuve is batting .350 with a .970 OPS. He may not have as many homers as Aaron Judge, but he does so much more.

Altuve only has 24 homers, but that ties his career high set in 2016. With three games left, the 5’6″ second baseman can set a new homer mark for himself. We already discussed his batting average. Altuve has also stolen 32 bases, second only to teammate Cameron Maybin and Whit Merrifield in the American League.

Altuve and George Springer follow Judge’s 126 runs for second and third place respectively. With all that Judge offers, Altuve is more of an all-around player. Altuve currently has an 8.31 WAR, higher than Judge’s .782. To illustrate how rare Altuve is, according to Baseball-Reference, he is the first player in MLB history to have multiple 20 homers, 30-steals, and 200 hit seasons.

Mr. Consistency!

Via Jake Kaplan, Altuve’s slash line from the first half is almost similar to the second half. That’s why he has consistently gotten 200 hits in each of his past four seasons. People used to say that Moises Alou could roll out of bed and get two hits. What can you say about Altuve? Some might say that Jose Ramirez should be involved in the MVP discussion with how hot the Indians have been.

Next: Astros: Maybe the Red Sox wouldn’t be a bad matchup in the ALDS

The Indians, Astros, and Yankees are all in the playoffs, so that will be taken into consideration. The Angels were close and Trout missed some time this year, but he will get some votes. While the Astros continue to chase the Indians, Altuve will help the team win. It’s hard to find the this consistency nowadays.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***