Jacob Melton’s rise might force Astros into awkward decisions

The Houston Astros are surging, winning seven of their last 10 games and surpassing the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West, sitting at 35-28 after June 6's action. While the club's offseason gambit, trying to thread the needle between rebuilding and contending, looked like a poor choice early on, it's beginning to pay dividends in what has turned out to be a weak American League.

Houston's youth movement has continued throughout the early portions of the 2025 season with the club calling up No. 2 overall prospect, Jacob Melton, on June 1st. The toolsy Melton might have gotten the call to the big club as a response to Zach Dezenzo hitting the IL, but the lefty masher could be in Houston for the long haul should his bat get going.

The Astros' offense has struggled for the majority of the year, and while things have gotten better, this is far from the once fearsome lineup fans have become accustomed to. It's also a lineup that has become extremely right-handed heavy.

With the news that lefty slugger Yordan Alvarez will be shut down after an initially optimistic timetable for his return, the Astros desperately need an impact bat from the left side, something that Melton, who was slugging .508 at Triple-A, may provide.

However, should Melton find his footing and produce, earning a spot on the roster for the rest of the season, the club may be faced with making a difficult decision regarding their franchise icon, Jose Altuve.

Astros may be forced to make a tough decision on Jose Altuve with Jacob Melton's arrival

The Astros moved Jose Altuve to left field this year for a reason. No, it wasn't in hopes of fitting Alex Bregman alongside Isaac Paredes, but rather because Altuve's defense at second had become untenable.

The 2017 AL MVP's defense has taken a big hit in recent years and is a far cry from his 2015 Gold Glove season. In 2024, he posted a putrid -13 defensive runs saved and negative eight outs above average at the keystone position.

This season, with just 114.2 innings logged at second, he's already posted negative three defensive runs saved, setting the 35-year-old on an even worse trajectory with the glove.

Altuve's bat has also been on a steady decline, with his WRC+ numbers dropping from 155 in 2023, to 127 in 2024, to a very average 101 in 2025 so far. To be clear, that's still better performance than Mauricio Dubón, his primary competition at second, whose 80 wRC+ is 20% below league average, but defensive value has made him a more valuable player than Altuve in fWAR at 0.7 versus 0.5.

To be clear, left field has also been an adventure for Altuve, with negative seven defensive runs saved patrolling out there for the nine-time All-Star. Still, left field is an easier spot to hide a poor defender, and with Altuve's bat losing a lot of its thump, he can no longer slug his way to positive value at second base.

The Astros are all in on giving their youngsters the runway to succeed in 2025, so if Melton proves he's up to the task of handling an everyday role, the team will be in an awkward position with the face of the franchise.

They'll have to decide if they're okay letting him return to second base as an everyday player, knowing full well he'll give away more runs than he'll produce, or do they make the cold but perhaps necessary decision to place him squarely on the bench?

We're not at this point yet, but a hot streak from Melton could quickly bring about a reckoning for the Astros and Jose Altuve's future.

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