Jose Altuve outlines change that could calm Astros fans' growing fears

One of the most important players for the Houston Astros' success in 2026 will be Jose Altuve. The diminutive slugger is the face of the franchise for a reason, and if the Astros want to keep pace with the Seattle Mariners and others in the AL West, they're going to need him to play up to the level they've become accustomed to.

That didn't happen in 2025. The 35-year-old put up his worst offensive season since 2013, when he was just a little-known 23-year-old trying to find his footing in the majors. It might seem silly to call a 113 wRC+, a performance that was 13% better than league average, a disappointment, but when you've set the bar as high as Altuve has, then it's easy to see that he came up short.

But it wasn't just the overall stat line that was the problem. It was the lack of consistency. For his career, Altuve owns a 129 wRC+. Getting into that range is the baseline for what should be considered success for the homegrown superstar. However, the month-by-month breakdown in 2025 shows he typically fell way short, and even his 113 final number is misleading.

Over the season's first three months, Altuve was a hair better than league-average with the bat, posting wRC+ numbers of 101, 103, and 107 through June. In the season's final two months, August and September, he recorded marks of 92 and 90, respectively. In the middle, there was his scorching July, where he channeled his former-MVP self and racked up a stellar 189 wRC+.

Even that doesn't tell the whole story, because it wasn't just consistency in the batter's box that eluded Altuve; it was consistency in where he'd be lining up day in and day out.

Jose Altuve believes consistency will be the key to his resurgence, which in turn will help the Astros rise

Last spring training, Altuve got to work learning a new position. In an effort to improve the infield defense, the Astros decided to move him to left field. However, the experiment didn't go as planned. Injuries to other players on the roster forced Altuve to bounce back and forth from left field to second base, and it seems that the uncertainty of where he'd be lining up every day also manifested itself at the plate.

As Astros insider Chandler Rome detailed in his piece, Altuve got into the bad habit of closing himself off too much by striding towards home plate. According to Altuve, "(It had gotten) to the point where my back was almost facing the pitcher. I want to be more facing toward the field, see the ball, control my bat some. Something that I couldn’t do last year.”

Altuve is still open to playing left field if the team needs him to, but Joe Espada has made it clear that second base will be his primary position in 2026. That's a big deal. The nine-time All-Star's defense in left field was an adventure last season, and while it's unreasonable to expect him to return to his Gold Glove form at the keystone, it's the consistency and familiarity that matter most.

As fans, we sometimes underestimate the mental aspect of the game. While there is seemingly no correlation between defensive alignment and success at the plate, being uncomfortable in the field can cause distractions and manifest itself in bad habits while hitting. Altuve recognizing his misstep at the dish is the perfect example of the link.

Decline is still coming for Altuve. Father time waits for no one, but this is a step to mitigate the effects. That should have Astros fans feeling relieved. The Astros better hope that is the case, anyways. Without Altuve performing like a net positive, it will be nearly impossible for them to keep up in the American League playoff chase. Here's to hoping that Altuve is right, and the return of a consistent routine will bring about a more fruitful 2026 for the franchise icon.