Jose Altuve’s hot start for Astros a distant memory thanks to one unusual flaw

At the start of the season, Jose Altuve was off to a terrific start for the Houston Astros. While there were certainly doubts that he had lost a step or two, Altuve was one of the better hitters in baseball through 2026's first couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it appears as though that surge may have been short-lived.

Over Altuve's last 14 games before Friday, going back to April 7, during which the Astros have gone 3-11, he has only managed a .180/.219/.262 line with just a single home run, no steals, and just three walks against 14 strikeouts. Not exactly what Houston needs at the moment out of a franchise icon.

That Altuve is struggling at the moment isn't all that surprising. Every player has slumps during the season, and Altuve is getting older and showing signs of general decline. However, what is sticking out is that a big reason why he has been struggling has been a pitch type that he is usually dominant against.

Jose Altuve's struggles with fastballs could be a sign that his decline is accelerating

Despite being a guy who has never really excelled when it comes to bat speed and average exit velocity, Altuve has historically been good against opposing heaters. Even in recent years, as the miles on his body added up, Altuve still hit .354 against fastballs in 2023, .302 in 2024, and .307 last season. Fastballs were also the pitches that he slugged the best against.

Well, through 113 plate appearances this season, something has changed. While not terrible, Altuve is only hitting .242 against heaters with just a .323 slugging percentage. Early-season samples can be very misleading, but struggling against velocity is often a sign that an aging player can’t keep up anymore.

We already knew that, at some point, Altuve was going to start showing his age more. The guy is playing in his 16th season, so of course, there is going to be some drop-off. Unfortunately, if his struggles against fastballs end up being the new norm, that decline could be coming faster than anyone wants.

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