Jose Altuve set to make MLB history that is also a reminder of Astros’ 2025 injury woes

It would have been easy to write Jose Altuve off before his career ever began. The longtime Houston Astros star was never a top-100 prospect and topped out at No. 28 in Houston's farm system back in 2011. Much of the reason the face of the franchise flew under the radar had to do with his diminutive stature, being generously listed at five-foot-six, a height not known for having much projection as an offensive player.

With nine All-Star selections, seven Silver Sluggers, three batting titles, a Gold Glove, and an MVP award over the last 14 years, Altuve has certainly proved those who overlooked him wrong. Now he's on the verge of making some whacky baseball history that, unfortunately, is as much of an indictment on the plague the team has suffered as it is a celebration of his accomplishments.

Jose Altuve making history only serves as a cruel reminder of the Astros' injury troubles

As Jayson Stark noted in his piece for The Athletic, Altuve, with 26 home runs, is set to lead the Astros, making him the shortest player since Hack Wilson, whose career ended in 1934, and Heinie Mueller with the 1939 Phillies, to lead his team in home runs.

Altuve has never been a stranger to power production. With 255 career dingers and two seasons topping the 30-homer plateau (31 in 2019, and 31 again in 2021), he's shown that although small he can pack a punch. But until this year, he's never led the Astros in home runs.

And if the club hadn't suffered a wave of injuries that's been so bad it's almost comical, he likely wouldn't be on the verge of doing so this year either.

Not accounting for 2020, when he played just two games, Yordan Alvarez entered 2025 averaging 32.6 homers per season, making him a near lock to pass Altuve if not for his months-long odyssey to recover from a fractured hand, and then his unfortunate ankle sprain cutting him down just as he had gotten back and into the groove.

Another threat would've been Isaac Paredes, who had proven to be an excellent fit for Daikin Park's Crawford Boxes by popping 19 dingers in just 95 games before suffering a torn hamstring that had kept him out of action from July 19 until September 19.

Even Jeremy Peña, whom many don't associate with supreme power, may have been in the mix if a fractured rib hadn't cost him a little over a month on the IL with 16 homers in 124 games. Altuve leads Houston in games played this season with 149 as of September, with Christian Walker being the only other Astro to play over 140 games, thanks to the injury wave.

On the one hand, it's nice to see Altuve still producing at his advanced age, even if he's no longer the .330 hitter who won all those awards in his prime, but on the other, should he seal the deal and finish the season as Houston's home run leader, it will only serve to show how bad the injury bug's bit has been, and that's to say nothing of how it has also demolished the pitching staff.

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