José Altuve is supposed to be trending downward. The 2017 AL MVP is on the wrong side of 30 and has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury since April 20. The wear and tear of playing more than 1,500 games in the big leagues across 11-plus years is undoubtedly impacting him physically. But somehow, seemingly none of it has hampered Altuve’s ability to hit.
The Astros’ stalwart at the keystone enters Tuesday with a slash line of .259/.351/.518 and has already slugged 7 home runs in just 97 plate appearances. It’s a good start to the season for Altuve.