Good morning, y’all. Welcome to part 3 of looking at our position players for the 2024 season. We’ve done [Yainer Diaz](https://www.reddit.com/r/Astros/comments/1asfexr/2024_astros_projected_starters_c_yainer_diaz/), [Jose Abreu](https://www.reddit.com/r/Astros/comments/1autir2/2024_astros_starters_1b_jose_abreu/), and now we are on the face of the Franchise Jose Altuve. I really can’t do justice on what this man means to this team and city in a quick introduction so we’ll just jump right into his stats.

**DISCLAIMER**: this isn’t meant to be a deep-dive but more a snorkeling-dive, to get the conversation going on how we feel about the position/player and what we expect out of them. Please feel free to comment on formatting, stats presented, etc.

***2023 Stats***

​

|*Stat*|*Value*|*Ranking among 2B*\*|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Games Played|90|29|
|Plate Appearances|410|27|
|AVG|.311|2|
|HR|17|9 (tied)|
|RBI|51|19 (tied)|
|R|76|10 (tied)|
|OBP|.393|3|
|SLG|.522|2|
|OPS|.915|2|
|OPS+|151|2|
|wRC+|154|2|
|K%|17.3|16|
|BB%|10.7|7|
|BABIP|.348|4|
|fWAR|4.0|6 (tied)|
|bWAR|2.8|NA|

\*Rankings based on 2B w/ at least 400 PAs in 2023 (30 total). Also, these rankings may be off by a spot or 2 as players who are now considered 2B appear on Fangraphs for 2023 even though they primarily played a different position during that season (ie Mookie Betts). I could do stats for players while only playing 2B but then Altuve’s stats would’t match his season totals and that’s going to bother me in a different way. This also applies to the past charts with Diaz and Abreu. I probably over-explained this but I wanted to be upfront about how I organized the numbers.

[Baseball Savant Page](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jose-altuve-514888?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb)

**What To Look Forward To**

5 MORE YEARS! 5 MORE YEARS! We no longer have to entertain the thought of seeing Altuve in another Jersey ever. He will be an Astro for life. And at $25 million/year, it’s a great deal for both sides IMO.

And look at those numbers. Having played just a little over half a season, with a couple of weeks of inconsistent playing time due to an obliques injury, Altuve still put up great counting stats. And the only player ahead of him consistently in advanced stats was Mookie Betts, who will be at 2B everyday this year but wasn’t in 2023 as previously stated. If Altuve played at a similar level throughout the whole season as he did in those 90 games, he would have been in the MVP conversation, much to the chagrin of the hoes. Even discounting my Astros bias, he’s a top-5 2B at worst and more accurately top-3 (but top-1 let’s be honest).

He’s the heart and soul of the team; the glue that holds it all together. However, for safety, wrap his hands in bubble wrap when at the plate during Spring Training.

**What To Be Concerned About**

There ain’t enough of him to love.

On a more serious note, Altuve will be 34 soon and while not that old in baseball, you do have to begin to wonder when age will start to affect him. His base-running was a bit sloppy and idk if I expect that to improve by much, if at all. Fielding-wise, you’re gonna get “Gold Glove” Altuve or “Throw the ball 2 feet to the side of 1B” Altuve. His -13 DRS and -9.3 UZR/150 aren’t great but really don’t stand out too much from his career numbers. We can expect more of the same given defense doesn’t typically improve with age post-30. I would mention his chase rate but we all know Altuve chases and that’s like complaining about water being wet.

**My Prediction/Conclusion**

It’s Altuve . . . if I said anything other than “I’m excited to have him back for a full-season” I’d be called an idiot and rightfully so. Really, all the things I wrote to be concerned about were a formality. Truthfully, we all know Altuve’s game. He’s a kid out there and that’s why we love him.

Barring another injury (knock on wood), Altuve is going to be an All-Star this year and will get a couple of MVP votes. And even if he doesn’t play that well, I wouldn’t care that much. He’s a team legend and I’m just happy he’ll be with us his whole career. A 1-team career is so rare nowadays even r/baseball can appreciate Altuve being an Astro for life. It’s just right.

But he’s gonna kill it this year.

How do you think Altuve will do this year. Will he surprise us and play Gold Glove defense? Over/under 27 HRs? Over/under .300 AVG? Thanks for reading!

Next post: 3B Alex Bregman

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