Jose Altuve (Starting Second Baseman)
This isn’t a surprise.
The reigning AL MVP leads the league in votes, ahead of Beantown bomber Mookie Betts and even Mike Trout. Though Altuve isn’t on his way to a second-straight MVP award, he has been by far the most efficient second baseman in the league.
Houston’s 28-year-old leader ranks eighth in the AL in WAR. The next-highest second baseman on the list is Jed Lowrie, at 19th.
But Jose Altuve still sports a .343/.402/.491 slash line. If he sits atop the AL leaderboard in hits again, it will be the fifth-straight year that he has accomplished the feat. He currently leads Jean Segura in the category by 10.
It doesn’t seem like Altuve has had a purely dominant campaign. However, his numbers are on pace to be close to what they were last season. The only differences are a slight increase in strikeouts and a decrease in power.
Reigning AL MVP @JoseAltuve27 has taken over as the @MLB overall leader in fan balloting, while @RaysBaseball catcher Wilson Ramos has surpassed Gary Sanchez of the @Yankees behind the plate. Visit https://t.co/Jd6REEkFYI to vote. #MLBVote pic.twitter.com/rPt4XQFrZI
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 19, 2018
The strikeout era is in full swing, and it doesn’t stop with the MLB’s premier players.
Altuve could finish the year with the most strikeouts he’s recorded in one season. But it also depends on how many games he plays in the second half. So far he’s got 46 punch outs across 80 games.
The Astros hitter tied a career-high in bombs last year with 24. Thus far, he has just seven. Yet, his overall slugging percentage was much higher at the All-Star break that it is now – by .60 points.
Overall, Altuve has an opportunity to match his numbers from last year. However, even if he records a stellar second half, Trout and Betts both have superior numbers for the MVP race.