Fansided

MLB Power Rankings: Top 25 players in the game today

By Joshua Sadlock

ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to his solo homerun for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 02: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to his solo homerun for a 1-1 tie with the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Angel Stadium on May 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – MAY 02: Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) leads off the base in the sixth inning during an MLB baseball game between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees on May 2, 2018 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.(Photo by: Juan DeLeon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – MAY 02: Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) leads off the base in the sixth inning during an MLB baseball game between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees on May 2, 2018 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.(Photo by: Juan DeLeon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

6. Jose Altuve

Arguably the unlikeliest superstar in MLB history, 5-foot-6 Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros is the reigning AL MVP and three-time batting champ. He has also led the league in hits four years in a row and has four Silver Sluggers. No one could have predicted a leap like this was coming after Altuve hit .285/.323/.377 with 14 home runs for the first three years of his MLB career.

Since 2014, Altuve has flipped the switch and gone from a scrappy underdog with minimal pop to a potential future Hall of Famer. Through his age-27 season, he has more hits and home runs and a better batting average than the all-time hit king, Pete Rose. Altuve legitimately seems to get better at the plate every year as his power continues to develop.

The Astros built their World Series roster with advanced metrics and data, but there is not a single measurable or statistic that would have predicted that a 5-foot-6 second baseman would become the heart and soul of their franchise. Altuve signed with the team in 2007 for $15,000 after being forced to produce a birth certificate to prove he was indeed old enough to sign. His new contract will pay him $163.5 million over the next seven years.

There isn’t much about Jose Altuve’s meteoric rise to superstardom and MVP that makes sense, but that’s what makes it so special. The tiny second baseman signed by the Astros as an afterthought is now the best player at his position in the league, an MVP and a future Hall of Famer.

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