Are we being too hard on Jose Altuve?

Jose Altuve has gotten off to a really slow start. 

The Houston Astros are still the baseball world’s biggest lightning rod after stealing signs in an effort to cheat, and second baseman Jose Altuve’s prominent role on those Astros teams has made him the player who has arguably taken more criticism than any other on this team. The critics are howling with laughter at the 5-6 infielder after a very slow start to the 2020 season.

Not only is Altuve hitting just .177 so far in 2020, but he has started to meltdown on defense, as he committed three errors and misplayed a throw down to second base during a nightmare game against the Oakland Athletics.

Jose Altuve is struggling in the field and at the plate in 2020.

As Orel Hershiser said, guessing is harder than knowing.

Star infielders like Gleyber Torres and Eugenio Suarez have also gotten off to slow starts, but Altuve’s performance in the first slate of games after he and his teammates were outed as cheaters will give the anti-Astros brigade plenty of firepower. Given the shortened season, extremely turbulent offseason, and moving pieces within the organization, it’s somewhat understandable that Altuve, normally a guy who starts the year off hot, and the Astros stumbled out of the gate a little bit.

Having said that, this team lives and dies by his ability to do damage in the heart of their lineup. If this cold streak is sustained throughout August, the Astros might be out of the playoff picture. If he, George Springer, and Alex Bregman don’t wake up soon, even Astros fans may start to turn on their beloved MVP.

Altuve is a much better player than the first 15 games of this season indicate, but it’s Houston’s struggles in 2020 and the Venezuelan superstar’s poor start are completely interwoven. If he doesn’t break out of this funk soon, Houston’s postseason hopes could go up in smoke.