Why Astros' Jose Altuve is not ranked as a top-10 second baseman in MLB by ESPN

The Houston Astros have a very crowded infield, with Carlos Correa at third base, Jeremy Pena at shortstop, Jose Altuve at second base, and Christian Walker at first base, leaving Isaac Paredes without a spot.

Altuve could move back to left field, as the Astros experimented with before last season, but that doesn't look to be the case. He's firmly back at second base for 2026. The Astros legend, and potential Hall of Famer, is one of the best second basemen of the last decade.

But what about right now, entering 2026? ESPN's Buster Olney shared the top-10 second basemen in Major League Baseball, and Altuve wasn't a part of it. He was an honorable mention. Unfortunately, the reason why is clear: Altuve has regressed.

Why Astros' Jose Altuve is no longer a top-10 2B in MLB

"Houston is obviously well aware of his defensive issues at second base, which is why they tried him in left field," Olney writes. "But Altuve can still do damage offensively - he hit 26 homers and had an adjusted OPS of 112."

There are 10 second baseman which ranked higher than Altuve. Ketel Marte, Nico Hoerner, Jazz Chisholm, Brice Turang, Brendan Donovan, Gleyber Torres, Xavier Edwards, Marcus Semien, Bryson Stott, and Ernie Clement.

Those players all rank above Altuve for ESPN thanks to a combination of much better defense and, at worst, good enough hitting.

While Altuve might be a solid offensive presence, the big reason for his exclusion from the top-10 is his poor defense. This past season, Altuve had four errors at second base in 66 games and had some poor metrics defensively.

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Going back to 2024, Altuve is the third-worst second baseman by Outs Above Average according to Baseball Savant.

While his offense is still solid, with a .771 OPS and 112 OPS in 155 games last season, Altuve's poor defensive metrics have him outside the top-10 in ESPN's second base rankings.

Another solid offensive season in 2026, with even mediocre defense instead of bad defense, and Altuve can prove this ranking was very wrong.

He's still a great hitter, and if his defense isn't that big of a negative, he's surely a top-10 second baseman in the Major Leagues.

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