Why Jose Altuve Is Ditching the Leadoff Spot After a Surprising Position Switch—What It Means for the Astros’ Season

You’ve gotta love baseball’s little twists, right? Monday’s Astros-Tigers game threw a curveball — Jose Altuve, Houston’s stalwart for 15 years, stepped away from his usual leadoff spot for the first time in almost two years. Yeah, the guy who’s pretty much been synonymous with leading off is now hitting second. Why the shift? Well, it’s tied to his position switch from second base to left field this season — a move that’s caused him to ask for a bit more breathing room up at the plate. Joe Espada, the Astros manager, gave him that chance, slotting Jeremy Peña, their sharp shortstop with one of the top on-base percentages on the team, into the leadoff spot. Altuve openly admitted he just needs “like that little extra time” to adjust coming from the outfield, and honestly, it’s a smart move considering his recent struggles at the plate.

We might be witnessing a subtle but important reset here — not just for Altuve, who’s approaching 35 and trying to recalibrate his approach after some lukewarm at-bats, but for an Astros offense that’s been sputtering of late, ranked 10th out of 15 in the AL for batting average and runs scored. And hey, in this case, the tweak paid immediate dividends—Altuve went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in the team’s 8-5 victory. Veteran savvy mixed with a tactical lineup shuffle — sometimes, baseball is just a chess match in cleats.

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For the first time in nearly two years, Jose Altuve did not bat in the leadoff spot when the Houston Astros played the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

The 15-year veteran requested the change, according to Astros manager Joe Espada. And he did so because of his move from second base to left field this season.

“I just told Joe that maybe he can hit me second some games at some point and he did it today,” Altuve explained, via the Associated Press. “I just need like that little extra time to come from left field, and he decided to put Jeremy [Peña] there.”

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Peña, Houston’s shortstop, has the second-best on-base percentage on the team at .327. Only third baseman Isaac Paredes, who bats fourth, is better at .342. Altuve’s OBP is .310, down from his career mark of .362.

“I just need like 10 more seconds,” Altuve added.

As Altuve pointed out himself, he hasn’t been a career leadoff hitter. The nine-time All-Star batted second when George Springer was with the Astros and often hit first.

“My at-bats hasn’t been going the way I wanted lately,” Altuve told the Houston Chronicle’s Leah Vann. “So, maybe hitting with [Peña] on the base, or whoever is gonna help me to get to the point I want to and I hit second before when Springer was here. I think that extra time is gonna help me, and to get a better approach.”

The last time Altuve wasn’t in the leadoff spot for the Astros was June 17, 2023, when he batted second against the Cincinnati Reds. He went 0 for 4 in that game.

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During his 15 MLB seasons, Altuve has batted leadoff in 918 of his 1,847 career games for 4,159 plate appearances. The 2017 American League MVP has a career batting average of .303 with an OBP of .365, 223 doubles, 138 home runs, 413 RBI and 159 stolen bases.

This season, he’s batted .274/.310/.377 at leadoff. Last year, he posted a .296/.352/.441 slash average.

Perhaps more importantly, the move could jumpstart a flagging Astros offense. Houston ranks 10th among 15 AL clubs with a .233 team batting average, .656 OPS and 107 runs scored.

For at least one night, the move appears to have paid off. Altuve, soon to turn 35, batted 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI in an 8-5 win over the Tigers. He was replaced by Jake Meyers in left field for the ninth inning.