Astros' Jose Altuve has made a dramatic change to his game so far in 2026 MLB season
Altuve is taking advantage of his size.
Astros' Jose Altuve has made a dramatic change to his game so far in 2026 MLB season originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Jose Altuve has been one of the shortest players in baseball his entire career with the Houston Astros .
But despite having a small strike zone, he has never walked very much. This season, that has changed, at least in the early going. The Athletic's Chandler Rome shared this stat Sunday on X: In 2025, Altuve needed 92 plate appearances to reach 5 walks for the season.
In 2026, Altuve has needed just 16 plate appearances to reach 5 walks for the season. There are obviously a lot of things that go into this, including pitchers who may just lose it for an at bat here or there against Altuve. MORE: Yankees break franchise record set by 1908 New York Highlanders The reality, though, is that for most of his career Altuve has swung early and often -- and he's so good at making contact that he rarely just fouls pitches off or whiffs.
Instead, he puts the ball in play, and that means at bats don't get deep enough for Altuve to walk very often. It's early, of course, so nothing is guaranteed to continue here. There's a chance that Altuve has just worked his way to five walks as a fluke.