Two for Tuve
José Altuve (HOU): 4-4, 2 HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB
Hitting leadoff, Houston’s storied second baseman started his perfect night with two singles against Ranger Suarez. In the seventh, he blasted his first home run of the year, a solo shot deep into the Crawford Boxes on a hanging slider from Johan Oviedo (382 feet, 103.8 EV). An inning later, he tortured Oviedo again, although this time it came against a heater (367 feet, 102.2 EV).
Altuve struggled last year, hitting a career low .265 (ignoring 2020). What turned out to be a short-lived stint in left field probably didn’t help matters. Regardless, it left us wondering what happened. Had age started to take its toll? Maybe. His 26 home runs last year were nothing to sneeze at. However, his Power+ actually dipped a few points last season from 102 to 97. His Process+ also fell from 101 to 93. Sure, maybe that doesn’t seem like much. But ageism is a real thing. If you’re going to invest in an older player, they had better have flawless metrics, like George Springer last year. Otherwise, it feels like you are almost asking for disappointment. No one wants to be the one left holding the bag.
And yet, here we are, five games in, and Altuve is doing his thing, hitting .412. Second base perplexed everyone this past draft season. It felt like you either paid up for Ketel Marte or Jazz Chisholm Jr., or you waited a bit for an option that, no matter what, had some sort of blemish. Again, it’s only been five games. That’s nothing. But it’s starting to feel like the right answer was buying low on a guy who, when it’s all said and done, has a legit shot at being in the 3,000 hit club as one of the best second basemen of all-time.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Jake McCarthy (COL): 0-3, RBI, SB
Generally speaking, it’s good advice to avoid bad hitters. The Rockies, though, remain committed to the contrary, having inserted Jake the Former Snake and his 95 wRC+ as their leadoff hitter in each of their first four games, all against right-handers. I’m unsure if this will continue, but it would be on-brand for the purple-and-black. McCarthy already has three stolen bases, two more than he has hits. That seems about right. Desperate deep-leaguers might want to note that Colorado’s home opener is this Friday.
TJ Rumfield (COL): 3-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Not often do you see the Rockies score 14 runs away from Coors Field, but that’s what happened last night at the Rogers Centre. Why not highlight someone who, you know, actually got a hit? Enter TJ Rumfield, who has hit fifth in each of the Rockies’ first four games. The 25-year-old lefty hit .285 with 16 home runs and posted a 121 wRC+ last season with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre before being traded to Colorado this past January in exchange for righty Angel Chivilli. The Rockies seem committed to giving him at-bats. Maybe, just maybe, they’ve lucked into a good young hitter.
Jake Burger (TEX): 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI
It’s safe to say that Burger’s tenure with the Rangers didn’t start as he had envisioned, hitting .236 with 16 home runs and an 89 wRC+ across 376 PAs. He underwent surgery this past offseason on a wrist injury that originally occurred in August. Fast forward a few months, and he has already launched two dingers and has multiple hits in three of his first four games, reminding us of the guy who crushed 34 home runs with a perfectly acceptable .250 batting average during his first full season three years ago. His 26% rostered rate on Yahoo will probably rise.
Yordan Alvarez (HOU): 2-5, HR, R, 2 RBI
With the Astros ahead 1-0 in the third, Alvarez sent a cutter at the letters from Ranger Suarez into the upper deck near the foul pole (394 feet, 108.8 EV). A mettlesome fracture in his right hand limited the lefty slugger to just 48 games last year. However, he looks like himself again, hitting .308 with a 1.141 OPS. Fun fact: since debuting in 2019, Alvarez’s 163 wRC+ trails only Aaron Judge’s 185 among qualified hitters.
Carson Benge (NYM): 2-2, R, SB
Benge took a pair of 0-fers after swatting his first home run on Opening Day. But he got back on track last night, with two singles, both coming against Redbirds righty Kyle Leahy. The Mets’ first-round pick out of Oklahoma State two summers ago, Benge posted 15 home runs with 22 stolen bases and a 150 wRC+ across 519 PAs last season in the minors. History suggests betting against rookies, but Benge has as good a chance as any to succeed based on his talent.
Cole Young (SEA): 3-4, 2B, RBI
Seattle’s left-handed hitting second baseman struggled mightily last season, hitting .211 with an 80 wRC+ over 257 PAs. However, he’s started well this season, hitting .311 through his first five games. He was responsible for Seattle’s lone run in regulation: a broken bat single off Ryan Weathers that plated Randy Arozarena. A former first-rounder from North Allegheny High School, Young might be tapping into his potential and could be worth keeping an eye on in deeper leagues, at least.
Miguel Vargas (CHW): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 6 RBI
Vargas had hit third before switching to leadoff last night. Safe to say, it went pretty well. He started the scoring in Miami by dunking a changeup from Chris Paddack into shallow left field for an RBI single in the third. An inning later, he busted the game wide open by driving another Paddack changeup high over the visitors’ bullpen in left for a grand slam (402 feet, 105.5 EV). Vargas wasn’t too exciting last year, hitting .234 with a 101 wRC+, 16 home runs and six stolen bases. Still, this was someone whom the Dodgers were really excited about not too long ago. Maybe he shows some growth in what will be just his second full season.
Kyle Isbel (KCR): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, SB
Isbel drove a 2-1 pitch from Simeon Woods Richardson over the right field fence in the second inning for his first home run of the season (402 feet, 100.9 EV). He also has two stolen bases on the year. But, yeah, there’s nothing to get excited about here. He’s a solid glove-first outfielder with little upside for fantasy purposes.
Kazuma Okamoto (TOR): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB
Last night’s home run came during garbage time on a 99 mph center-cut fastball from former top prospect Chase Dollander (398 feet, 107.7 EV). Regardless, Jays fans have to be pleased by Okamoto’s early returns, hitting .333 with a 1.177 OPS. He hit .327 with 15 home runs and a 210 wRC+ across 293 PA in the NPB last season. Toronto still seems unsettled with his spot in the order, as he hit seventh last night for the second time.
Andrés Giménez (TOR): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB
Similarly, Giménez’s home run came at Dollander’s expense with the game already well in hand. Giménez is easy to forget, given that he is coming off an awful first season in Toronto, which included a career-low .210 batting average and .598 OPS in roughly half of a season. Still, he’s also just one year removed from his second consecutive season with 30 stolen bases. He’s probably not going to maintain the .500 batting average, but he deserves to at least be on the radar, given the state of second base.
Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
