How Altuve became MLB’s unlikeliest slugger

The first thing you think of when you think of Houston’s Jose Altuve is, “He’s only 5-foot-6.” Fair or unfair, baseball’s most diminutive player will always have that label, if only due to never-ending pictures like this. That’s been the Altuve story for most of his career: He’s short, he’s fast and he gets by because he hits for a high average.

That’s all true! But there’s also a new angle to the Altuve narrative, one that you probably never saw coming: He’s also now a power hitter who has as many homers (nine) as Chris Davis or Josh Donaldson, and more than Albert Pujols, Paul Goldschmidt or Mike Trout. Altuve’s 190 Weighted Runs Created Plus is second best in all of baseball, behind only David Ortiz. Small stature or not, he’s crushing baseballs like the most elite hitters in the game, and it’s turned him into a superstar.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Altuve and other #ASGWorthy players

Let’s grant that it’s still only May 16 and it’s unlikely that Altuve will maintain this pace and end up with 36 home runs. That said, this is another step in his continued offensive evolution, because this is the third iteration of Altuve, who somehow only turned 26 earlier this month.

The three Altuves we’ve seen, to date:

2011-13: Decent player made to look better by a struggling team (91 wRC+, 2.3 WAR) We intend no disrespect there, but it’s basically true. As the 2011-13 Astros were losing 324 games, Altuve became an All-Star in part because every team had to have representation, and there just weren’t a lot of Houston alternatives at the time. Since a 100 wRC+ is set as “league average,” Altuve’s first few years were below average, and it was worth wondering at the time whether he could be a starter on a contending team, or just one that was scrambling to put a lineup on the field.

2014-15: Improving player on an improving team (127 wRC+, 9.1 WAR) Altuve made big steps forward as his team rebounded from …

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