Jose Altuve Set to Make Major League Debut
Jose Altuve may be small in stature, but his contributions on the field have made him too big for the minors.
Last night, the struggling Houston Astros called up Altuve from Double-A Corpus Christi after trading Jeff Keppinger to the San Francisco Giants. The 21-year-old Venezuelan was hitting .361. Altuve is expected to make his major league debut today in Houston against the Washington Nationals.
Altuve has excelled at both the Single-A level, where he had a batting average of .408, and in Double-A. The speedy second baseman earned a spot on the World Team at this year's Futures Game where he showcased his talents, going 2-3. Not only did Altuve skip Triple-A, but Astros manager Brad Mills has said that he would be in the starting lineup tonight at Minute Maid Park, so don't expect the infielder to just ride the pine.
With the sale of the Astros still in transition, it's no secret that ownership wants to trim the payroll as much as possible and that GM Ed Wade is looking to trade for prospects. As a result, expect to see more youngsters playing with the Astros come September. Keep an eye out for J.D. Martinez who is currently at Double-A Corpus Christi batting .341 with 11 home runs and a .419 OBP.
The only baseball card set that Altuve has appeared in so far is 2010 Bowman Chrome Baseball. Expect these cards to get a bump right away, as is the case with many prospects when they first get called up. None are autographed, so they can still be found cheaply, although some of the rarer parallels are getting snatched up.
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