Astros Fan Favorite Takes Near-Annual Place Among Top 100 MLB Players

MLB unveiled the first tier of Top 100 players for the 2026 and the Houston Astros saw a familiar listed.

Houston Astros hat and glove in the dugout during the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have some terrific players and as Major League Baseball unveils its Top 100 players, the franchise should have a few players selected.

The first 20 players — Nos. 81-100 — were unveiled on MLB Network on Tuesday and one Astros player made the list, long-time fan favorite and future franchise legend Jose Altuve, who was selected No. 81.

Altuve, now 35 years old, was one of the best fliers in franchise history, signed out of Venezuela for just $15,000. He’s emerged as a likely Baseball Hall of Fame selection when his career ends, which is unlikely to be soon. He’s in the second year of a five-year contract that he signed for $125 million. The deal, which ends in 2029, made him the highest-paid second baseman in baseball history, based on total money made.

Jose Altuve’s Career

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Altuve’s trophy case is already overflowing. He’s been an American League MVP, a nine-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion, leading the franchise to titles in 2017 and 2022. He won an AL Gold Glove at second base, has seven AL Silver Sluggers and three AL batting titles. He’s also been named an American League Championship Series MVP and earned Major League player of the year honors twice.

He’s among the Top 10 in franchise history in a host of offensive categories. His career .303 batting average is third all-time, as is his bWAR for position layers (53.4). He passed franchise legend and Baseball Hall of Fame selection Jeff Bagwell for second place in all-time hits with 2,388. The only Astros player ahead of him is another member of the hall of fame, Craig Biggio, who had 3,060 hits. Biggio is No. 26 in MLB history in that category.

Altuve is fourth in home runs with 255, behind Bagwell (449), Lance Berkman (326) and Biggio (291). He has a chance to become the third Astros player to hit at least 300 home runs. He also ranks fifth in RBI, behind Bagwell (1,529), Biggio (1,175), Berkman (1,090) and Jose Cruz (942). He has a chance to become the fourth player in team history to drive in 1,000 runs.

He has a career slash of .303/.360/.466 with 255 home runs and 889 RBI, along with 455 doubles and 32 triples. He’s coming off a season in which he played outfield for the first time in his career, moving to left field on a part-time basis. He slashed .265/.329/.442 with 26 home runs and 77 RBI in 155 games, the most game he’d played in a season since 2016, when he played in 161.