Will Jose Altuve lead the Astros to the playoffs in 2015?

In 2014, Jose Altuve batted an astounding .341 average with 7 home runs and 59 RBI. Those stats helped him to win the American League batting title. So far this spring, Altuve has picked up where he left off, batting .308 in 39 plate appearances. He has speed, contact poise with his bat, tremendous fielding at second base, and is even slated to star in an upcoming documentary. It appears that Jose Altuve has it all, and then some.

A question that many critics will want to pose; Is Jose Altuve batting lead off a good idea? Will that position in the batting order put any added pressure and negatively affect his swing?

Well critics, if these numbers from 2014 prove anything, Jose Altuve was born to bat lead off:

Looking further at his splits, Altuve continues to maintain an overall batting average above .300, so long as he remains in one of the first three spots in the batting order. His only other stat on batting order is in the cleanup spot, where unfortunately his average actually drops significantly downwards into the low .200’s.

By situation, Altuve also seems to maintain an average above .300, regardless of situation. The only category that puts any pressure on him is a bases loaded scenario. In all other situation categories, he shines at the plate. Even among positions, between second baseman and DH, the numbers remain the same.

While it’s clear Altuve possesses a wonderful bat, don’t count out his glove. Just take a look at his fielding numbers.

2014 Totals: 156 games started, 1,362 innings, 268 putouts for 737 total chances, 459 assists, 105 double plays, and only 10 errors committed, range factor of 4.66, .986 overall fielding percentage.

Career Totals: 494 games started, 4,311 innings, 878 putouts for 2,307 total chances, 1,397 assists, 327 double plays, and only 32 errors committed, range factor of 4.52, .986 overall fielding percentage.

So can the reigning American League batting champ be in line to hold his crown? The stats seem to indicate much in Altuve’s favor. Not to mention the newly revamped Houston Astros’ lineup that saw the offseason additions of Jed Lowrie, Colby Rasmus, Luis Valbuena and Evan Gattis will help Altuve in the runs scored category. This new Houston Astros team is looking to be quite the mighty one in the American League West in 2015. Jose Altuve is already a key component to this franchise. Not only will he defend and keep his batting title, but this unofficial team captain will lead his more than formidable troops into, what is looking to be, a very competitive campaign.

James Zeankowski is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from James, check out his archive and follow him @tvwizard85.