Altuve named to 2012 N.L. All-Star Squad
Second baseman selected in his first full season in the Majors
Major League Baseball announced today that Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has been named to the 2012 National League All-Star team as a reserve. The N.L. and American League starters and reserves were announced today during a telecast on TBS.
Altuve, 22, is hitting .309 (88x285) with 18 doubles, five home runs and 23 RBI in 71 games entering today’s contest. He currently leads all NL second baseman in batting average and hits, despite missing the last six games with a hamstring injury. Altuve is now healthy and in today’s lineup. The 5-foot-5 Altuve has 30 multi-hit games this season, which ranks tied for fourth in the Major Leagues.
Altuve is no stranger to All-Star Games, having played in the XM All-Star Futures Game last year, the South Atlantic League All-Star Game (Class A) in 2010 and the Appalachian League All-Star Game (Rookie Level) in 2009. Altuve is now one of just nine players to make the Major League All-Star team one season after playing in the Future’s Game, joining Adam Dunn, Neftali Feliz, Jason Heyward, Francisco Liriano, Evan Longoria, Ben Sheets, Geovany Soto and Mike Trout.
Named the Astros 2011 Minor League Player of the Year, Altuve has risen quickly through the Astros system after being signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2006. He began last season at Class A Lexington before a promotion to Double A Corpus Christi 52 games into the season. After a 35-game stint at Double A, Altuve had his contract purchased by Houston on July 19. Overall last season, Altuve led all of minor league baseball with his .389 (139x357) average.
The 2012 MLB All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 10 at 7 p.m. (CT) at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.