Jose Altuve came up limp in the Astros' recent game against the Angels and Houston immediately feared the worst. But after he was not placed on the injured list the following day, there was growing optimism that Altuve avoided a long-term injury and could return as soon as possible. But the Astros officially placed him on the 10-day IL on Wednesday with a left hamstring strain.

He suffered the injury on Monday while sprinting down the first baseline to beat out an infield base hit. Hamstrings injuries are always an intimidating ailment and can sometimes hold players out of action for a significant amount of time. Fortunately, the Astros consider this injury to be mild so Altuve is not expected to miss too much time. Nonetheless, losing a player with his skillset is always detrimental to a ball club.

Through nine games and 36 at-bats, Altuve is slashing an underwhelming .167/.268/.250 with a .518 OPS and 1 home run. But he is still one of the better players in the MLB when on the field.

Rookie Jeremy Pena is expected to see more at-bats near the top of the order in Jose Altuve's absence. Pena had big shoes to fill entering the season as he was Carlos Correa's replacement. And he has excelled up to this point, hitting over .300 with a 1.014 OPS and 2 home runs. Jeremy Pena could find himself in the AL Rookie of the Year conversation if he continue his strong play. He will certainly lessen the burden of losing Jose Altuve as well.