Jose Altuve or Ozzie Albies

So, Who's Better?

DFS Contests

Both these guys are top-ranked second basemen so on any given day, can carry your DFS team. Altuve is generally a more complete and consistent hitter (lifetime OPS of about 50 points higher). Altuve, even at an advanced age, is also a more prolific base-runner. He picks his spots and with the new rules, at least 20 swipes a year is just about a lock. On the flip side, Albies has the potential for more power and RBIs but is streaky by nature so you'll usually want to time a spot start accordingly.

Bottom line, go with Albies when he's on a heater. Otherwise, and everything else being equal (opposing pitcher splits, etc), choose Altuve.

Roto Leagues

The elephant in the room here is injury risk. Albies is way more injury prone than Altuve. Over the past few years, he's missed almost half the games due to injuries (broken wrist, hamstring, feet issues, etc). When healthy, though, he's a beast, especially at 2B and when seeing the ball well... and arguably more valuable than Altuve in most roto league setups.

As a general rule, we recommend devaluing injury-prone studs a round or two in your drafts. So, if he's still on the board a couple rounds past his ADP, definitely take the risk and pray Ozzie avoids a major injury (like in 2023).

What's your take?