Why 2026 class helps Jose Altuve’s Cooperstown case

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is set to enshrine three people into the 2026 class, with them being Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent. All three players had legendary careers throughout their time playing, and it’s no surprise that they’re receiving their flowers now. That has led to some Jayson Stark of The Athletic to predict some of the current players who have a good chance of becoming Hall of Famers one day.

In his list, he had Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros being a clear-cut favorite, and he gave his reasoning why by comparing him to Beltrán and Kent. He also went on to compare him to Chase Utley, who will be the leading returning vote-getter in 2027.

Beltrán was portrayed as a leading architect of the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing escapades … and we just elected him to the Hall of Fame. Didn’t that tell us exactly how this electorate will look at Altuve someday? He might get dinged for a year or two, but then he’ll get judged on his numbers,” Stark wrote.

Stark then went on to Kent and Utley.

“By the end of this season, Altuve almost certainly will have passed Kent and Utley in, well, just about everything except Kent’s historic power numbers,” Stark wrote. “Plus, Altuve has as many MVPs (one) as Kent and Utley combined — and more World Series rings (two) than Kent and Utley combined (one). Add in Altuve’s massive postseason bonus points, and he’s sealed the deal.”

Honestly, there should be no question that Altuve will be a Hall of Famer one day, and he still has time in his career to make the case even more. When looking at what he’s been able to accomplish throughout his time in MLB, there aren’t many more who can currently say they’re more deserving.