with their second selection, the third player taken overall. In the small amount of games played with the Dodgers, he had been used as a shortstop, but he was moved to third base when with the Astros (with token work at shortstop and the outfield). Aspromonte was the starting third baseman for the Houston franchise (renamed the Astros in 1965) for its first six seasons. On April 10, 1962, Aspromonte, playing third base and inserted into the leadoff position, became the first batter in Houston's MLB history. He singled to left field off Don Cardwell of the Chicago Cubs for the club's first hit, then scored its first-ever MLB run when the next batter, Al Spangler, tripled. Aspromonte would score two more runs that day, as the Colt .45s beat the Cubs, 11–2. For the season, he played in 149 games, batting .266/.332/.376 (batting average/OBP/SLG), having 142 hits and 11 home runs with 59 RBIs on 54 strikeouts and 46 walks. He was 2nd in fielding percentage with .967, which was the first of six seasons in a row where he would finish in the top five for all fielders in the National League (which naturally led to him also finishing in top five with putouts and assists). The following year, he played in 136 games while batting .214/.276/.306 with 100 hits and 49 RBIs on 57 strikeouts and 40 walks as he finished 4th in fielding percentage with .938. He played his most games in a season with 1964, playing 157 while batting .280/.329/.721 while having a career high 155 hits and 69 RBIs while striking out 54 times and walking 35 with a career best and league high .973 fielding percentage. He regressed slightly for the following year, batting .263/.310/.322 while playing in 152 games with 152 hits and 52 RBIs while striking out 54 times and walking 38 times and finishing 2nd in fielding percentage with .962. He played 152 games with the 1966 season, batting .252/.297/.334 with 141 hits and 52 RBIs while striking out 63 times (a career high) and walking 35 times and leading the NL in fielding percentage with .962. For 1967, he would play less games with 137 played, but he batted career highs with .294/.354/.401 with 143 hits and 58 RBIs while walking 45 times with 44 strikeouts and a .963 fielding percentage for 3rd in the NL. In , he