Astros: Jeremy Peña’s rookie season is eerily similar to Carlos Correa’s

Houston Astros rookie Jeremy Peña’s first 30 games are eerily similar to former Astro Carlos Correa’s.

Many in the industry, especially in the Houston area, were very skeptical when it seemed that the Astros were planning to replace longtime stud shortstop Carlos Correa with an unproven rookie in Jeremy Peña.

To begin his career, the 24-year-old is off to a nearly identical start through 30 games.

In an image on baseball reddit from user Thomas_Oaks, it’s easy to see the similarities between the two:

Through 30 games, the two young shortstops’ numbers are as follows:

Correa: .273 AVG, .809 OPS, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 18 R

Peña: .276 AVG, .853 OPS, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 18 R

This is a testament to how good Peña just might be, to the surprise of many. In the minors he was never much of a power threat (topping out at 10 home runs in 2021) but he has already managed to hit six big flies through just 30 games.

Astros: Can Jeremy Peña sustain these numbers?

Comparing minor-league numbers, the two players both were offensive standouts coming up through the ranks in the Astros organization. Peña owns a career .291 batting average in the minors while Correa posted a .312 average.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is one that isn’t directly called out in the stats: age. Correa burst onto the scene as a must-see rookie back in 2015 at the insanely young age of 20. He hit 22 home runs and drove in 68 runs with a 135 OPS+, enough to earn him Rookie of the Year honors that season.

Peña was already 24 years old at the time of his major league debut. That is not to put him down or discount his numbers so far, but it’s a surprising stat when looking at just how good Correa was at such a young age.

The current Astros shortstop Peña has already managed a 152 OPS+ with a 1.5 oWAR and 1.0 dWAR through just 30 games. Baseball-Reference has his 162-game average at 32 home runs and 108 RBI, offensive numbers that would surely earn him serious consideration for a Rookie of the Year trophy of his own.