It has been a roller coaster season for the Houston Astros, currently 22-20 and a game behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West. Houston bled a lot of talent this winter, trading Kyle Tucker to Chicago and watching Alex Bregman sign in Boston. Still, this team feels like it has the pieces to eventually make some noise in the playoffs.
We have not seen the standard star-level output from Astros staples like Jose Altuve (.671 OPS), while injuries to Yordan Álvarez and others continue to play a factor. Certain key additions, such as Christian Walker (.625 OPS) and Cam Smith (.659 OPS), are not living up to expectations either.
And yet, there are silver linings and reasons to get excited — none more apparent than 27-year-old shortstop Jeremy Peña, who is finally blossoming into the All-Star, five-tool player Astros fans envisioned after his stellar postseason run as a rookie in 2022.
Through 42 games and 149 at-bats, Peña is slashing .315/.365/.475 with six home runs, 23 RBI and six stolen bases. He was integral in Houston's come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, going 4-for-4 at the plate and driving in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.
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Jeremy Peña has delivered All-Star production when the Astros need it most
It's difficult to overstate the importance of Peña's breakthrough. Since moving into the leadoff spot, he's batting .406 with a 195 wRC+ in 16 games. He looks like the prototypical leadoff hitting shortstop — in the 91st percentile for strikeouts, with an improved walk rate over last season. Peña is seeing the ball better than ever and consistently finding himself on base. In scoring situations, he comes through clutch on a regular basis. He's in the 80th percentile for outs above average (OAA) at short and in the 97th percentile in sprint speed on the base paths.
Is this all a fluke? A random hot spell to begin the season? While not impossible, this feels sustainable given Peña's improvement in approach and his repositioning in the lineup. Even this weakened version of the Astros buzzsaw features a dominant heart of the order. Altuve gives Houston a real power threat right behind Peña, which increases the chances of him seeing hittable pitches and thus putting something in play.
Houston's remade infield is a shell of what it once was. Isaac Paredes has performed admirably at third base — hardly a shock now that he's free of Wrigley Field's oddball confines — but he's just not on Bregman's level. Christian Walker was meant to finally solve Houston's years-long first base debacle, but the bat did not follow him from Phoenix to Houston, apparently.
Without Tucker's bat in the middle of the lineup — and with Álvarez banged up, and with Altuve in a slump — Peña's star turn could not be more timely. The Astros need every ounce of production from the supporting cast. This was always in the cards for the uber-talented 27-year-old, but to watch Peña actually put the pieces together in such a high-pressure situation has been a joy to watch.
The Astros ought to be exceedingly pleased with his growth across the board.