The Astros Surge At Shortstop
Today, we look at the outstanding rise of Jeremy Pena in 2022.
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Pregame Pepper - Jeremy Pena Fan Club
Leading Off
The Emergence of Jeremy Pena
By Ray Kuhn
No one knew. Well, some did, but not many.
When is a move so minor and inconsequential that it registers an impact of less than zero? You really have to be locked into the Houston Astros to even have noticed what was going on last October, and even then, you had to dig a little further.
At that point, the Astros had steamrolled their way to another American League West division title, and it was a World Series title or bust. Ultimately, the Astros lost in a hard-fought World Series, and then the focus transferred to whether or not Carlos Correa would be retained to play shortstop.
The former number-one overall pick had become a large part of the Astros powerhouse and he was a beloved member of their 2017 championship squad. Behind the scenes though, Houston’s front office was not concerned and as the 2022 season transpired, it become quite clear why that was the case.
Hiding in plain sight was Jeremy Pena.
At that point, Pena had not yet taken the field as a major league ballplayer, but the Astros made the key decision to have the young shortstop in uniform and on the bench for the postseason. That way, Pena was able to take in the sights and sounds of pressure-packed postseason baseball while getting comfortable with a major league clubhouse.
Due to injury, the former third-round pick only had 30 games at Triple-A under his belt, but he did perform well hitting .287 with 10 home runs, 19 RBI, 22 runs scored, and five stolen bases. Minor league success aside, there was no clear indication as to what level of success Pena would have this season, but the Astros were confident.
To make things abundantly clear, no one truly thought that Pena was, or would be, a better player than Correa, and the Astros tried to retain the veteran shortstop. In fact, there was a time before he signed with Minnesota in which it was thought that Correa would be back in Houston this season.
The main thing that has benefited Pena is the lack of pressure. While the clear goal was to be the last team standing at the end of the season, Houston’s stable of experienced, and mostly homegrown, stars helped to ease the pressure on the rookie as he was inserted in the latter third of the batting order to begin the season.
As the season went on, Pena continued to prove that he belonged, and then in the second half of the season, things were kicked up a notch.
Veteran, and dependable, outfielder Michael Brantley went down with a shoulder injury and the Astros were left with a gaping hole in the second spot of their lineup. Dusty Baker felt comfortable enough to move Pena into that role, as they say, the rest is history.
While there are more variables in play here than just Pena, Houston had a record of 42-7 this season with their rookie shortstop batting second. Considering the strength and depth of the Astros lineup and the rookie class this season, it is easy to have overlooked Pena, but that is not fair to him.
It is easy to focus on what Pena did offensively, 22 home runs, 72 runs scored, 63 RBI, and 11 stolen bases, but that is not the complete story. Per metrics available at Baseball Reference, Pena has 15 defensive runs saved, and his full portfolio equates to a 4.8 WAR.
Batting second seemingly agrees with Pena, as the rookie hit .290 in those 49 games with 13 home runs, 39 runs scored, and 31 RBI, and perhaps even more importantly, he has shown that the playoffs are not too big of a stage for him.
It could potentially be a large leap as the Astros very much knew what they had in Pena, but the path to him being the ALCS MVP and hitting the series-deciding home run in the ALDS began with the anonymous move of him sitting on the bench in uniform during the 2021 postseason.
Ray Kuhn can be found writing on Fantasy Alarm and podcasting at Friends With Fantasy Benefits after previously covering the Houston Astros as part of the FanSided network at Climbing Tal’s Hill. Reach him on Twitter at @ray_kuhn_28 or email at raykuhn57@gmail.com as he is always interested in talking or writing about our great game.