![]() ![]() He’s swung at the first pitch 11 times in 32 plate appearances this season, second on the Astros and five points above the league average. If opposing teams want to pick on any weakness, it’s Pena’s aggressiveness at the plate. There is one area opposing pitchers can learn to exploit Jeremy Pena In 40 chances at shortstop, he’s made only one error. He leads all shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved this season and leads the Majors in outs above average. It’s great when you see a kid doing outstanding.”Īnd Pena has been outstanding, even in the field. “I’ll put you out there and you just play to the best of your ability that God gave you. “Just play, kid,” Dusty Baker told the Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Instead, it was caught at the base of the wall, 391 feet away, for a sacrifice fly. On a warmer night, the ball would’ve carried for a two-run home run. Facing Mariners starter Chris Flexen in the second inning and with Niko Goodrum standing on third base, Pena hit a hanging curveball deep to center field. He came a home run away from the cycle, and then only by the slimmest of margins. In his last game, on Saturday in Seattle, Pena went 3-3 including his first career triple. Pena trails only Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge in barrel rate so far this season and ranks in the top-10 in the league in average exit velocity. He’s one of only 10 players in the last 50 years to have three hits in a game three times within his first eight career games. 996 OPS through his first eight games, perhaps not making the fans in Houston forget all about Correa but lessening the blow from his departure. Leading off the top of the seventh inning, while Heidi Watney was interviewing his parents Geronimo (who spent seven years in the big leagues with the Cardinals and Indians) and Cecilia on the Apple TV broadcast, Pena hit the first pitch from the Angels’ Mike Mayers into the seats in left field for his first home run. After striking out twice and going 0-4 against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels on Opening Day, he collected his first three hits in his second game and provided a moment his family will never forget. Pena hasn’t disappointed, rewarding manager Dusty Baker’s faith in him with a sensational start to his MLB career. ![]() Instead, they handed the job to their top prospect, a 24-year-old who had only played 30 games above Single-A. The Astros front office didn’t add any of the shortstops that were on the market. He hit more than 20 home runs in a season five times, a figure exceeded by only seven shortstops in MLB history.īut then he was gone, signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins this offseason. With Correa, the Astros made three trips to the World Series and won the franchise’s first championship in 2017. ![]() Jeremy Pena had impossibly big shoes to fill taking over the starting shortstop job for the Houston Astros this season.Ĭarlos Correa manned the position for seven years, becoming a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner. By David Salituro 11 months ago Follow TweetĬan the kid be stopped? Jeremy Pena is off to a red-hot start to his MLB career, but there are some areas the young Astros shortstop needs to address. ![]()
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