Jeremy Peña Rookie of the Year Candidate
Rhode Island’s own Jeremy Peña has been one of the bright spots of the Houston Astros season thus far. Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, later moved to Providence, RI, Peña has shined since he made his Major League debut on April 7th earlier this season. Drafted in the third round in the 2018 MLB Draft out of the University of Maine, Peña has been in the minor leagues until he made his debut.
Peña had big shoes to fill at the shortstop position after former number-one pick Carlos Correa left the organization and signed with the Minnesota Twins the last off-season. He had a good rookie year with batting .253, 22 HRs, 63 RBIs, 132 hits, and .715 OPS in 136 games this past season. Peña has made a strong case for being Rookie of the Year in the American League with his overall performance this year. He performs and plays the position like any other big league shortstop that has been in the league for a long time.
Jeremy Peña’s First Career Home Run
Astros Have the Shortstop of the Future
For the next few years, the shortstop position will be locked up in Houston by Peña. He is one of the bright stars, along with third baseman Alex Bregman, second baseman Jose Altuve, outfielder Kyle Tucker and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez. As long as Peña keeps up the pace, he was at this past season and produces consistently, look for him to be in consideration for MVP in the future. The talented roster has led Houston to another playoff appearance under manager Dusty Baker. They will continue to make postseason appearances if they keep their core players, including Peña.
What’s Next For Jeremy Peña
The Astros are currently in the middle of a postseason run, with Peña being one of the contributors. Seeing what will happen during this run and what the off-season will bring, I expect Peña to be even stronger and his stats to go up along with his home runs, RBIs, and average. Having a year under his belt will be a good confidence booster heading into the 2023 campaign.
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