Peña lives his and the Houston Astros’ dream
From being the rookie who would replace Carlos Correa at shortstop for the Astros, to an emerging star with offense, defense, base running and, above all, charisma.
Peña quickly became a concern for fans at Houston’s Minute Maid Park when they saw the “sensation kid” who came from Puerto Rico, Correa, leave in free agency for one of the top relievers.
More importantly, he has been able to step up in the transition from a spectacular regular season, in which he solidified himself as a Rookie of the Year contender, to entering the conversation of the most important players in the American League Championship Series.
“Jeremy has everything you can ask of a ballplayer, young or experienced,” reckoned stellar Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel. “Jeremy can make contact with the ball, he can get it out on a home run, steal bases, play defense…anything. His arm and accuracy to throw to first base is very strong.”
“You can’t ask more of him,” he added. “He’s been a player who came to establish himself in the major leagues and will be a superstar soon.”
Pena, 25, averaged .253 with the bat, connected for 22 homers and produced 63 runs in 136 regular-season games.
“I’ve just been looking to have good at-bats,” Pena said. “My goal is to have good pitch counts. It’s easy to do that and compete when you have people next to you who have done it for so long; year after year. It’s fun to be a part of it.
His defense was so good, he was announced Thursday as one of the Gold Glove finalists at shortstop in the American League.
“It’s something I’ve been working on for year,” he added. “I feel like when you’re in this game, the key is to prepare yourself to maintain the same level, with routines no matter if you had good games or bad games. That’s the beauty of playing 162 matches. You have to always be ready the next day.”
Peña has acknowledged that the maturity of going through college baseball, then going to the Dominican Winter League and, above all, being close to the Astros’ main team on a day-to-day basis in the previous playoffs, alongside players of the caliber of José Altuve and Correa himself, helped the scenario not to surprise him when the current postseason arrived.
The Dominican, who has lived in the United States since he was 9 years old, averages .333 with the lumber with eight hits in 25 innings, five of which have been extra-base hits, including two home runs, the first of which knocked out the Seattle Mariners in the 18th inning of Game 3 of the Divisional Series.
His defense has also been as flawless in the postseason as it was in the regular campaign.
“This kid doesn’t look like a rookie,” Astros manager Dusty Baker reckoned. “Every day he goes out there and works and plays. He plays like a veteran, but he’s a rookie. He’s a serious, disciplined kid who talks little, but every day he comes in focused and ready to play.”
The Yankees have also noticed that Peña is a rare rookie with a great future ahead of him.
“He came in and became an impact player for them,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned. “He’s done a good job all year. When he sees a breaking ball he’s unlikely to miss. He can hurt you in a lot of ways and he plays spectacular defense.”
Pena connected for three hits, including home run and pair of doubles, in the series opener against the Yankees on Wednesday. On Thursday, he hit one more hit, in Game 2.
“He came in to fill some very big shoes and delivered,” he added. “He’s played a huge role for them.”
