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Jeremy Peña

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Jeremy Peña
Houston Astros – No. 3
Shortstop
Born: (1997-09-22) September 22, 1997 (age 27)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 7, 2022, for the Houston Astros
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.253
Home runs22
Runs batted in63
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Jeremy Joan Peña (born September 22, 1997) is a Dominican-American professional baseball shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He attended the University of Maine and played college baseball for the Black Bears. The Astros selected Peña in the third round of the 2018 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Peña was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before he and his family moved to Providence, Rhode Island, when he was nine years old.[1] He attended Classical High School in Providence, playing baseball and running track and cross country. In 2014, his junior year, he batted .352.[2] As a senior in 2015, he hit .390 with two home runs.[3] Following his senior year, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 39th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign and instead enrolled at the University of Maine where he played college baseball.

As a freshman at Maine in 2016, Peña started and played in 55 games, batting .283 with one home run, 15 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases,[4] earning a spot on the America East Conference All-Rookie Team.[5] That summer, he played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League with the Plymouth Pilgrims. In 2017, Peña's sophomore year, he started 54 games and hit .319 with six home runs and 32 RBIs.[6] Following the season, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Chatham Anglers, earning All-Star honors.[7][8] In 2018, as a junior, he once again started 54 games, slashing .308/.393/.469 with five home runs, 28 RBIs, and ten stolen bases, earning American East Second-Team honors.[9]

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Houston Astros selected Peña in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[10][11] Peña signed with Houston and made his professional debut with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League, batting .250 with one home run and ten RBIs over 36 games, earning All-Star honors.[12] In 2019, Peña began the year with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League, with whom he was named an All-Star, before being promoted to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in June.[13][14][15] Over 109 games between the two teams, he slashed .303/.385/.440 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs, and twenty stolen bases.[16] After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Javelinas.[17] Peña did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] On April 21, 2021, it was announced that Peña would undergo surgery on his left wrist, causing him to miss part of the season.[19] He was activated off the injured list in late August, and was assigned to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Triple-A West.[20] Over thirty games, he slashed .287/.346/.598 with ten home runs and 19 RBIs.[21]

Upon conclusion of the 2021–22 Dominican Professional Baseball League season, Peña was awarded a second consecutive Gold Glove at shortstop. In 30 games, he produced a .970 fielding percentage, 5.7 range factor, nine double plays turned along with five errors.[22]

Houston Astros

On November 19, 2021, the Astros selected Peña's contract and added him to their 40-man roster.[23] Following the departure of incumbent shortstop Carlos Correa via free agency, Peña was named starting shortstop during 2022 spring training.[24][25] He made his major league debut on Opening Day versus the Los Angeles Angels.[26] On April 9, 2022, Peña hit his first major league home run while his parents were being interviewed during the broadcast.[27] On April 24, he hit his first career walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning versus the Toronto Blue Jays, helping lead the Astros to an 8–7 win.[28] Peña collected two RBI on May 3 to lead a 4–0 win over the Seattle Mariners.[29] On May 17, Peña hit the third of five Astros home runs in the second inning versus starter Nathan Eovaldi of the Boston Red Sox, tying the major league record for home runs hit by a team in one inning as the Astros rolled to a 13–4 victory.[30]

On June 13, 2022, Peña sustained a left thumb injury versus the Texas Rangers and was placed on the 10-day injured list.[31] The Astros activated him on June 26.[32] On July 3, Peña produced his both first career four-hit and multi-homer game, as well as his second career walk-off home run, sealing a 4–2 win over the Angels. The home run off Ryan Tepera broke a 2–2 tie in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and scored José Altuve.[33] On August 20, Peña hit a first-inning home run and drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th inning versus the Atlanta Braves.[34] Peña homered and produced three hits on October 2 to drive in all three of Houston's runs in a 3–1 win versus the Tampa Bay Rays, raising the Astros' record to 41–6 when he batted second. It was the rookie's eighth three-hit game of the season.[35]

Over the 2022 regular season, Peña batted .253./289/.426 with 132 hits, 22 home runs, 63 RBIs, 72 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases, and had the lowest walk/strikeout ratio in the majors (0.16).[36] He tied Correa for the franchise rookie record for most home runs by a shortstop. Peña also ranked second in home runs, fourth in hits, and fifth in runs scored and RBI among major league rookies.[37] He had the fastest sprint speed on the Astros, at 29.4 feet per second.[38] He ranked second in the American League (AL) in Defensive Wins Above Replacement (2.4, dWAR),[39] third in the AL in errors committed (19), and third among AL shortstops in total zone runs (8),[40] The Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) named Peña the Astros' Rookie of the Year.[37]

Making his postseason debut in the American League Division Series (ALDS), Peña singled to precede a Yordan Álvarez game-winning home run in both of the first two games. The third game, which lasted a record-tying in postseason play 18 innings—including a record 17 scoreless innings—was decided by Peña's home run in the top of the 18th inning off Penn Murfee, also his first career home run on the postseason stage, deciding the longest shutout in postseason history.[a][41] Peña was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), hitting .353 with two home runs in the Astros' four-game sweep of the New York Yankees.[42]

Personal life

Peña's father, Gerónimo, was an infielder in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians from 1990 to 1996.[43]

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Peña's home run mirrored a feat by another Astros rookie, Chris Burke, who hit a series-clinching walk-off home run in the 18th versus the Atlanta Braves to finish Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series (NLDS).
Sources
  1. ^ "Like Father, Like Infielder: Astros' Jeremy Pena Follows Dad's Footsteps". September 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "At Classical (R.I.), Pena attracting a crowd". ESPN.com. May 15, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Jeremy Pena – Baseball". University of Maine Athletics. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Mahoney, Larry (May 31, 2016). "UMaine baseball coach confident of turnaround after another losing season". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Mahoney, Larry (February 16, 2017). "Coach: UMaine baseball team should be noticeably improved". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Mahoney, Larry (April 5, 2018). "Slick-fielding UMaine shortstop may be following his dad to the big leagues". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "#14 Jeremy Pena - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "Cape League All-Stars Set To Shine On Saturday". Cape Cod Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  9. ^ Iris Ramirez (April 22, 2020). "Houston Astros: Introducing Jeremy Peña – Overtime Heroics". Overtimeheroics.net. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  10. ^ staff, Sports. "Providence's Jeremy Pena drafted by Astros". providencejournal.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "Sports Digest: Two UMaine players selected in 2018 MLB amateur draft". June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "2018 NYPL All-Stars Announced". MiLB.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Duff, Dale. "Pena Selected For MWL All Star Game". 92.9 The Ticket. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Mahoney, Larry (July 15, 2019). "Ex-UMaine shortstop climbing minor league ladder". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  15. ^ Gullickson, Eric. "Former UMaine short stop Pena promoted to Class A-Advanced league". www.wabi.tv. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  16. ^ "Skeeters spotlight: Jeremy Pena". Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  17. ^ "Jeremy Pena and Jojanse Torres Selected to Join Arizona Fall League". OurSports Central. August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  18. ^ Jeff Todd (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "West Notes: Solano, Crawford, Rendon, Fiers, Pena". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Danielle Lerner (August 28, 2021). "Astros shortstop prospect Jeremy Peña assigned to Class AAA Sugar Land". Houstonchronicle.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  21. ^ Thomas Lott, LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times (November 9, 2021). "It's Jeremy Pena's time in Houston". Lmtonline.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Van Doren, Kenny (December 29, 2021). "Astros prospect Jeremy Peña wins Gold Glove in LIDOM". Climbing Tal's Hill. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  23. ^ Rome, Chandler (November 19, 2021). "Astros add prospect Jeremy Peña, others to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 deadline". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  24. ^ Rome, Chandler (March 16, 2022). "With Carlos Correa in flux, Jeremy Peña is favorite to be Astros shortstop". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  25. ^ Kaplan, Jake (March 17, 2022). "If not Carlos Correa, then who? On Jeremy Peña, the depth options and the state of the Astros at shortstop". The Athletic. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  26. ^ "Astros rookie Jeremy Peña: Everything you need to know about the new guy". Houston Chronicle. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  27. ^ "Peña's first homer interrupts parents' interview". MLB.com.
  28. ^ Associated Press (April 24, 2022). "Peña's 2-run homer in 10th leads Astros over Blue Jays 8–7". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  29. ^ "Dusty Baker gets 2,000th win as Astros down Mariners 4–0". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 3, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  30. ^ Rome, Chandler (May 18, 2022). "Boston bash: Astros' record-tying inning fuels rout of Red Sox". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  31. ^ Williams, Madison (June 15, 2022). "Jeremy Pena won't swing back for at least a week, Dusty Baker says". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  32. ^ "Yankees' Judge walks off Astros for 2nd time in 4 days". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  33. ^ McTaggart, Brian (July 3, 2022). "Peña walks it off with 2nd HR after Valdez, Astros fan 20". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  34. ^ Sands, Ethan (August 20, 2022). "Astros' young talent shows out in playoff atmosphere". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  35. ^ Lerner, Daneille (October 2, 2022). "Jeremy Peña carries offense as Astros defeat Rays for win No. 104". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  36. ^ "Splits leaderboards | FanGraphs". fangraphs. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  37. ^ a b McTaggart, Brian (October 8, 2022). "Alvarez named Astros MVP by Houston BBWAA: Verlander named team Pitcher of the Year; Peña, Maldonado also honored". MLB.com. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  38. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com.
  39. ^ "2022 American League batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  40. ^ "2022 American League fielding leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  41. ^ "Peña's 18th-inning HR sends Astros past Mariners for sweep". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  42. ^ Kramer, Daniel (October 23, 2022). "Peña powers Astros, named ALCS MVP". MLB.com. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  43. ^ Batterson, Steve. "Like father, like son for Bandits' Peña". The Quad-City Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
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