Rookie Peña has delivered, but can he keep it up in ALDS?

HOUSTON -- For most of the Astros’ postseason success over the past several years, they’ve been driven on the offensive end by a core group of infielders who can all break through at a moments notice. But last winter, Houston hit a speed bump in that core after losing Carlos Correa to the Twins in free agency.

Instead, then-24-year-old rookie Jeremy Peña got the opportunity to take over as the starting shortstop after playing just 30 Triple-A games over the previous two years due to the COVID shutdown in 2020 and left wrist surgery that limited him for most of ‘21.

Even so, Peña -- who entered 2022 as the Astros’ top prospect -- was then faced with the daunting task of filling that Correa-sized hole in the infield.

“It’s never been about that,” Peña said of stepping into Correa’s spot. “It’s about me, making a dream come true. This is something I've been working for my whole life and coming into Spring Training. It was just putting in the work and trying to win a position and help the team win.”

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Peña slid almost effortlessly into Correa’s spot without missing a beat, hitting .253 as the Astros’ everyday shortstop with 22 homers and 63 RBIs. His 22 home runs tied the Astros’ rookie record for a shortstop, coincidentally set by Carlos Correa in 2015.

He delivered on the defensive end as well, tied for first among MLB shortstops in DRS with 15.

“He's been unbelievable,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “He's been steady. He feels like a veteran guy. He has an incredible makeup. He's an incredible teammate. He works hard. He plays the game the right way. He works at all aspects of his game and he's trying to improve constantly, and that's one of the reasons why he's had so much success as a rookie. I think it will even continue to get better and better as he gets older.”

“No, he did really good,” second baseman Jose Altuve added. “He hit, what, 22 home runs? He played good defense. He wants more. He wants to learn. He wants to get better. For me, that's all that matters. I know he's going to go out there and give everything he has and he's going to help us to win some games.”

Peña didn’t do it without any growing pains, though. He burst onto the scene early by posting a .763 OPS in April and an .871 in May. He then hit a midseason slump, with a .694 OPS in June, .666 in July and .528 in August. He hit one homer and drew two walks in 105 plate appearances in August.

A move to the two-hole on Aug. 28 seemingly pulled him out of the months-long slump. He slashed .288/.312/.466 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 29 games from Aug. 30 to Oct. 2. The Astros were 42-7 with Peña batting in the No. 2 spot.

Manager Dusty Baker said he asked his players where they felt most comfortable hitting, but he also felt like Peña could thrive in the two-hole, sandwiched between hitters like Altuve and Yordan Alvarez and getting more than enough fastballs to drive up the middle.

“Playing on the two-hole, you get more opportunities to help the team, you get more at-bats and you just want to be in the middle of the action,” Peña said. “Moving to the two-hole, I felt like it was a good spot for me. I feel like this lineup is top notch one through nine. We have great hitters. So anywhere you are in the lineup, you just want to go in there and produce.”

Peña now also faces the task of living up to Correa’s postseason successes, of which there are many. It’s not something the rookie is thinking too much about, more so just hoping to build off of his regular-season success to help the team win.

After being on the taxi squad for the 2021 playoffs, Peña is looking forward to actually being on the field and playing in the games themselves.

“It’s prepare, prepare, prepare, and build the plan and try to execute,” Peña said. “I’ve thought about this moment since I was eight years old. So that's a dream come true tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it.

“It’s just playing a game,” he added, about advice he got from his teammates. “Enjoy it, that's the biggest thing. Not many players get to experience it in the first year, so enjoy it, make the most out of it, and have fun and play the game hard.”