Its been a struggle for the Astros to even keep their heads above water this year thanks to the substantial lo ses they suffered over the offseason and a large number of lackluster in-season performances. , , and are all playing Jhoan Duran Jersey elsewhere. is hurt. , , and new addition have all been disappointing so far. And the rotation has virtually no certainty behind and . All of that makes staying just 2.5 games back in the AL West an impre sive feat in its own right, even if the days of the dynasty that brought home two World Series championships appear to be over. The development of shortstop is a major reason why theyre still in the hunt for the playoffs at all at this point. A third-rounder in the 2018 draft who debuted in 2022 with a brilliant season that earned him a Gold Glove award, Pena has always been a valuable player thanks to his excellent work at shortstop but has never been more than a league average performer at the plate. Entering 2025, the 27-year-old had slashed .261/.307/.399 with a wRC+ of exactly 100 during his MLB career. As the Cubs demonstrated when they offered $177MM to become their starting shortstop, a league average bat with an excellent glove at shortstop is already incredibly valuable. Pena has seemingly taken his game to another level so far this year, however. Hes hitting an excellent .298/.362/.447 with six homers, six steals, and a wRC+ of 132 this season. Those numbers arent exactly appearing at the top of any leaderboards this early in the season, when relatively small sample sizes allow baseballs most fearsome hitters to flirt with a .400 batting average or a 60-homer season virtually every year. But could Penas step forward be more sustainable than the typical hot start to a season? Theres plenty of reason to believe thats the case. One of the most positive changes in Penas profile is his substantially improved plate discipline. After striking out at a 20.4% clip and posting the third-lowest walk rate in the majors among hitters with at least 1500 plate appearances over the past three years, Pena is now one of just 19 qualified hitters with a strikeout rate under 14% this year (13.7%). Hes even walking a bit more frequently, with a 6.2% rate that grades out as merely below average rather than in the conversation for lowest in the league. Those improvements in plate discipline appear to be largely sustainable. Pena is swinging le s often than ever (49.0%), and while thats come with a decrease in swing rate inside the strike zone its also allowed him to cut down his swinging strike rate by nearly three points relative to his career norms. While Penas increased pa sivity in the strike zone could be a cause for concern down the line, for now it seems as though swinging le s often is doing wonders for his plate discipline. That willingne s to take strikes inside the zone has been offset so far by increased power production. Penas .149 ISO to this point in the season doesnt quite match his rookie campaign, when he launched 22 homers and 20 doubles, but its still ten points above his career norms and leaves room for him to flirt with a second 20-homer season after combining for just 25 long balls in 2023 and 24. If this newfound power proves to be sustainable, that could help Pena avoid opposing pitchers challenging him in the zone more often to exploit the fact that hes begun to swing le s often. The underlying metrics on Penas power output are mixed, however. Hes hitting the ball hard more often than ever before with a 40.1% hard-hit rate that would be the best of his career, but his 6.8% barrel rate is not substantially different from his career 6.2% mark, his average exit velocity is virtually unchanged, and his max exit velocity is actually lower than ever before. His bat speed has actually come down slightly as well. Its not all bad news, however: in addition to his aforementioned hard-hit rate improvements, Pena is squaring the ball up more often than ever before (28.9%). In all, Penas xwOBA (.349) is more or le s in line with his wOBA of .355, which suggests that hes more or le s earned his production to this point. How do MLBTR readers feel about Penas strong start to the season? Is it a sustainable step forward for the young hitter, or will he revert back to average with time? Have your say in the poll below: Will Jeremy Pena be an above average hitter going forward? Yes, Pena's improved discipline and power output are sustainable enough for him to remain an above average hitter. 58.65% (1,010votes) No, Pena's questionable power metrics and pa sivity at the plate will cause him to regre s back to average with time. 41.35% (712votes) Total Votes: 1,722 Edouard Julien Jersey
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