Former University of Maine All-America East shortstop Jeremy Pena has been on a tear for the Houston Astros.
Pena is currently hitting .324 which is sixth best in all of Major League baseball.
Pena came into the season as a career .261 hitter.
He is hitting .429 over his last 10 games with seven multi-hit games including a current streak of three two-hit games in a row; .419 over his last 15 games and .371 over his last 30 games.
He has hit nine overs and stolen 14 bases in 15 attempts on the season to date with 38 runs scored and 33 runs batted in.
He has hit 14 doubles and a triple and has an on-base percentage of .378, a slugging percentage of .489 and an OPS (On Base Plus Slugging) of .867.
He has been the lead-off hitter over the last several games after hitting in a variety of spots earlier.
“He has had better pitch selection this season,” observed UMaine head coach Nick Derba. “He isn’t chasing [bad pitches] as much and he isn’t missing pitches he’s supposed to hit. He is doing everything that good hitters do.”
Pena, a career .305 hitter at UMaine, was a third round draft choice of Houston in 2018. He was the 102nd overall selection.
“And he’s getting better,” added Derba.
In addition to his hitting, Pena has made only four errors in 215 chances in the field.
He made $783,500 a year ago but signed a one-year deal with the Astros for $4,100,000 this season.
Pena burst onto the Major League scene in dramatic fashion as a rookie in 2022 by winning the Most Valuable Player awards for the American League Championship series and the World Series in leading the Astros to the title.
He was the first rookie position player to win the World Series MVP award.
He also became the first rookie shortstop to earn a Gold Glove and he was the first Astros rookie to win a Gold Glove at any position.
Pena is the son of former Major League infielder Geronimo Pena.
Jeremy Pena was born in the Dominican Republic but moved to Providence, Rhode Island, with his family when he was 9 years old.
The American League West-leading Astros are hosting Minnesota for a three-game series this weekend.
