Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (3) Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Astros Go as Jeremy Peña Goes in 2026

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI
By Thomas Heiberger | Last updated Aug 18, 2026 4:50 PM ET

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña’s recent offensive struggles have coincided with a downturn in the Astros season. Despite this cold stretch, Peña’s numbers over the last two seasons come out to the best among shortstops in the major leagues.

A contributing Peña batting leadoff for the Astros ahead of Yordan Alvarez sets the table perfectly for Houston, and they will need his recent slump to end to be competitive in the division race.

Peña’s Elite Offensive Numbers

Out of the 25 players who’ve come to bat 600 times and who’ve played at least 75% of games at shortstop over the last two seasons, Peña’s numbers stand out.

He is first among the cohort in OPS+ with a 134 mark besting Bobby Witt Jr.’s mark of 132. It also bests third-place Corey Seager for the rival Texas Rangers, whose OPS+ is 129. Peña’s batting average of .298 over these last two seasons also leads all shortstops, topping Jacob Wilson’s mark of .293.

Last season, despite injuries taking him out for almost a quarter of the season, Peña still managed a 5.7 bWAR, the best of his career. He has 21.4 bWAR for his career, an average of 5.4 per 162 games.

Out of Astros with at least 10 bWAR for their career, 5.4 per 162 ranks seventh behind Carlos Correa, Jeff Bagwell, Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and George Springer.

Peña’s Baserunning

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Peña has also been successful on the basepath with 28 steals and only three caught stealing over that stretch. For his career, he is 72 of 92 in successful steals. He has been worth at least three baserunning runs above average by Baseball Reference each of the last three seasons.

11-Game Cold Stretch

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Peña is on a mini four-game hitting streak but has managed no more than the minimum of one hit in each of the last four games. Over his last 11 games, he is 5-for-47 (.106 AVG) with two doubles and a home run.

His OPS over these games comes out to .373. Peña went from one of the hottest hitters in baseball to among the coldest in the league. The Astros played below .500 (5-6) baseball during this Peña downturn.

In the 11 games before this 11-game dry spell, Peña went 22-for-51 (.431 AVG) with five home runs, three doubles and a triple. His OPS over that stretch came in at 1.286. The team went 9-2 over those games.

It’s difficult to say what Peña is doing wrong over the last 11 games. His strikeout numbers are elevated during this stretch implying its not all bad luck. Either way, the Astros will need Peña’s bat to be competitive in the American League. Peña’s success tracks very closely with Astros wins and losses.

This article first appeared on Houston Astros on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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