Jeremy Peña
Jeremy Peña | |
---|---|
Houston Astros – No. 3 | |
Shortstop | |
Born: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | September 22, 1997|
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 7, 2022, for the Houston Astros | |
MLB statistics (through April 8, 2022) | |
Batting average | .333 |
Home runs | 1 |
Runs batted in | 0 |
Teams | |
|
Jeremy Joan Peña (born September 22, 1997) is a Dominican-American professional baseball shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). 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] After the season, he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[10][11]
Professional career
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]
On November 19, 2021, the Astros selected Peña's contract and added him to their 40-man roster.[22] During 2022 spring training, with the departure of longtime Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, Peña was named the club's starting shortstop.[23][24] He made his major league debut as the Astros starting shortstop on Opening Day.[25]
Personal life
Peña's father, Gerónimo Peña, played in Major League Baseball from 1990 to 1996.[26]
References
- ^ "Like Father, Like Infielder: Astros' Jeremy Pena Follows Dad's Footsteps". September 4, 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Jeremy Pena – Baseball". University of Maine Athletics. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "#14 Jeremy Pena - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
- ^ "Cape League All-Stars Set To Shine On Saturday". Cape Cod Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ Iris Ramirez (April 22, 2020). "Houston Astros: Introducing Jeremy Peña – Overtime Heroics". Overtimeheroics.net. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ staff, Sports. "Providence's Jeremy Pena drafted by Astros". providencejournal.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "2018 NYPL All-Stars Announced". MiLB.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "West Notes: Solano, Crawford, Rendon, Fiers, Pena". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Chandler Rome (November 19, 2021). "Astros add prospect Jeremy Peña, others to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 deadline". Houstonchronicle.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ Chandler Rome (March 16, 2022). "With Carlos Correa in flux, Jeremy Peña is favorite to be Astros shortstop". Houstonchronicle.com. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "If not Carlos Correa, then who? On Jeremy Peña, the depth options and the state of the Astros at shortstop – The Athletic". Theathletic.com. March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Astros-rookie-Jeremy-Pena-bio-learn-more-shortstop-17065034.php
- ^ Batterson, Steve. "Like father, like son for Bandits' Pena". The Quad-City Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 1997 births
- Living people
- Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island
- Major League Baseball shortstops
- Houston Astros players
- Maine Black Bears baseball players
- Chatham Anglers players
- Tri-City ValleyCats players
- Quad Cities River Bandits players
- Fayetteville Woodpeckers players
- Sugar Land Skeeters players
- Peoria Javelinas players
- Estrellas Orientales players