Jeremy Pena Is The Astros Latest Postseason Star

Since 2017, the Houston Astros have had their fair share of postseason stars.

Carlos Correa has 18 career home runs in the postseason, Alex Bregman leads all third basemen in history in playoffs dingers, Jose Altuve has several game-winning hits, and Yordan Alvarez is building his own legacy.

We can go ahead and add Jeremy Pena to the list of Astros improving their level in postseason play.

What a Postseason it has been for Jeremy Peña 🤯#LevelUp | @astros pic.twitter.com/MDj4n41xHD

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 1, 2022

As the graph clearly indicates, Pena is fourth among rookies in slugging percentage in a single postseason.

These stats are since the Wild Card era started in 1995.

The 2020 edition of Randy Arozarena will be hard to top, but what Pena is doing is nothing short of amazing.

He was the MVP of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, and hasn’t stopped hitting in the World Series either.

An Incredible Run In The Playoffs

For the playoffs as a whole, Pena is hitting .286/.302/.619 with three home runs, nine RBI and a 158 wRC+ (the league average is 100).

That’s way better than his regular season line of .253/.289/.426 and a 102 wRC+: he was basically league-average.

The plate discipline has been an issue all season long, but Pena won’t be making any changes any time soon.

He is an aggressive hitter, and the approach is currently working at the biggest of stages: the World Series.

With his power (22 homers in the regular season and three in the playoffs), speed (11 steals) and excellent defense at shortstop, Pena has been a valuable contributor for the Astros’ postseason run.

The best thing of all is that he still has room to improve, particularly at the time of discerning balls from strikes.

For now, though, he is who he is, and that is an effective and exciting ballplayer.