First part of the article:
Astros second baseman
Jose Altuve isn't one to speak in superlatives, but sitting at his locker Wednesday morning, he made a bold prediction about his new double-play partner, rookie shortstop
Jeremy Peña.
"He's going to be a superstar," Altuve said. "I can tell by his attitude. He cares. He wants to be the best."
As Altuve spoke, the player Peña is replacing,
Carlos Correa, could be seen on the clubhouse television, conducting his introductory news conference with the
Minnesota Twins. The Astros will always revere Correa, 27, as both a player and leader. But they also adore Peña, 24, viewing him as an emerging prodigy, gifted, hard-working and mature.
Peña projects as a defense-first type, at least initially. But Altuve sees him developing into a player who can hit .280 with 20 homers and a .900 OPS. "He's going to steal bases, too," Altuve said. "They say he's faster than me. I don't think so. But he's pretty fast."
Troy Snitker, the Astros' co-hitting coach, describes Peña as a "twitch freak," referring to the quick-twitch muscles common in elite athletes. Bench coach Joe Espada, who works with the team's infielders, also raved about Peña's physical attributes, but added he was equally impressed with the shortstop's field awareness, his baseball IQ.
High praise, particularly for a player who has appeared in only 182 minor-league games, and only 30 above Class A. Peña, the Astros' third-round pick in 2018, had his first professional season curtailed by shin splints after 36 games. He missed all of 2020 because of the cancellation of the minor-league season, and appeared in only 37 games last season after undergoing
left wrist surgery in April.
Yet Peña, the son of Gernimo Peña, an infielder with the Cardinals and
Indians from 1990 to 1996, is not exactly inexperienced. He spent the past two offseasons playing for Estrellas in the Dominican winter league. He also was part of the Astros' taxi squad last postseason, attending meetings, participating in workouts, asking questions of Altuve and Correa. Astros GM James Click said the experience was, "like going to graduate school for baseball."
"This is not new for him," Espada said. "He has been around us. He kind of knows how to go about things."
But a potential superstar? Really? Astros third baseman
Alex Bregman, informed of Altuve's prediction for Peña, nodded in affirmation.
"I believe it," Bregman said.
Mets second
Robinson Can, Peña's teammate with Estrellas during the offseason, also was enthusiastic in his evaluation.
"He's an athlete," Can said of Peña. "He can run. He can move, hit for power, too. For me, he has all the tools.
"He's going to be a superstar, for sure."
