Jeremy Peña DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena went 2-for-5 from the leadoff spot for the Astros on Wednesday night with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and four RBI. Pena's three-run blast came in the sixth inning with two outs to break the game open, expanding the Astros' lead from 3-1 to 6-1 on their way to a 9-1 victory. Pena is hitting .279 with five homers, five stolen bases, and 19 runs scored. He is on pace for career highs with a .340 wOBA, .358 xwOBA, and a 122 wRC+. The 27-year-old has become a fixture at the top of Houston's lineup card and has hit .349 since moving to the leadoff spot 10 games ago, while also hitting safely in 24 of his last 26 games. He's a nice shortstop option for fantasy baseball if you didn't land one of the superstars at the position at the start of the season.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena is batting leadoff again for Monday's series opener against the visiting Detroit Tigers and right-hander Jack Flaherty at Daikin Park. Outfielder Jose Altuve is in the two-hole after he was rested in Sunday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals. It's the first time Altuve hasn't led off since June of 2023. It will be the second straight start out of the leadoff spot for Pena, who is slashing .255/.327/.388 with three home runs, 11 RBI, five stolen bases and 13 runs scored on the year. The Dominican infielder recently snapped a 14-game hitting streak in which he went 17-for-52 (.327) with a homer, six RBI and three stolen bases. Despite the fact that Pena is hitting just .111 in nine career at-bats against Flaherty, he should be in starting single-year fantasy lineups while batting leadoff again on Monday.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning of Monday night's 8-3 loss to the Cardinals. He finished the night 1-for-4 with the blast that came off relief pitcher Roddery Munoz, giving him three long balls on the season. Pena is hitting just .207 through 16 games but has increased his ISO with four of his 12 hits going for extra bases. His hard-hit rate and barrel rate are actually up this season as well, but his .200 BABIP has held back his overall production. His xwOBA of .371 stands in stark contrast to his .291 wOBA, so his metrics show he has actually been hitting the ball much better than his batting average reflects. Pena and his fantasy managers will hope that Monday's home run can jumpstart a turnaround in his average as the Astros continue their three-game set in St. Louis.