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Spring training has come to a close for the Houston Astros and Jeremy Peña made the most of his time in Florida. Peña tinkered with his swing a bit and the results have pleased Astros manager Joe Espada. Peña finished his spring campaign hitting 19-for-40 with a 1.300 OPS, and his at-bats showed that he's working to better his efforts from the 2024 season.
Peña's 2024 numbers weren't awful. He hit .266 with 15 homers and 70 RBI. Though his home run total was five better than his 2023 numbers, they still were behind his 22 round trippers from 2022. Espada is hopeful that his starting shortstop can keep his spring training pace all season long.
“He is slightly open on his stance and is trying to create more space and be more on time and elevate the ball, and so far, it’s paying dividends for him," Espada told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. "We need to continue to do that. So far, the results have been really, really good.”
Jeremy Peña's minor adjustment has Astros manager hoping for a major impact
Peña has shown an ability to drive the ball toward the power alleys and even pull a fastball over the Crawford Boxes, too. His slugging percentage this spring was .825 along with an on-base percentage of .475. These numbers are outstanding.
Jeremy Peña clubbed this Sonny Gray curveball 424 feet for his fourth homer of the spring. He's hitting .459 with a 1.257 OPS this spring. pic.twitter.com/ErwlRAMCWH
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 21, 2025
Astros fans shouldn't worry about Peña's speed. He continues to show that he has a knack for swiping bases in key situations. But this season, Peña needs to keep his power game on the up-and-up. This Astros lineup, once again, revolves around Yordan Alvarez. That's no secret throughout the league, and Houston needs an extra bit of pop in the lineup without Kyle Tucker hitting behind Alvarez this season.
Can Peña keep his new batting strategy throughout a long 162-game season? The hope is always that a hitter's spring training adjustments carries over into the regular season, though sometimes it gets lost in the day-to-day work.
It's time for Peña to show that his spring-training pop isn't just a passing fad. He and his teammates will give Astros fans an early look on Thursday when Houston opens the regular season against the New York Mets at Daikin Park.