Jeremy Peña’s return should end one growing Astros debate quickly

One of the most shocking developments as a result of the crushing wave of injuries to hit the Houston Astros has been the play of Braden Shewmake. The long-forgotten former Atlanta Braves top prospect has been on fire since the Astros plucked him off the scrap heap from the New York Yankees, and likely has carved out some sort of role for himself for the foreseeable future.

Through 15 games, Shewmake has hit an incredible .366/.366/.610 with three homers and exceptional defense at shortstop. It's led to some memes that Houston may have found its shortstop of the future, and perhaps some folks who are starting to take the notion seriously.

Jokes aside, those grounded in reality know that Jeremy Peña is on the verge of a return, and when that happens, he'll reclaim his rightful place as the Astros starting shortstop.

Jeremy Peña's impending return will quickly snuff out the Astros Braden Shewmake hype

It's been a frustrating season for Peña, who has already spent two stints on the IL, first with a fractured finger, and now, is currently recovering from a hamstring strain. In typical Astros' fashion, his backup, Nick Allen, also got hurt clearing the way for Shewmake to return to his native Texas.

Coming to Houston with a career .318 OPS over 71 big league plate appearances, Shewmake appeared to be nothing more than a warm body. But then he started hitting. It got easy to dream. A big, six-foot-three left-handed bat that could hit for power and contact while playing good shortstop defense sounded like a dream, and a lifeline for an Astros' season that was circling the drain.

But there's a reason why Shemake is 28 and had only logged 71 plate appearances coming into 2026. There's a reason why he owned a career line of .118/.127/.191 coming into this season.

Ranked the Atlanta Braves' sixth-overall prospect back in 2023, there were still reasons to be concerned about his game, even when his potential was at an all-time high.

MLB Pipeline wrote at the time, "While he is capable of hitting the ball hard, there are questions about whether he can drive it enough and also get on base more consistently to be more of an impact offensive player."

And the sample we've seen, just 42 plate appearances, is incredibly small. Results derived from it are essentially meaningless. Unfortunately, the neck injury that Peña sustained has forced him to pause his rehab assignment. Thankfully, he avoided anything serious, but it will cost him some more time.

In that time, don't be surprised if Shemake comes crashing down to earth. If that happens, it will snuff out any sort of starting shortstop controversy. That sort of stuff should never have happened to begin with, but soon it will become clear why Peña's job should never have been in question.

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