Why Astros' run through AL playoff picture hinges on Jeremy Peña renaissance

Jeremy Pena is the Houston Astros catalyst. He is the table setter. He is the second best bat on the team, and perhaps the most versatile. In the leadoff spot, Pena's ability to get on base, be a base stealing threat and an extra-base hit threat create a dynamic for Houston's offense that no one else on the team can bring. His importance cannot be overstated.

Unfortunately, Pena hasn't shown that ability in about 5 weeks, and the Astros' offense is feeling the pain.

After a 2x4 night on August 2nd vs the Texas Rangers, a game that included a HR, Pena has gone ice cold.

Pena hit .381 in July with a .412 OBP and a 1.110 OPS. He crushed 6 HR in that month. Pena hit .286 in both April and May, and .319 in June. While he had been really good in those 3 months, he was phenomenal in July.

Jeremy Pena's incredible July is what makes his August disappearance both confounding and troublesome for the Houston Astros.

In the 15 games Pena played in July, the Astros scored 82 runs. That equates to about 5.5 runs per game, a terrific number for an offense that for the majority of the season has been asked to carry the load with a starting rotation that has struggled the majority of the season.

In those 15 games, Pena scored 17 runs and drove in 13. In the 31 games he has played since, he has scored 18 runs and driven in 12. Start that countdown in the 29 games starting August 3, and its 16 runs and 10 RBI.

In fact, in those 29 games starting August 3, Pena is 19x118. That equates to a .161 average over those 29 games. The Astros have scored 112 runs in those 29 games, 3.86 runs per game.

That is a 1.64 runs per game drop from July to August + the first 6 games of September.

Pena is 2x24 in September, and Houston has scored 17 runs in 6 games. 2.83 runs per game. Woof.

This is the importance of Jeremy Pena to the lineup.

Entering play on August 3, Pena was batting .322. After today's game, he's down to .271. Losing 51 points of average in 5 weeks is a hard fall. He's also lost 117 points of OPS. The Astros offense is feeling the pinch.

Accentuating the fall, in that same time, Pena has just 6 walks while striking out a hefty 39 times. He has struck out multiple times in a game 11 times in that stretch, including three games where he struck out 3 times.

For a team that is overly dependent on it's top 3 hitter (Pena, Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes), losing one of them is catastrophic to the offense. The numbers bear it out clearly.

With 18 games remaining, the Astros need to find a way to get Pena back on track and they need to do it quickly. The key to unlocking Pena's bat is one of the biggest keys to unlocking any potential postseason success for Houston.

Without Pena hitting like he has shown last season through August 2nd, there won't be much hope for any postseason success for the Astros.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow