It may seem like a while ago, but at one point, Jeremy Peña was considered the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year.
Entering June, he owned a .281/.329/.490 slash line with 8 home runs. Perhaps most impressively, he was striking out just 22.6 percent of the time, seemingly quelling any concerns about his contact skills. Defensively, the 24-year-old shortstop was as advertised. His flashy athleticism, strong arm and sound fundamentals were reminiscent of Carlos Correa’s consistently spectacular defense.
Overall, it appeared that the Astros had replaced one superstar shortstop with another.
But now with the regular season weeks away from concluding, things have changed.