Houston Astros: Jeremy Peña turning into this year’s Trevor Story

After an offseason of drama surrounding the Houston Astros and Carlos Correa, rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña has stepped into the role and started the season with solid numbers at the plate and in the field. It’s a story that has played out before with other franchises and other years, and the Astros can only hope that Peña’s proof of what he can do in an MLB uniform in the early days of the season is sustained … much like the tale of Trevor Story with the Colorado Rockies.

The rise of Jeremy Peña for the Houston Astros is similar to Trevor Story’s ascension with the Colorado Rockies

At the age of 24, Peña assumed the starting shortstop role when the Astros saw Correa leave in free agency to ink a contract with the Minnesota Twins. Having never taken a swing in an MLB game, Peña started the season 12-for-39 for Houston with a pair of homers, leading to a .308/.364/.590 slash line.

Sure, it’s early, but Houston is happy with what Peña has delivered in a starting role he was given early in spring training. The Astros will also be happy if Peña’s trajectory continues along the path of All-Star shortstop Trevor Story, a player who was rumored to potentially be a target for the Astros before Peña took over the reins and Story eventually signed with the Boston Red Sox.

But let’s flash back to Story’s rookie season with Colorado and examine how his path and Peña’s have very similar beginnings.

Story was 23 when he made his debut had never had an MLB at-bat before being given the starting shortstop role late in 2016 spring training. The prior season, the Rockies had traded All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Rockies were looking to see who would fill a large gap in the lineup and take over for a face of the franchise. That fell to Story, who would make MLB history in his debut by hitting two homers in his first two Opening Day at-bats.

In Colorado, Story would go on to become one of the game’s top shortstops, known for what he could do at the plate and in the field. He also started his career 13-for-39 at the plate, just above Peña’s 12-for-39 start.

The start of the MLB chapters of their careers for both Story and Peña are eerily similar, with both taking over as rookies with no big league experience for fan favorites at shortstops and excelling in the early parts of their careers in all phases of the game despite the pressure.

Will Peña’s path continue along the same lines as Story’s? Astros fans certainly hope so, showing that the decision to part ways with Correa was the correct one.