UMBC head baseball coach Liam Bowen is not surprised by the recent success of former Maine and current Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña, crediting his evolution to a mixture of aggressiveness, intelligence and adaptability.
Peña, a third-round draft choice by the Astros back in 2018, cruised through his rookie season in the big leagues this year, batting .253/.289/.426 with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs. The 6-foot, 202-pound shortstop powered the Astros to a World Series victory, winning ALCS and World Series MVP honors.
Peña was a standout player in the America East Conference prior to being drafted, hitting .305/.369/.442 from 2016-2018. Peña was always a tough out for UMBC pitchers, notching 20 hits in 42 at-bats against the Retrievers. He used his aggressiveness to capitalize on mistake pitches and his intelligence to adjust from at-bat to at-bat.
Bowen was the pitching coach at UMBC before taking the head job in 2019. He said the pesky infielder was always a challenge to plan for and execute against. Bowen believes Peña’s adaptability as a hitter was the main contributor to his high ceiling and overall success.
“The hard part about facing [Peña] is it was always changing,” Bowen said of coaching against Peña. “Certain guys, you get the video on them their freshman year, you go against them and then their senior year you’re getting them out the same way. That was definitely not my experience with Jeremy Peña.”
“That’s [why] he was an easy guy to see a bright future for because he was just evolving so rapidly,” Bowen added. “I was always really impressed with his aptitude and how quickly he would pick things up and acquire new skills. Even though he wasn’t the best hitter in the league — there were guys with better statistics — he was one of the hardest guys in the league to go against.”
The ability to pick up pitches and understand how pitchers attacking at-bats is no easy task for hitters. But it was an aspect of Peña’s game that was unique and fed into his approach.
“The thing I really remember about him is he combined that intelligence … with a real aggressiveness,” Bowen said. “He was really smart, but he was out there to punch you in the mouth, too, and that made it really tough.”
Stephen Schoch, a relief pitcher for UMBC from 2018-2019, recalled a 2018 America East playoff game against Maine when he entered the game in the seventh inning with two outs to face Peña. Schoch struck Peña out looking in that at-bat, but he could tell there was something special about the future major leaguer.
“Just from his plate discipline alone, you could tell,” Schoch said of Peña’s talent. “That’s one of the intangibles where a kid either has it or they don’t, but when they really have it, that’s something you take notice of.”
Schoch did not change his approach when he faced Peña. Rather, he attacked Peña low and away despite knowing he was facing a hitter who could drive a pitch in any location.
“I think that was honestly one of the most impressive things about him,” Schoch said. “It didn’t seem like any zone was his favorite except for everywhere.”
Peña’s ability to pick it at shortstop was another impressive aspect of his game. Peña finished his college career with a .953 fielding percentage and led the conference with 169 assists in 2018. It is rare for an infielder to start at shortstop throughout their rookie big league season, but Peña always had the ability to thrive there.
“He didn’t have all the dots connected as a freshman,” Bowen said. “But he clearly had those defensive qualities. That’s what separated him and I think gave him the time needed to continue to get stronger, to continue to become a better hitter, become a better player and you can see what he’s done with that time. His defense was pretty high ceiling right away.”
Besides the on-field talent Peña displayed in college, he also had the motivation and work ethic to make it to the big leagues, something not all college baseball players can say. Bowen could tell what kind of player Peña was despite only talking to him a few times.
“You can kind of get a sense of a guy’s personality if you go against them enough,” Bowen said. “I would just say [Peña is] probably on the quieter side, but really competitive. [He was] a guy who played hard [and] a guy who was always engaged.”
“He seemed like the kind of guy who just [went] about his business,” Bowen added. “The kind of guy that’s really easy to root for. So even though we went against him, ever since he’s become a pro I’ve certainly been pulling for him.”
Bowen believes Peña’s splash in the major leagues has opened the door for America East baseball to get more attention. With Peña’s success story and Stony Brook making a College World Series run in 2012, Bowen expects there to be more players like Jeremy Peña coming from the conference — maybe even from UMBC.
Three UMBC baseball players have played in the major leagues. Jay Witasick debuted in 1996 with the Oakland Athletics, Wayne Franklin in 2000 with the Houston Astros and most recently Zach Clark in 2013 with the Baltimore Orioles.
“I just think it’s a clear indication that really anything is possible for baseball players in the America East,” Bowen said. “There’s good players coming out of the league every year. [Peña is] just one that’s really special and deserves all the attention he’s getting.”
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