Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena is starting at the 6 and is hitting leadoff on Opening Day on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox and right-hander Dylan Cease. Pena should serve as the team's leadoff hitter until second baseman Jose Altuve (thumb) is able to return from a fractured right thumb. Batting in the leadoff spot will give Pena a slightly higher fantasy ceiling with more chances to get on base and score runs in a strong Astros lineup. The 25-year-old Dominican will be hoping to carry his hot spring hitting into the regular season, as he went 11-for-34 (.324) with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, nine RBI, nine runs scored and a stolen base in 11 Grapefruit League games.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena homered on Sunday as part of a two-hit performance in a win for the American League West club. Houston completed a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees with the result as Pena drove in three runs and scored two more in the deciding game. The rookie shortstop was named American League Championship Series MVP after hitting .353 with a pair of home runs in 17 plate appearances against the Yankees during the series. Overall this postseason, Pena is batting .303 with a .324 on-base percentage and three home runs. He hit .253 with a .289 on-base percentage, 22 home runs, and 11 stolen bases in 558 regular season plate appearances earlier this year.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena was the only source of offense in Saturday's Division Series game three 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. He went 1-for-8, but his lone hit was an 18th-inning home run that sent his club to the next round. Pena's had a solid three games thus far in the postseason, batting .250 with a .794 OPS. The rookie did a good job taking over shortstop for the Astros during the regular season, slashing .253/.289/.426 with 22 homers, 72 runs, 63 RBI, and 11 steals over 136 games. Manager Dusty Baker likes batting Pena in the two-hole, so the 25-year-old should be a solid source of runs and RBI going forward.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (knee) exited Tuesday's 10-0 win over the Phillies early after fouling a ball off his knee. X-rays were negative, but he will not play in Wednesday's regular-season finale, per MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The 25-year-old went 2-for-4 with a single, a two-run home run, and a strikeout before exiting. Pena had a solid overall rookie season both for the Astros and from a fantasy perspective, slashing .253/.289/.426 with 22 HR, 63 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 558 plate appearances. Fantasy managers should get to see some more of him throughout the playoffs.

Houston Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (face) is back at shortstop and is hitting second in the batting order on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks and right-hander Zach Davies. Pena will return to the lineup after leaving the game early on Saturday with a facial abrasion. With an off day on Monday, the 25-year-old will only end up missing one game. Pena has cooled off at the plate since earlier this year, but he's still been more than passable as a fantasy option in mixed leagues in his first MLB season. He's batting .247/.285/.408 with 19 home runs, 55 RBI, 68 runs scored and 11 stolen bases in his 493 at-bats. In September, he's hitting .253 (22-for-87) with three homers, 10 RBI, 14 runs and four stolen bases in his 22 games.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (neck) is back in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox. The 24-year-old missed Monday's game due to neck stiffness. Pena owns a .251/.292/.424 slash line over 93 games on the year to go along with 15 home runs, seven stolen bases, 41 RBI and 48 runs. He'll be batting out of the No. 7 spot in the Astros' lineup for Tuesday's game.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (neck) is being held out of the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox. Mauricio Dubon will be covering shortstop for the contest. Pena is dealing with neck stiffness and has been labeled day-to-day. The 24-year-old rookie owns a .251/.292/.424 slash line over 93 games on the year to go along with 15 homers, seven stolen bases, 41 RBI and 48 runs. He's a valuable player in deep leagues and AL-only leagues, but he's more of a fringe player in shallow leagues.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena went deep Sunday, homering as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate. His 13th long ball of the year was a two-run shot off of Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Adam Oller. Pena has exceeded all reasonable expectations in his first half-season in the big leagues, slashing .263/.310/.454 with 38 runs, 35 RBI, and six steals. Fantasy managers have already received a great return on their draft-day investment, and will be looking to see what leaps the youngster can take in the second half of the campaign.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena is back in the lineup on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics. The rookie shortstop was scratched from the starting lineup on Thursday due to "health and safety protocols" and proceeded to miss Friday and Saturday's contests as well. He's starting at shortstop and batting second against left-hander Cole Irvin on Sunday. The 24-year-old rookie is slashing a solid .270/.320/.472 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI, and six stolen bases over 233 at-bats this season.

Houston Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena was scratched from the starting lineup on Thursday due to "health and safety protocols," according to the team. Pena hasn't been placed on the COVID-19 injured list, and it remains to be seen if he's sick at all or even if he tested positive for the virus, so fantasy managers should consider him to be day-to-day for now. Mauricio Dubon will get the start at shortstop and is hitting seventh against Royals left-hander Kris Bubic. Dubon will be a low-upside DFS option on Thursday, as he's entering the day hitting just .214/.248/.330 with three long balls, 16 RBI and 15 runs scored in 112 at-bats this year. We should know more about why Pena was scratched later on Thursday, so stay tuned for more information.

Houston Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (head) is back at shortstop and is hitting second on Friday against Los Angeles Angels right-hander Michael Lorenzen. However, outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head), who was involved in a scary collision with Pena on Thursday, remains out for the second straight game. Alvarez seemed to take the brunt of the damage in the collision and had to leave on a cart, so it's not a surprise that Pena has returned before him. The left-handed hitter will need to clear the concussion protocol in order to return to action this weekend against the Halos. Consider him day-to-day for now. Pena is a leading candidate for American League Rookie of the Year to this point, and he should be returned to starting fantasy lineups in single-year leagues.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head) and rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (head) are both out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the New York Yankees. Alvarez and Pena were involved in a scary collision in the outfield on Wednesday, with Alvarez needing to be carted off the field. Both players were being evaluated for concussions after the game, but it's unclear what their final diagnosis was. We'll bring more details to you once we have more information, and fantasy managers should consider them both day-to-day for now. Alvarez and Pena have both been excellent at the plate this year, so hopefully they can both avoid a trip to the injured list. Aledmys Diaz is starting in left field and batting second, while Mauricio Dubon is at the 6 and hitting seventh against Yankees right-hander Luis Severino.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (head) and rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena (head) are both being evaluated for concussions after the two were involved in a scary collision in the outfield on Wednesday against the New York Mets, according to the team. The Astros will provide an update on Thursday. Alvarez laid motionless on the ground for a while, but he eventually walked to a cart and was taken off the field. Pena tried to remain in the game but was removed shortly after. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect either player to return for Thursday's makeup game against the New York Yankees, but hopefully they can gain clearance to return for a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels. Alvarez has been one of the best hitters in the league this year, while Pena is a front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year honors to this point.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez and shortstop Jeremy Pena both left the game early on Wednesday against the New York Mets after being involved in a scary collision in the outfield as they tracked down a Dominic Smith pop-up. Alvarez was carted off the field, and Pena later walked off the field after trying to stay in. Alvarez lay motionless on the ground for some time, but thankfully he was able to walk to the cart before being driven off the field. Our best guess is that both players might be dealing with concussions, but we'll know more when they are evaluated. Alvarez has been playing at an MVP level this season, while Pena may be the front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year, so losing one or both for any amount of time would be really bad news for the Astros and fantasy managers. Stay tuned for updates.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (thumb) took some swings in the batting cage ahead of the team's matchup against the New York Mets on Tuesday. It marked the first time he'd swung the bat since injuring his left thumb about a week ago. He went through some fielding drills on Tuesday as well. He spoke to the media after his workouts and said that everything went well. The 24-year-old doesn't have a clear timetable for a return at this moment, but it's hard to imagine he'll be out much longer, assuming he has no setbacks. The rookie has slashed .277/.333/.471 with nine home runs, six stolen bases, 27 RBI and 27 runs over 54 games this year.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena is not in the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. The rookie shortstop has cooled down in the last few weeks, but he's still hitting a solid .278/.332/.466 on the year with eight home runs, 25 RBI, 23 runs scored and four stolen bases in 194 plate appearances over his first 49 major league games. Aledmys Diaz is getting the start at shortstop on Wednesday and is batting seventh against Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert. In a tough matchup against one of the best young arms in baseball, Diaz will be a low-upside DFS play. He's hitting .233/.282/.330 with three long balls and 14 RBI in 103 at-bats for Houston this year.

Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker and shortstop Jeremy Pena are both out of the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians. Jose Siri will replace Tucker in right field and hit ninth, while Aledmys Diaz is getting the start at shortstop and batting sixth on Wednesday against Guardians right-hander Cal Quantrill. Tucker has been better in the month of May, hitting .257/.389/.487 with four homers, 14 RBI and seven stolen bases in 22 games. Pena, meanwhile, has been lights-out so far in his rookie season, slashing .293/.347/.504 with an .851 OPS, seven home runs, 22 RBI, 21 runs scored and three stolen bases in 38 games played. Diaz and Siri will be low-cost deep-sleeper plays in DFS on Wednesday.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (knee) is back in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against Nathan Eovaldi and the Boston Red Sox. He will be batting seventh. The 24-year-old was held out for each of the last four games due to right knee soreness. Aledmys Diaz and Mauricio Dubon covered shortstop while Pena was out. Pena is off to a great start to his rookie year, slashing .276/.339/.514 with six home runs, 20 RBI and 18 runs over 30 games.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (knee) remains out of the starting lineup on Monday against the Boston Red Sox. Pena has been out of action since last Thursday due to a sore right knee, although he did have an on-field workout before the game on Monday. Aledmys Diaz has started at shortstop since Pena's knee issue cropped up, but the recently acquired Mauricio Dubon will man the 6 on Monday and hit ninth against Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock. It's unclear if Pena will require a trip to the injured list, but he's had a very solid MLB debut so far in 2022, slashing .276/.339/.514 with an .853 OPS, six home runs, 20 RBI, 18 runs scored and a stolen base in his first 30 MLB games.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (knee) is out of the starting lineup once again on Sunday as the team takes on Patrick Corbin and the Washington Nationals. This will be his third straight missed game after suffering a knee injury in Thursday's game. Aledmys Diaz will be making his third consecutive start at shortstop for Sunday's contest. Pena has had a fantastic rookie year for the Astros so far. Over 30 games, he's slashing .276/.339/.514 with six home runs, 20 RBI and 18 runs. He remains day-to-day for now. We'll see if he can make it back to the field for Monday's series opener against the Boston Red Sox.