Astros Star Shortstop Snubbed From 2026 Top 10 Rankings

Brian Kenny, studio Host of MLB Network, listed his top ten MLB shortstops for 2026, and left off an Astros superstar.

Houston Astros flag | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The MLB season is less than two months away. With this in route, predictions of team lineups, projected top ten teams, and top ten players in each position are in discussion with MLB analysts and experts. Brian Kenny, longtime host of MLB Network, listed a few of his top ten lists, including a top ten of current shortstops in the league.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

What do you think of Brian Kenny’s list of the #Top10RightNow shortstops? pic.twitter.com/Jsx3sOck5N

— MLB Now (@MLBNow) January 30, 2026

While there are respectable picks in Bobby Witt Jr, Gunnar Henderson, Corey Seager, Trea Turner, and Francisco Lindor, there's a player that is surprisingly left off the list. Houston Astros All-Star shortstop, Jeremy Pena.

Where Is Jeremy Pena?

Yes, according to Kenny, Zach Neto, Dansby Swanson, and Elly De La Cruz are better than Jeremy Pena. On a statistical standpoint, this is simply inaccurate. Pena's slash line of .304/.363/.477/.840 are All-Star level numbers, and far higher than the bottom three splits. He also had a 132 OPS+ Both of the bottom three's OPS and bWAR on Kenny's top ten are below Pena's 132 OPS+ and 5.6 bWAR. Neto's 117 OPS+ is the closest, with Mookie Betts' OPS+ barely four points above league average.

It's arguable that the Astros All-Star should be higher than Betts, given his down year in 2025 with a slash line of .258/.326/.406/.732 and a 104 OPS+ with a 4.9 bWAR. Yet his decade long career of dominance along with four World Series rings somewhat merit this slot.

Fans quickly flooded the comments with the same question: where was Jeremy Pena? While opinions will always vary, the backlash wasn’t rooted in emotion alone. A large portion of fans pointed to the All-Star's 2025 production, postseason resume, and defensive metrics to argue his case. When fans push back a projection with data to support it, Kenny’s ranking may have missed the mark.

Debunking Possible Reasons Why Pena Was Left Off

Pena played in 125 games, spending nearly a quarter of the season on the IL. Maybe this is the reason he is left off. Yet, he nearly played more games than Neto and 23 more games than Corey Seager, who is in the top five.

It's possible that Pena is left off the list due to 2025 being his breakout year. He spent his first three seasons flirting with being an above-average hitter, hitting .260 while hovering around a 100 OPS+. Yet, when we look at fourth-place Geraldo Perdomo, he too broke out in 2025, averaging 7 bWAR at .290 with an OPS+ of 136+, slightly higher than Houston's shortstop.

On a defensive standpoint, Pena is no slouch either. The 2022 World Series MVP also won a gold glove in his rookie season. While he wasn't a finalist in 2025, He had a better year statistically on the infield than Cruz and Swanson. Cruz is a media highlight due to his agility around the bases and personality. Yet his -4 DFS, .955 fielding ability, 3.6 bWAR, 181 strikeouts, .777 OPS, and 109 OPS+ contribute less to a team than Pena. Swanson has been in the league since 2016, yet hasn't had a bWAR over 5.5 in a season.

Again, there's no bias from Astros fans. This is simply by looking at stats. A healthy season for Pena is due for an All-Star and dark horse MVP year. He is more than capable of leading his Astros back to playoff contention. At that it an of itself, is better than being on a projected list.

---