Jeremy Peña was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before he and his family moved to Providence, Rhode Island, when he was nine years old.

[1] His father, Gerónimo, is a former infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians from 1990 to 1996.

[2] Jeremy attended Classical High School in Providence, playing baseball and running track and cross country.

[8][9] In 2018, as a junior, he once again started 54 games, hitting .308/.393/.469 with five home runs, 28 RBIs, and ten stolen bases, earning American East Second-Team honors.

[11][12] Peña signed with Houston and made his professional debut with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League, batting .250 with one home run and ten RBIs over 36 games, earning All-Star honors.

[22] Upon conclusion of the 2021–22 Dominican Professional Baseball League season, Peña was awarded a second consecutive Gold Glove at shortstop.

[28] On April 24, he hit his first career walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning versus the Toronto Blue Jays, helping lead the Astros to an 8–7 win.

Going into the last regular-season series versus the Philadelphia Phillies, the Astros had produced an incredible 41–6 record with Peña batting second in the lineup.

[40] Making his postseason debut in the American League Division Series (ALDS), Peña singled to precede a Yordan Alvarez game-winning home run in both of the first two games.

[41] Peña was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), hitting .353 with two home runs in the Astros' four-game sweep of the New York Yankees.

[43][44] On July 29, 2023, Peña doubled among two hits and collected a career-best four RBI to lead an Astros' season-high scoring output in a 17–4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

[51] The Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) named Peña the Astros' Rookie of the Year.

[36] On November 30, 2022, Peña was awarded the Key to the City of Providence in a 90-minute ceremony attended by officials including Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and Mayor Jorge Elorza.