|
2008 Brayan Pe?a's empty .300 averages in Triple-A haven't translated yet, and Clint Sammons is about to pass him, but Pe?a will have other chances. 2007 Pena's a groundball hitter, which is probably not ideal for a catcher--you don't get too many leg hits after you've been squatting for three hours. On offense, Pena doesn't stay at the plate very long, as evidenced by his 3.3 pitches per plate appearance in his short major league stint and the fact that he walked in 6 percent of his plate appearances at Richmond while striking out in only 8 percent. He's a decent enough backup in an organization with Saltalamacchia and McCann to its credit. Assuming one of them gets dealt, somebody has to inherit Eddie Perez`s mantle. 2006 Leapfrogged by McCann when the injury bug bit, this Havana native isn`t as bad as that would suggest. Though Pena`s defensive reputation is a bit inflated thus far, he would seem to have all the makings for a career of backup backstopping if nothing else. Expect him to be the odd man out unless McCann struggles, and to find himself in another organization before he`s 25. When undead catcher caddies like Pat Borders and John Flaherty are considered valuable commodities, this guy can help somebody.
|