Saturday, March 04, 2006
Pena producing big numbers this winter
01/06/2006
There doesn't appear to be any room on the 2006 Atlanta roster for Brayan Pena. But the 24-year-old catcher appears ready to come to Spring Training with intentions of proving he's got the offensive skills necessary to be a productive big leaguer.
Coming off a season in which he hit .326 for Triple-A Richmond, Pena has continued his hot hitting in the Dominican Winter League. Playing for Gigantes, he produced a .326 batting average (49-for-168) with three homers and 25 RBIs.
The switch-hitting Pena was among the league leaders in several offensive categories. He ranked second in doubles (15), third in extra-base hits (19) and fifth in hits (61).
"The guy puts the ball in play and doesn't strike out," Braves assistant general manager Dayton Moore said. "He has incredible hand-eye coordination and is a winning-type baseball player. Every team he has been on, everybody has rallied around him and drawn from his energy."
Pena, who defected from his native Cuba in 2000, was promoted to Atlanta three times last year. He recorded a hit in his Major League debut (May 23), but ended up producing just a .179 batting average in 39 at-bats.
With Brian McCann set to be the starting catcher and Todd Pratt slated to be his backup, Pena will likely begin this season back in Richmond. But the organization has noticed the consistent offensive production he's continued to provide since signing in November 2000.
"He's established himself and given the organization a lot of confidence that he can play in the big leagues," Moore said. "He's just going to have to wait for the opportunity. One thing about him is that he's going to give you all he's got wherever he is."
Because Gigantes didn't qualify for the playoffs, Pena has joined Estrellas, which is currently playing in the round-robin portion of the league's playoffs.
Wilson Betemit also enjoyed a very solid winter in the Dominican. While playing for Escogido, he hit .292 with seven homers and 23 RBIs. He ranked fourth in the league with a .488 slugging percentage and fifth in both doubles (12) and on-base-percentage (.387).
The Braves are also very pleased with what they've seen from Oscar Villarreal, who was acquired in a December trade with the Diamondbacks. Injuries have limited the right-handed reliever to just 28 big-league games over the past two seasons. But all reports are that he's regained all of the arm strength that he possessed while making 87 appearances in his 2003 rookie season.
While playing for Hermosillo in Mexico, Villarreal has completed 23 2/3 innings and recorded 18 strikeouts. In his last 5 1/3 innings, he's had six strikeouts and hasn't issued a walk.
Opponents are hitting .297 against Villarreal. But Manuel Samaniego, the Braves' scout in Mexico, told Moore earlier this week that the right-hander is throwing just as hard and well as he did before being suffering injuries to both his shoulder and elbow.
Another good offseason acquisition for the Braves appears to be Moises Hernandez, the 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who was provided as compensation when the Orioles lured former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone to Baltimore.
Hernandez, who is the older brother of young Seattle pitching phenom Felix Hernandez, went 3-3 and posted a 3.08 ERA in 14 starts for Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League. He recorded 41 strikeouts and issued 31 walks in 73 innings.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
There doesn't appear to be any room on the 2006 Atlanta roster for Brayan Pena. But the 24-year-old catcher appears ready to come to Spring Training with intentions of proving he's got the offensive skills necessary to be a productive big leaguer.
Coming off a season in which he hit .326 for Triple-A Richmond, Pena has continued his hot hitting in the Dominican Winter League. Playing for Gigantes, he produced a .326 batting average (49-for-168) with three homers and 25 RBIs.
The switch-hitting Pena was among the league leaders in several offensive categories. He ranked second in doubles (15), third in extra-base hits (19) and fifth in hits (61).
"The guy puts the ball in play and doesn't strike out," Braves assistant general manager Dayton Moore said. "He has incredible hand-eye coordination and is a winning-type baseball player. Every team he has been on, everybody has rallied around him and drawn from his energy."
Pena, who defected from his native Cuba in 2000, was promoted to Atlanta three times last year. He recorded a hit in his Major League debut (May 23), but ended up producing just a .179 batting average in 39 at-bats.
With Brian McCann set to be the starting catcher and Todd Pratt slated to be his backup, Pena will likely begin this season back in Richmond. But the organization has noticed the consistent offensive production he's continued to provide since signing in November 2000.
"He's established himself and given the organization a lot of confidence that he can play in the big leagues," Moore said. "He's just going to have to wait for the opportunity. One thing about him is that he's going to give you all he's got wherever he is."
Because Gigantes didn't qualify for the playoffs, Pena has joined Estrellas, which is currently playing in the round-robin portion of the league's playoffs.
Wilson Betemit also enjoyed a very solid winter in the Dominican. While playing for Escogido, he hit .292 with seven homers and 23 RBIs. He ranked fourth in the league with a .488 slugging percentage and fifth in both doubles (12) and on-base-percentage (.387).
The Braves are also very pleased with what they've seen from Oscar Villarreal, who was acquired in a December trade with the Diamondbacks. Injuries have limited the right-handed reliever to just 28 big-league games over the past two seasons. But all reports are that he's regained all of the arm strength that he possessed while making 87 appearances in his 2003 rookie season.
While playing for Hermosillo in Mexico, Villarreal has completed 23 2/3 innings and recorded 18 strikeouts. In his last 5 1/3 innings, he's had six strikeouts and hasn't issued a walk.
Opponents are hitting .297 against Villarreal. But Manuel Samaniego, the Braves' scout in Mexico, told Moore earlier this week that the right-hander is throwing just as hard and well as he did before being suffering injuries to both his shoulder and elbow.
Another good offseason acquisition for the Braves appears to be Moises Hernandez, the 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who was provided as compensation when the Orioles lured former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone to Baltimore.
Hernandez, who is the older brother of young Seattle pitching phenom Felix Hernandez, went 3-3 and posted a 3.08 ERA in 14 starts for Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League. He recorded 41 strikeouts and issued 31 walks in 73 innings.
Source: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/
