Roman Pena: Hot start in Mexico
by Chuck Murr of IndiansInk.net, October 20, 2009 at 8:50am ET
Roman Pena Profile
Roman Pena is off to a hot start in Mexico after a not-so-hot season at Kinston.
Pena is hitting .357 (10-for-28) with two homers, two doubles, two triples, 10 runs and eight RBI through eight games for Mexicali. That's the good news. He also has only one walk and 11 strikeouts -- though any team could live with that if he continues to produce as he has in all those other categories.
Pena didn't produce much of anything this summer in the Class A Carolina League, batting only .204 with five homers and 37 RBI in 92 games.
A year ago, the outfielder hit .275 with 11 homers, 66 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 113 games at Lake County to earn a late-season promotion to Kinston.
Pena, picked in the ninth round in 2005 by Cleveland, turned 23 years old in September and must put together a solid season in 2010 to become a viable prospect. He had shown progress during his first three years in the farm system before stalling out this year.
The native of Tijuana played his high school ball just across the border in San Diego, but perhaps a good few months under the warm sun in his native country will get his game heated up again. Strikeouts have always been a problem (he has 412 in 400 career minor-league games), but Pena has some ability. He needs to maintain focus at the plate, work the count, and get a pitch to his liking rather than flail at everything he sees.
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