When Tony Pena, Jr., was acquired by the Royals last March 23, about 10 days before the start of the 2007 season, the news was met with excitement for some, and exasperation for others.
The excitement stemmed from the prospect of someone new and different at shortstop for the Royals. Many Kansas City fans had long since grown weary of the steadily-declining numbers produced by former American League Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa, and felt it was time for a change.
Berroa earned his rookie honor by going .287/.338/.451 with 92 runs scored, 17 home runs, 73 runs batted in, and a 101 OPS+ during Kansas City's 2003 season. However, what followed are seasons of .262/.208/.385 in 2004, then .270/.305/.375 in 2005, and finally .234/.259/.333 with an OPS+ of 52 in his last season as a starter in 2006. His .259 OBP that final season was the lowest among regulars in the A.L.
In came Pena, a new name from the Atlanta Braves' organization who received praise for his defensive abilities."He's an above-average Major League defender, fielding and throwing," said the Royals' Rene Francisco at the time of the trade. A member of Atlanta's organization during 1993-2006, Francisco added, "Defense is what got him to the big leagues."
Offensively, Pena's skills were still very much a question mark, but he was hitting .342 in Spring Training for Atlanta, and he had just hit a three-run home run against the Mets the day before the trade.
So, compared to Berroa's downhill trend, Pena seemed to be just what the Royals needed -- a younger player, with better range, and a good pedigree as the son of former Royals manager and 18-year Major League veteran Tony Pena.
The exasperation, however, came from the fans who took a closer look at Pena's offensive numbers. And what they found was that Kansas City had just acquired a slightly-better defensive shortstop, whose numbers over seven Minor League seasons looked an awful lot like Angel Berroa's.
Over the span of his Minor League career, Pena hit .252/.282/.332, although his numbers were trending upwards and culminated in a .282/.312/.359 season for the Braves' AAA affiliate in 2006. But Berroa registered averages of .263/.305/.384 over seven Major League campaigns. Both players have incredibly bad plate discipline, with Pena having drawn a total of 102 walks over his entire Minor League career, and Berroa taking even fewer (94) bases on balls during his time with the Royals.
Pena made quite an impression in his debut with the Royals, going 2-for-3 with two triples, two runs scored, and yes, even a walk, in a 7-1 win against the eventual World Champion Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. But he ended April with a .197 batting average, and then went a team-record 244 plate appearances between May 5 and July 27 without a single walk. His season-ending numbers were .267/.284/.356 with 58 runs scored, 47 runs batted in, and seven triples, but only 10 bases on balls. Yes, that's 10 walks -- in 536 plate appearances! Ouch.
As the 2008 season nears, a big question is whether his offensive numbers will improve, or decline like Berroa's. Though he is projected as the starting shortstop once again, it is fair to say that new manager Trey Hillman will expect a better on-base percentage from Pena.
Listed behind Pena on the team's depth chart are veteran utilityman Esteban German, and 24-year old Angel Sanchez, who missed the 2007 after undergoing surgery on his right elbow. To read more about German, take a look at what was written about him in last week's third base preview. In his most recent full season, Sanchez batted .282/.339/.352 with 105 runs scored, 57 RBI, and 24 doubles for Class AA Wichita in 2006.
So, unless another trade is in the works prior to 2008, it looks as if Tony Pena will once again be the Royals' everyday shortstop. Of course, there's always Angel Berroa, biding his time in Omaha and just waiting for another opportunity with Kansas City.
I can just imagine the exasperated sighs coming from the mouths of Royals fans everywhere.
4 comments:
You're only talking about this year really, but the history of Royals shortstops is simply terrible. I'm sure that a lot of teams have positions like this, but its hard to believe that any team has been historically worse at any position than the Royals have been at shortstop. Patek is a hero of sorts even though he was never particularly great, Berroa was good for a year, Stillwell was pretty bleh. Jay Bell was probably the best shortstop the Royals have ever had...in his one season with the club. Maybe Moustakas can stick to short and end that stretch, but something has to be done because Pena is just a better fielding version of Berroa with less power.
Yes, that pretty much sums it up. It was interesting to write this, and take a look at the steady decline in Berroa's numbers following his rookie season. Maybe the Royals can spend some money this offseason, and sign a shortstop like the Dodgers' Rafael Furcal or Chicago's Orlando Cabrera -- both of whom will be free agents at the end of this season -- and bring them to Kansas City to team up with Alberto Callaspo in the middle infield.
Thanks for reading, and commenting. Go Royals!
I'd love to see the Royals go after Furcal. I think the Royals would be wise to do that, let him lead off and play shortstop. Maybe a 2009 lineup of...
1. Furcal
2. DeJesus
3. Butler
4. Gordon
5. Guillen
6. Teahen
7. Shealy
8. Buck
9. Callaspo
I think Callaspo will eventually be a #2 hitter, maybe even a leadoff hitter, but with Furcal, he probably fits best in the 9 hole.
For me, if Furcal wants to lead off for the Kansas City Royals, he's going to have to get his OBP back up. In 2006, it was a very nice .369, but last year, it was .333. Right now he's only 5 points over average in his career. I'd like to see better than that, especially given what he's going to cost.
Maybe I'm just dumb, but I'm still hoping that Jeff Bianchi can still bring it all together. He did have an atrocious first full season, but at least he stayed healthy. With last year's debacle, he's hitting .293/.358/.427 over his professional career. He's obviously not going to be the 1.200 OPS monster that he did show, but I think he'll be able to do better than what he did last year. 2008 is his Age 21 Season and I think there's a good chance he'll return to Burlington for a little bit. I think he could finish the season in Hi-A. I'd like to believe that with the lay offs he suffered in his first two seasons combined with moving up a level explains his .247/.296/.315 line last year. We'll see.
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