Carlos Pena

I know I mentioned the hottest hitter in the majors last week, but I feel like (after a couple conversations with friends), I should maybe dig a little deeper on Carlos Pena, he of the seven homers in his last six games.  Let's put him under the Monday microscope.

Pena is a career late bloomer.  Take that two ways.  One, he didn't really start hitting until 2007, his seventh season in the league (when he hit 46 bombs).  Also, he is fairly consistent in the fact that he starts slower and heats up as the summer goes on.  Two years ago, I added Pena after someone dropped him following a horrid .226, 11 homer first half of the season.  After carrying my squad to the end of the season, Pena found himself hitting .250 with 31 bombs over the entire six months.  That's roughly .275 with 20 homers in the second half.  I'll take that.

Last season, Pena hit 39 homers...in 471 at bats!  For those of you waiting for him to cool off, it's not happening.  He's going to hit and hit for big power the rest of the season.

Here are three more quick reasons to love Pena.

• He plays on Tampa, and will have big totals in runs and RBI as a result.
• He is in a contract year.
• This may not be relevant anymore, but I love the answer Keith Law once gave to a question way back when, before Pena broke out.  Someone asked which prospect that he scouted missed that he thought would be a sure thing.  His answer?  Mr. Pena.  Another reason to love him...and Law.

If someone is trying to sell high on Carlos Pena, I would encourage you to buy high, then ride the player who very likely will lead the American League in homers this season the rest of the way.

Cheers,
TFAM