Carlos Pena

2013

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2012

Pena's .225/.357/.462 looks pedestrian for a first baseman, especially coming off a disastrous 2010. But if you take out an abysmal April during which he played through a thumb injury and managed just one double, nine singles and zero homers in 63 at-bats, his line is .235/.367/.504 - above average, especially when you consider his plus glove. Pena strikes out a ton, so he's almost certainly going to hurt your average, and he's going to sit a lot against lefties whom he simply could not hit last year. Still, he returns to Tampa Bay with a one-year deal, and could continue to provide cheap power and RBI in the middle of the Rays' lineup.

2011

Pena suffered through a forgettable 2010, batting a career-low .196 and hitting 11 fewer home runs (28) than his previous season. Some will point to his BABIP as the culprit, which was less than .250 for the second straight season. However, these low BABIP numbers correlate with the time that opposing teams started deploying a shift to the right side of the infield against him. With the Rays looking to cut payroll, Pena moved on and signed a one-year deal with the Cubs. He'll fill the vacancy left by Derrek Lee and look to revive his career in the National League. There's still a lot of upside for power with Pena, especially on days when the wind is blowing out at Wrigley Field. Just keep in mind that his power will likely come at the expense of a poor batting average.

2010

Pena had his season cut short due to a couple of broken fingers. Offseason surgery and rehab should have him at 100 percent for the spring. Before the injury, he racked up his third straight 30-plus home run and 100-plus RBI campaign, but at the expense of a .227 batting average. Draft him for his power numbers and expect his average to improve a little, just remember he's not going to help your team in that department even with some improvement.

2009

While those numbers are a clear falloff from his 2007 season, they're also clearly better than Pena had put together in any other big league season of his life; 31 dingers are nothing to sneeze at. Pena's performance improved after he missed most of June with a broken finger (.266/.410/.556, 21 homers in his last 83 games). El Presidente has emerged as the leader of the Rays' clubhouse, and his second-half production from 2008 is indicative of what we should expect in 2009.

2008

Pena finished second in the AL in home runs and slugging, third in OPS and fourth in RBI; he hit 14 home runs in 31 games against the Red Sox and Yankees, proving he wasn't just hitting well against bad staffs. Remember, Pena hit 86 home runs the previous three seasons (majors and minors combined), averaging a homer just about every five games. So if someone's saying Pena's power came out of nowhere this season, they weren't paying attention. Pena will return as the everyday first baseman next spring; expect some falloff from a career year, but not much.

2007

Pena fulfilled a boyhood dream in 2006 getting to play for his hometown Red Sox, with the highlight being a walk-off homer at Fenway Park. That's the fantasy. The reality is Pena's a journeyman first baseman with some pop who's played with five organizations (Detroit twice) in his seven-year career. He's headed for number six in 2007. The Red Sox are well-stocked at first base and Pena's got designs on starting the season on a major league team. He filed for free agency immediately following the regular season.

2006

Pena struggled mightily early last season, lost his job to Chris Shelton, and was sent to Triple-A to work on his swing. He returned to the majors in mid-August with a home run binge that forced the Tigers to play him fairly regularly. Pena certainly has the power to hit 30 home runs in a season but has a poor eye at the plate and doesn't make a lot of contact. At 27, there's little chance Pena will make a major improvement. While he provides solid power, his poor average will offset most of those gains.

2005

Pena finally delivered on his power potential in 2004. He will almost assuredly hurt any team's average but his power numbers and remaining untapped potential mean he's worth keeping in mind on draft day.

2004

He needs to strike out a little less and walk a little more, but Pena showed steady improvement from 2002, jacking 18 homers and 21 doubles while playing some of the best defense at first base in the league. This year could be a big jump for him, so keep him in mind.

2003

Okay, Pena fell short of expectations, ours included, but it's not like he was a total flop. His glove will keep him in the lineup. If he can get a little bit of his patience back at the plate, he could easily hit .270 with 20-25 homers. After the tame freshman year, he won't cost too much at the draft table.