Wily Mo Pena Stats & Scouting Report

AB	1703
AVG	.25
OBP	.303
SLG	.445
HR	84

Full name Wily Modesto Peña
Born 01/23/1982 in Laguna Salada, Dominican Republic
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 260 / Bats: R / Throws: R
Debut 09/10/2002

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Pena had deals with the Marlins and Mets nixed by the commissioner's office before he turned 16. He eventually signed a four-year major league pact for $3.7 million with the Yankees, then was traded to the Reds for Drew Henson. He tore his hamstring in the Arizona Fall League and had surgery that will keep him out at the beginning of spring training. Pena is often compared to Sammy Sosa at the same stage of their careers. He owns similar raw power and may have more than anyone in the minors. He put on a home run display at Miller Park before the Futures Game last year. Pena is the fastest athlete in the system, and he projects as a prototypical right fielder with a cannon arm. His plus-plus bat speed allows him to crush any fastball. His biggest weakness is his contract. Pena has to be kept on the 25-man roster or be exposed to waivers, where he certainly would be lost. He needs more minor league at-bats because he's ultra-aggressive and hasn't grasped the idea of selectivity yet, but he's not going to get them. The Reds may buy a little time by sending Pena to the minors on a rehab assignment. After that, he'll have to learn on the job in the major leagues while sitting behind Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey and Austin Kearns.
The Reds longed for Pena as far back as the spring of 1999, when he signed a $3.7 million major league contract with the Yankees. They weren't heartbroken to part with third-base prospect Drew Henson, whom they knew they couldn't keep away from a potential NFL career, because Pena came in return. Cincinnati figured Pena could flourish if they left him in one place for an entire season and allowed him to settle in. His impressive build, which prompts comparisons to Sammy Sosa, magnifies his five-tool skills. So did Pena's performance, which made him one of three minor leaguers with 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Pena's work ethic and enthusiasm are almost as impressive as his physical gifts. Pena needs to stop swinging at everything, especially breaking pitches off the plate. Defensively, he still needs work on reading the angles of batted balls, which should come once he learns to get better jumps. Pena's contract requires him to open 2003 in the majors or be exposed to waivers. The Reds must hope he accelerates his development, aware that he's doomed to be rushed to the bigs.
Pena previously signed with the Marlins and Mets before both contracts were ruled invalid and he accepted a four-year big league deal worth $3.7 million from the Yankees in April 1999. After batting .184 in the first two months of 2000, he hit .294 before straining a ligament in his right knee in an outfield collision. Pena is probably the most impressive five-tool prospect the Yankees have had since Ruben Rivera. He's a pure athlete with awesome power, and he can run, throw and play center field. But he's as raw as he is gifted. He has a .234 average and a 168-32 strikeout-walk ratio in 132 professional games. He'll need time to develop into a productive hitter. The Yankees knew sending Pena to a full-season club at age 18 was a stretch, and it may be again at the start of 2001. Because he signed a major league contract, he must stick in New York to open 2003 or be exposed to waivers. That timetable appears too ambitious at this point.

Minor League Top Prospects

There were three strikes against Pena, one being that he often uses three strikes without putting the ball in play. He also didn't have a very strong season, with hamstring problems partially to blame. And because the Yankees signed him to a $3.7 million major league contract in 1999, he's now out of options. Acquired in the Drew Henson trade with New York, Pena has to stick on the Reds' 25-man roster next year or be exposed to waivers. Cincinnati likely won't run that risk because of Pena's out-of-sight tools, but that scenario will make it hard for him to hone his ability. "It's going to be hard for him to grow and develop and learn if he's sitting in the big leagues and not playing a whole lot," Chattanooga manager Phillip Wellman said. "There's no question he's got superstar qualities." Pena has frightening bat speed that generates Sammy Sosa-like power. He also is quick on the bases and in the outfield, and he owns a powerful arm. Until he learns the strike zone, however, he'll only be a tease.
When Drew Henson used his football leverage to force the Reds to trade him back to the Yankees, Cincinnati received Pena in return. That deal may just work out, as Pena reminded the NL scout and Michigan manager John Massarelli of the same player: Sammy Sosa. Pena and teammate Samone Peters had easily the most raw power in the MWL, and no one approached Pena's all-around skills. He has 30-30 potential--and that home run estimate is conservative--to go with center-field range and a right-field arm. "He's the type of kid who can hit the ball out anywhere in the ballpark and then hit a routine ground ball to shortstop and beat it out," Burlington manager Joe Szekely said. "That's very special right there. He's so big and strong, and he has the best package of tools in the league." There are two major concerns with Pena. He struck out 177 times, though managers believe he can correct that flaw because it's the result of horrid plate discipline rather than holes in his swing. More problematic is a major league contract that will force the Reds to call him up for good by Opening Day 2003, and he doesn't figure to be ready that quickly.
Pena was signed by the Yankees to a $3.7 million bonus in April, after the commissioner's office ruled that both the Marlins and Mets had signed him illegally. He was flanked in the Yankees outfield by prospects Yhensy Brazoban in left and Tommy Winrow in right, but Pena was given the best chance of becoming a five-tool player. "He's got real thunder in his bat," Green said. "He can really drive balls a long way to all fields."