Chicago catching instructor John Orton got his first look at his new pupil a few weeks later in Arizona. “The best way [to get to know a new player] is to sit back and watch and see what he does — how he moves, how he receives, his footwork and all that,” said Orton. “When he came over, people were saying he was a little rough defensively, but I tried to put that out of my mind so I could see for myself and not have any preconceived judgments.”
With that approach, Orton was pleasantly surprised the first time he watched Flowers catch in a bullpen session. “My first impression was, ‘Wow, this kid has good hands!” Orton said. “And that’s big for me, because you can work to get better with that, but a kid has to have good hands to start with to be able to catch in the big leagues.” …
July 8, 2009
Tyler Flowers
BTB on the Pena trade
Digging deeper, Pena’s 2.36 K/BB and 0.79 HR/9 have resulted in a solid 3.72 FIP, between his career average of 4.01 and last year’s 3.42. Pena’s good pitching in high leverage innings combined with the ability to shoulder a relatively heavy load (157 IP between 2007-2008) have made Pena worth 2.2 wins since 2007 (including 2009 so far). …
Fangraphs on the Pena trade
Pena throws hard. His average fastball velocity is 95-MPH, and he also features a hard slider and a changeup, both pitches have been effective offerings for him this year. For someone with stuff as good as Pena’s, it’s surprising he doesn’t strikeout more batters; he’s actually been rather average in that regard. (6.55 career K/9, 6.88 this season). Pena has better control than average and for someone who has pitched in a rather hitter-friendly park, he’s done a fine job of keeping the ball in the yard. He has a 4.24 ERA now, but much of that can be blamed on some bad BABIP breaks (.352). …
The Transaction Oracle on newly-acquired RHRP Tony Pena
2009 ZIPS Projection - Tony Pena
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W L G GS IP H ER HR BB SO ERA
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Year-to-Date 5 3 37 0 34.0 41 16 3 11 26 4.24
Rest-of-Year 3 2 36 0 37.3 38 17 4 11 28 4.10
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Total 8 5 73 0 71.3 79 33 7 22 54 4.16
