On Carlos Pena: “He’s kind of like a poor man’s Keith Hernandez. He’ll hit more home runs than Hernandez. He won’t have quite the average. But he’s got great makeup, great poise. I like his swing. I like his approach. I think he could struggle for a couple of months. But in time, he’ll be a very productive hitter.”
That’s Jason Stark quoting a scout about Pena, about whom everyone is talking these days. The key words here are: “I think he could struggle for a couple of months.”
Everybody loves potential and Pena has it. But it would be crazy to bid on him this spring as if that potential was anything but unrealized.