Biographical

Portrait of Wily Mo Pena

Wily Mo Pena RF

Player Cards | Team Audit | Depth Chart

Career Summary
Years PA AVG OBP SLG DRC+ WARP
12 1845 .250 .303 .445 85 0.3
Birth Date1-23-1982
Height6' 3"
Weight260 lbs
Age43 years, 0 months, 0 days
BatsR
ThrowsR
WARP Summary

MLB Statistics

YEAR TEAM AGE G PA H 2B 3B HR BB SO HBP SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ DRAA BRR FRAA BWARP
2002 CIN 20 13 18 4 0 0 1 0 11 0 0 0 .222 .222 .389 46 -1.1 -1.6 -0.5 -0.3
2003 CIN 21 80 181 36 6 1 5 12 53 3 3 2 .218 .283 .358 64 -7.5 -0.6 -4.0 -0.7
2004 CIN 22 110 364 87 10 1 26 22 108 6 5 2 .259 .316 .527 107 3.8 0.1 6.2 1.9
2005 CIN 23 99 335 79 17 0 19 20 116 3 2 1 .254 .304 .492 86 -5.2 -0.9 -3.3 -0.2
2006 BOS 24 84 304 83 15 2 11 20 90 3 0 1 .301 .349 .489 94 -0.9 1.8 1.2 0.9
2007 BOS 25 73 172 34 9 1 5 14 58 2 0 1 .218 .291 .385 83 -3.1 -1.0 -1.6 -0.2
2007 WAS 25 37 145 39 4 0 8 8 36 4 2 0 .293 .352 .504 89 -1.5 0.1 -3.9 -0.2
2008 WAS 26 64 206 40 6 0 2 10 48 0 0 1 .205 .243 .267 53 -11.3 -2.6 0.6 -0.9
2011 ARI 29 17 46 9 0 0 5 0 19 0 0 0 .196 .196 .522 86 -0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
2011 SEA 29 22 74 14 3 0 2 5 20 2 0 0 .209 .284 .343 84 -1.3 0.3 0.0 0.0
Career59918454257058411155923128.250.303.44585-28.7-4.5-5.30.3

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.
YEAR Team Lg LG G PA oppAVG oppOBP oppSLG BABIP BPF BRAA repLVL POS_ADJ DRC+ DRC+ SD FRAA BRR DRAA BWARP
2000 GRB A SAL 0 272 .000 .000 .000 .277 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2000 STA A- NYP 0 79 .000 .000 .000 .440 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2001 DYT A MDW 135 565 .000 .000 .000 .354 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2002 CIN MLB NL 13 18 .241 .311 .375 .500 107 -1.2 0.5 -0.1 46 15 -0.5 -1.6 -1.1 -0.3
2002 CHT AA SOU 105 436 .000 .000 .000 .351 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2003 CIN MLB NL 80 181 .262 .333 .416 .290 102 -6.3 4.8 -0.3 64 11 -4.0 -0.6 -7.5 -0.7
2003 LOU AAA INT 14 60 .000 .000 .000 .441 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2004 CIN MLB NL 110 364 .262 .327 .420 .302 98 5.9 10.8 -1.3 107 15 6.2 0.1 3.8 1.9
2005 CIN MLB NL 99 335 .260 .329 .414 .339 106 1.6 9.6 -2.1 86 8 -3.3 -0.9 -5.2 -0.2
2005 LOU AAA INT 7 25 .265 .312 .421 .462 111 -0.4 0.8 -0.2 74 0 -0.9 0.0 -0.7 -0.1
2006 BOS MLB AL 84 304 .275 .341 .439 .400 107 7.1 9.2 -1.8 94 12 1.2 1.8 -0.9 0.9
2006 LOW A- NYP 2 6 .263 .329 .335 .200 93 -0.7 0.2 -0.1 64 0 -0.1 0.3 -0.4 0.0
2006 PAW AAA INT 12 52 .253 .317 .374 .276 99 2 1.4 -0.6 111 0 -1.2 -0.1 0.7 0.0
2007 BOS MLB AL 73 172 .268 .340 .414 .312 101 -5.9 5.1 -1.2 83 10 -1.6 -1.0 -3.1 -0.2
2007 WAS MLB NL 37 145 .269 .336 .435 .348 99 4.4 4.3 -1 89 11 -3.9 0.1 -1.5 -0.2
2008 WAS MLB NL 64 206 .259 .328 .407 .260 94 -15 6.0 -1.4 53 11 0.6 -2.6 -11.3 -0.9
2008 COH AAA INT 1 2 .281 .334 .390 .000 93 -0.6 0.1 0 13 0 -0.1 0.0 -0.2 0.0
2009 BUF AAA INT 41 152 .258 .328 .393 .313 105 -0.1 4.4 -2.4 98 0 -1.3 -0.7 -0.1 0.0
2010 POR AAA PCL 40 159 .286 .361 .444 .420 94 12.2 4.8 -2.6 133 0 -0.4 1.2 7.0 1.0
2011 ARI MLB NL 17 46 .247 .313 .381 .182 103 -0.5 1.2 -0.6 86 17 0.0 0.0 -0.7 0.0
2011 SEA MLB AL 22 74 .255 .314 .407 .267 91 -0.6 2.0 -1.3 84 16 0.0 0.3 -1.3 0.0
2011 RNO AAA PCL 63 271 .298 .367 .474 .385 126 19.8 8.4 -3.9 152 0 -4.5 -1.2 23.0 2.1
2011 TAC AAA PCL 13 61 .292 .363 .461 .382 111 7.2 1.9 -1.2 161 0 0.1 -1.9 26.6 2.4
2011 LIC Wnt DWL 29 108 .000 .000 .000 .204 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Statistics For All Levels

Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.
Year Team lvl LG PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG ISO SF SH
2000 GRB A SAL 272 249 41 51 7 1 10 90 28 18 91 6 5 .205 .272 .361 .157 0 0
2000 STA A- NYP 79 73 7 22 1 2 0 27 10 2 23 2 0 .301 .354 .370 .068 0 0
2001 DYT A MDW 565 511 87 135 25 5 26 248 113 33 177 26 10 .264 .330 .485 .221 0 0
2002 CHT AA SOU 436 388 47 99 23 1 11 157 47 36 126 8 0 .255 .333 .405 .149 0 0
2002 CIN MLB NL 18 18 1 4 0 0 1 7 1 0 11 0 0 .222 .222 .389 .167 0 0
2003 LOU AAA INT 60 51 16 19 3 0 4 34 14 5 13 0 0 .373 .458 .667 .294 0 0
2003 CIN MLB NL 181 165 20 36 6 1 5 59 16 12 53 3 2 .218 .283 .358 .139 0 1
2004 CIN MLB NL 364 336 45 87 10 1 26 177 66 22 108 5 2 .259 .316 .527 .268 0 0
2005 LOU AAA INT 25 24 1 7 1 0 1 11 4 1 10 0 0 .292 .320 .458 .167 0 0
2005 CIN MLB NL 335 311 42 79 17 0 19 153 51 20 116 2 1 .254 .304 .492 .238 1 0
2006 PAW AAA INT 52 41 8 10 1 0 2 17 7 7 10 0 0 .244 .392 .415 .171 0 0
2006 BOS MLB AL 304 276 36 83 15 2 11 135 42 20 90 0 1 .301 .349 .489 .188 5 0
2006 LOW A- NYP 6 6 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .167 .167 .167 .000 0 0
2007 BOS MLB AL 172 156 18 34 9 1 5 60 17 14 58 0 1 .218 .291 .385 .167 0 0
2007 WAS MLB NL 145 133 24 39 4 0 8 67 22 8 36 2 0 .293 .352 .504 .211 0 0
2008 WAS MLB NL 206 195 10 40 6 0 2 52 10 10 48 0 1 .205 .243 .267 .062 1 0
2008 COH AAA INT 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0
2009 BUF AAA INT 152 145 12 40 5 0 5 60 21 5 28 0 0 .276 .300 .414 .138 0 0
2010 POR AAA PCL 159 142 28 46 6 0 9 79 34 15 45 0 1 .324 .392 .556 .232 0 0
2011 LIC Wnt DWL 108 88 15 16 3 0 5 34 16 13 30 2 0 .182 .324 .386 .205 1 0
2011 RNO AAA PCL 271 237 52 86 17 3 21 172 63 25 48 5 2 .363 .439 .726 .363 1 0
2011 TAC AAA PCL 61 51 11 17 4 0 4 33 14 9 13 0 0 .333 .443 .647 .314 0 0
2011 SEA MLB AL 74 67 8 14 3 0 2 23 8 5 20 0 0 .209 .284 .343 .134 0 0
2011 ARI MLB NL 46 46 7 9 0 0 5 24 7 0 19 0 0 .196 .196 .522 .326 0 0

Plate Discipline

YEAR Pits Zone% Swing% Contact% Z-Swing% O-Swing% Z-Contact% O-Contact% SwStr% CSAA
2008 700 0.4757 0.5486 0.6797 0.7447 0.3706 0.8105 0.4412 0.3203 -0.0015
2011 433 0.4342 0.5266 0.6228 0.7074 0.3878 0.7820 0.4000 0.3772 0.0058
Career11330.45980.54020.65800.73040.37720.79960.42550.34200.0013

Injury History  —  No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On Date Off Transaction Days Games Side Body Part Injury Severity Surgery Date Reaggravation
2009-02-28 2009-03-07 Camp 7 0 Right Shoulder Strain -
2008-07-12 2008-09-28 60-DL 78 66 Left Shoulder Surgery Labrum and Rotator Cuff 2008-07-22
2008-03-20 2008-04-13 15-DL 24 12 Left Abdomen Strain Oblique -
2006-05-27 2006-07-18 15-DL 52 45 Left Wrist Surgery Hamate 2006-06-01
2005-05-03 2005-06-07 15-DL 35 31 Left Thigh Strain Quadriceps -
2003-07-05 2003-07-30 15-DL 25 22 Right Thigh Strain Hamstring -
2002-10-18 2002-10-18 WIN 0 0 Right Thigh Surgery Hamstring 2002-10-18 -
2000-07-13 2000-10-26 60-DL 105 78 - - - -

Compensation

Year Team Salary
2008 WAS $2,000,000
2007 BOS $1,875,000
2006 BOS $1,250,000
2005 CIN $440,000
2004 CIN $345,000
2003 CIN $788,000
2000 NYN $220,000
YearsDescriptionSalary
7 yrPrevious$6,918,000
7 yrTotal$6,918,000

 

Service TimeAgentContract Status
7 y 10 dJosh Zeide1 year (2017)

Details
  • 1 year (2017). Signed by Cleveland as a free agent 1/31/17 (minor-league contract). Salary of $0.7M in majors.
  • 1 year (2015), plus 2016 option. Signed by Rakuten of Japan 2/15.
  • 2014. Orix of Japan.
  • 2 years (2012-13). Signed by Fukuoka SoftBank of Japan 12/2/11.
  • 1 year (2011). Signed by Arizona 12/10 (minor-league contract). Contract purchased by Arizona 6/21/11. DFA by Arizona 7/15/11. Released 7/24/11. Signed by Seattle as a free agent 7/27/11 (minor-league contract). Contract purchased by Seattle 8/13/11.
  • 1 year/$2M (2008), plus 2009 mutual option. Re-signed 12/6/07 (avoided arbitration). Option is $5M for club, $2M for player. Pena exercised $2M player option 10/30/08. Released 3/31/09. Signed by NY Mets 4/20/09 (minor-league contract). Released 6/22/09.
  • 1 year/$1.875M (2007). Re-signed 2/07 (avoided arbitration, $2.2M-$1.725M). Acquired in trade from Boston 8/17/07.
  • 1 year/$1.25M (2006). Re-signed 1/06 (avoided arbitration). Acquired in trade from Cincinnati 3/06.
  • 1 year/$0.44M (2005)
  • 1 year/$0.345M (2004)
  • Signed Major League contract with NY Yankees 4/99

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ VORP FRAA WARP
Weighted Mean???????00??.000.000.00000.0?0.0

BP Annual Player Comments

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BP Articles

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BP Chats

DateQuestionAnswer
2019-07-11 23:00:00 (link to chat)Have you seen Niko Holsizer? Worth pursuing in a dynasty?
(terps993 from MD)		Hulsizer's a guy we'll have a bunch of notes on here very shortly. Between the MWL and now the Cal several of us have seen a little of him now, and he's not a dude you really feel comfortable projecting on until you've seen him a lot. Jacob Bickman's first impressions are here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/51080/notes-from-the-field-june-25-2019/

It's just a ton of power - according to Tremor he drilled one 116 the other night. It's also a ton of (aggressive) swing-and-miss. Sometimes those dudes turn into something like Wily Mo Pena, and many more times they have the same career trajectory in Japan minus the 8-year MLB career (Wilson Karaman)
2017-08-28 13:00:00 (link to chat)Who in your humble opinion is the greatest 3 True Outcomes player of all time? And who is the greatest playing today?
(Paul from DC)		I always always always want to say Jack Cust here. And I'm sure there are purer versions out there -- Wily Mo Pena maybe? Wladimir Balentein? -- but Cust's 2007,where he walked over 20 percent of the time, struck out over 30, and had about a quarter of his hits as home runs is pretty remarkable. He should've never declined, in a just world.

The best today? That's kind of tough -- I would've said Nick Williams, but he doesn't walk enough and his major league output has been kind of different. Joey Gallo is tempting, but he also isn't a big, big walker. Probably, it's Aaron Judge, who's flirting with Cust's 20/30 bb/k rate and has about 25 percent of his hits as HR. (Trevor Strunk)
2017-02-09 13:00:00 (link to chat)What can we expect from Joey Gallo in 2017? Can he win the TEX 1B job out of ST or has his ship sailed after a miserable 2016?
(Bronx Bomber from Philippines)		Wily Mo Pena got a minor league contract in this, the year of Our Lord 2017, so rest assured that no ships ever sail. That said, PECOTA puts him at .216/.321/.470, which is just higher than Steamer and just lower than Popular Free Agent Chris Carter (though with better defense). I think he gets a shot; the question comes down to how he times his inevitable month-long cold streak. He should probably avoid having it in April if at all possible. (Patrick Dubuque)
2014-08-06 16:30:00 (link to chat)Who would you take in a Swingoff between Russell Branyan and Willy Mo Pena
(Mike from Chicago)		There are very few situations in which you don't want Wily Mo Pena on your side. (Cespedes Family BBQ)
2014-08-06 16:30:00 (link to chat)You can watch either Joey Gallo, Wily Mo Pena, or Carlos Peguero take BP before a game. Which one do you choose?
(Greg from Lexington)		These are the kinds of personal questions that we do not feel comfortable answering during this chat.

(Carlos Peguero). (Cespedes Family BBQ)
2014-08-06 16:30:00 (link to chat)You can watch either Joey Gallo, Wily Mo Pena, or Carlos Peguero take BP before a game. Which one do you choose?
(Greg from Lexington)		These are the kinds of personal questions that we do not feel comfortable answering during this chat.

(Carlos Peguero). (Cespedes Family BBQ)
2011-08-16 17:00:00 (link to chat)Why does BP hate me ?
(Gerardo Parra from HOF)		Because you blocked Wily Mo Pena, Colin Cowgill, and Brandon Allen at different points this season. No offense, but you are boring for fantasy purposes and those guys were prettier on the stat sheet. (Jason Collette)
2011-07-21 16:00:00 (link to chat)In the "help help, I'm being repressed" category, which prospects are "most blocked" right now .... Alonso? Montero? other?
(dianagramr from NYC)		Alonso is at the front of that line with Votto in his way. Montero and Jennings are there behind him offering support and I think Colin Cowgill has a right to ask into that party as a lesser prospect having a great year for Arizona in AAA that has seen both Wily Mo Pena and Brandon Allen promoted ahead of him. (Jason Collette)
2011-06-21 13:00:00 (link to chat)Hi Derek. Callups such as Moustakas and Ackley have recently deposed primary starters for teams. Which other current players do you see as short-timers in their starting line-up? One specific Q: Johnny Gia for Getz anytime soon? Thanks...
(LoyalRoyal from LV, KS)		I think we'll see Johnny Giavotella this season, but the Royals may look to extract some value via trade out of a guy like Getz beforehand. Other guys to look for in the near-term include Trayvon Robinson, Jason Kipnis, and Dayan Viciedo. There's talk Wily Mo Pena will get the call this week to DH and could force himself into the OF picture in Arizona if he hits. (Derek Carty)
2010-11-09 14:00:00 (link to chat)Juan Francisco is tearing up the AFL so far. I'm genuinely torn on this guy, he's got amazing power but horrific plate discipline. Is he Wily Mo Pena v2.0?
(Johnny from NYC)		Actually, he's tearing up the Dominican League with the Gigantes del Cibao. If he doesn't change his swing at everything approach, I don't think he'll ever be more than a up and down guy. (Kevin Goldstein)
2008-08-27 13:00:00 (link to chat)Although it wasn't due to injury, couldn't Wily Mo Pena be used as an example for how missing years of development lowers someone's ceiling? That major league contract killed his development.
(birkem3 from Dayton, OH)		I'd have to counter with Josh Hamilton and say we need a much bigger sample size. Seriously, the idea of testing this is really exciting. (Will Carroll)
2008-06-24 13:00:00 (link to chat)The Nationals have many, many problems, but one seems to be Lenny Harris, whose biggest accomplishment as hitting coach seems to be convincing Wily Mo Pena that a low average without power is preferable to a low average with power. Obviously, there are calls for Lenny to be kicked to the curb, like, now. What's your take on how influential/positive/negative a force a hitting coach can be?
(Shaved Youppi Lincoln Freak from DC)		I will always take questions from "Shaved Youppi Lincoln Freak." I LOVE that. Please come out the next time I'm in DC doing a signing at Politics & Prose - the first coffee is on me. The impact of hitting coaches varies by club and situation, but clearly they can be quite influential, as a generation of Royals and White Sox doing helicopter swings will attest (have those completely vanished from the game now?). We also see Mickey Hatcher with the Angels, who was a low OBP contact hitter who seems to train a lot of low-OBP contact hitters. Just yesterday, Matt Stairs was criticizing the departing hitting coach of the Jays. I don't think the coach can ever shoulder the full blame for a team's problems, but he hasn't helped and a change might be beneficial. (Steven Goldman)
2008-06-17 15:00:00 (link to chat)Enough chatter about those teams hogging the top 10. What about my beloved Nationals? Is this the worst hitting lineup in recent times? Also, on the Dave Duncan theme, I think Randy St. Clair is underappreciated for getting decent pitching out of a staff of 89 mph retreads and kids.
(macman from dc)		Whew, 2:30 into this I think I've blown past my pitch count and am into a Category V start. This question and one more....

Good point about St. Clair and the Nats, particularly their rotation. If Shawn Hill could remain healthy it would be even more impressive.

As bad as the lineup's hitting has been, it's fundamentally not as awful as, say, the Mariners'. Injuries have taken their toll, limiting Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman or knocking them out of action for extended periods. The important thing is that there's a lot more upside here than a place like Seattle. Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes and Wily Mo Pena may not live up to they hype, but I'd rather see what they can do than watching the death throes of Richie Sexson's career and the half-dozen battles to get OBPs over .300 in that lineup. (Jay Jaffe)
2008-01-24 13:00:00 (link to chat)What does the Nats lineup look like at the end of the year? Are Dimitri Young, Nick Johnson, and Wily Mo Pena in it?
(James Cole from Boston)		Johnson and Pena, yes. Young, no (John Perrotto)
2008-01-17 14:00:00 (link to chat)Wily Mo Pena or Elijah Dukes?
(doog7642 from Blaine, MN)		Dukes, and not just because it's the sort of thing that makes people wonder why karma isn't a bitch in his case. He's simply younger and more talented, and I think the Nats are being proactive in helping him get straightened out and have a real career. (Christina Kahrl)
2004-05-03 13:00:00 (link to chat)How many PA's does Wily Mo Pena have to keep posting his current .296/.387/.519 before we all get in line to apologize to the all-knowing PECOTA?
(Randy Brown from Ann Arbor, MI)		Go, Wily, go.

I had the chance to see Pena play when the Reds came through Chicago not long ago. The guy *looks* like a hitter, which is to say, he's big, and strong, and the ball goes a long way when he makes contact with it. His plate discipline looks to be a bit better too this year, and he's a talented enough hitter that even marginal gains in that department could bring him to the fringe of usefulness. And when a 21-year-old is useful in the big leagues ... there's a good chance that he's going to have a career. (Nate Silver)



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PITCHf/x Hitter Profile

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