On the Farm: Pena, Perez, Phillips
On the Farm profiles select farmhands in the Astros system. The cchooks.com series continues with C Roberto Pena, RHP Tyson Perez and OF Brett Phillips.
Roberto Pena
Catcher
BORN June 8, 1992 in Caguas, PR
OPENING DAY AGE 22
HEIGHT 6'0
WEIGHT 216
BATS Right
THROWS Right
RESIDES Caguas, PR
ACQUIRED Selected in the 7th round of the 2010 June draft
Career Highlights: 2015 - Received a non-roster invite to big league camp. For a 4th consecutive season, rated by Baseball America as being the best defensive catcher in the Astros system. 2014 - Earned a Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove Award which is granted to 9 minor league players, 1 at each position, who demonstrated defensive excellence. Led qualifying California League catchers with a .996 fielding percentage (3 errors in 842 total chances). Also topped the circuit by throwing out potential base-stealers at a .565 (52-of-92) clip. A Mid- and Postseason All-Star, helped lead the JetHawks to a league championship. Ranked within Lancaster's top 5 offensive leaders in sac flies (5, T-1st), home runs (2nd), hit-by-pitch (6, T-3rd), RBIs (4th), total bases (145, 4th), at-bats (4th) and doubles (T-5th). Homered in back-to-back games and combined for 5 RBIs May 15-16 against Bakersfield and Rancho Cucamonga. Authored a 14-game hit streak from May 25 to June 21, batting .362 with 3 home runs, 13 RBIs and a .424 on-base percentage. Drove in 16 runs over a 12-game stretch from May 15 to May 30. Played 15 games in June, batting .345 with and .897 OPS. Hit safely in 7 of 9 games from July 17-28, going 12-for-34 (.353) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Notched 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 10 RBIs in his final 10 regular-season games. Played 20 games for Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League. 2013 - Caught 84 games for the River Bandits who went on to capture the Midwest League title. His caught-stealing percentage of .518 (43-of-83) paced qualifying league catchers. Charged with 5 errors in 743 total chances for a .993 fielding percentage. Recorded hits in 16 of his first 17 contests, batting .373 with 13 runs, 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBIs and a .933 OPS. Drove in 4 via a double and home run April 30 vs. Great Lakes. From May through the end of the regular season, hit .227 with 3 home runs and 22 RBIs in 73 contests. Notched a season-high 4 hits and plated 3 runs July 5 at Kane County. Featured a .261-4-18 line on the road as opposed to .235-1-14 marks at home. Played winter ball for his hometown Criollos. 2012 - Batted .237 with 31 runs, 16 doubles, 3 home runs and 33 RBIs in 82 games between Lexington and Lancaster. Turned in a .987 fielding percentage, committing 9 errors in 710 chances, and threw out would-be baserunners at a 32-percent clip. Tabbed the Legends' Defender of the Month for May and batted .329 with 7 doubles and 7 RBIs in 20 June games. Plated 4 on July 1 against Asheville, thanks in part to a 3-run homer with 2 away in the 6th. Promoted to California League in mid-July. Went 5-for-7 with 4 runs, 1 double, 1 home run and 7 RBIs over his final 2 regular-season games. Appeared 4 times during the playoffs as the JetHawks won the CL crown. Hit .188 with 1 home run and 8 RBIs in 18 PWL games for Caguas. Career Notes: In 5 pro seasons, owns a .991 fielding percentage and has thrown out 44% of runners attempting to steal. Is the son of former Astros infielder Bert Pena (1981, 83-87).
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
|
2010 |
GCL Astros (R) |
.256 |
23 |
78 |
5 |
20 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
11 |
5 |
10 |
0 |
|
|
Greeneville (R) |
.191 |
12 |
47 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
|
|
Lexington (A) |
.188 |
4 |
16 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
|
2011 |
Lexington (A) |
.217 |
82 |
281 |
31 |
61 |
11 |
0 |
5 |
33 |
18 |
58 |
0 |
|
2012 |
Lexington (A) |
.245 |
61 |
220 |
21 |
54 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
22 |
10 |
43 |
1 |
|
|
Lancaster (A) |
.213 |
21 |
75 |
10 |
16 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
5 |
15 |
0 |
|
2013 |
Quad Cities (A) |
.249 |
86 |
325 |
43 |
81 |
19 |
0 |
5 |
32 |
22 |
52 |
2 |
|
2014 |
Lancaster (A) |
.249 |
93 |
350 |
48 |
87 |
19 |
0 |
13 |
54 |
25 |
63 |
1 |
|
|
Career Totals |
.238 |
382 |
1392 |
163 |
331 |
71 |
1 |
26 |
169 |
86 |
255 |
4 |
Tyson Perez
Pitcher
BORN December 27, 1989 in Hanford, CA
OPENING DAY AGE 25
HEIGHT 6'3
WEIGHT 228
BATS Right
THROWS Right
RESIDES Hanford, CA
SCHOOL Fresno City College (CA)
ACQUIRED Selected in the 17th round of 2011 June draft
Career Highlights: 2014 - Made his Double-A debut on May 30 against Northwest Arkansas and tossed 3.0 scoreless innings. Paced the Hooks with 11 saves in as many opportunities. With Corpus Christi, 25 of his 30 outings were of the scoreless variety. Tagged for 6 runs on 5 hits (2 home runs) in 1.0 inning of work July 22 at San Antonio. Tossing out this performance, he featured a 0.71 ERA and .159 batting average against. Leading up to that rough night at the Wolff, had yielded 1 run in prior 13 appearances (20.0 IP), which includes a string of 16 batters retired in a row. Did not allow a run in 16 appearances at Whataburger Field, picking up 4 wins and 6 saves. The Texas League batted .133 against him without a home run at the friendly confines. Permitted just 6 hits in 29 at-bats with runners in scoring position for a .207 average. Tabbed Corpus Christi's Pitcher of the Month for July. Named to the 2014 Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game as a member of the East Division. Went 0-2 with a 0.63 ERA and 1 save in 10 outings for the Salt River Rafters. Struck out 11 and walked 1 over 14.1 innings. Did not allow a run in first 8 AFL appearances (11.0 IP). 2013 - Slotted 2nd on the JetHawks in appearances and innings pitched. The California League hit .309 and clubbed 16 home runs against him. Worked out of Lancaster's tandem starting rotation for the first 3 months of the season. As a reliever, posted a 2-2 record and 4.35 ERA in 25 outings. Struck out 42 and walked 15 over 62.0 innings, going 3-for-3 in save chances. Yielded 1 run on 3 hits over 2.2 innings of relief during the postseason as Lancaster fell to Inland Empire in the divisional round. 2012 - Tied for the club lead in victories, and ranked 2nd in starts, strikeouts and innings pitched. Went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 2 postseason starts, striking out 12 against 2 walks in 13.0 innings. His victory was Game 3 of the California League Divisional Finals, a 10-5 decision over High Desert. The JetHawks went on to capture the league crown. Was 1 of 12 Cal League pitchers to toss a complete game. Debuted with Lancaster on May 6. Hurled a 2-hitter May 17 at Inland Empire, limiting the 66ers to a solo home run over 9.0 innings. Was 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA thru his first 3 starts of the season. Following a rough June (2-1, 7.62 ERA), settled down in July by fashioning a 2-1 record and 3.91 ERA over 5 starts. Authored another gem against Inland Empire on August 30, his regular-season finale. Hurled 7.1 scoreless innings and fanned 5 without issuing a walk. Lancaster scored twice in the 9th to win 2-0. Overall, the California League hit .308 with 19 home runs against him. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was 2.47. Career Note: Averaging 2.9 walks per 9.0 innings. Yielded 1 home run for every 6.1 innings pitched thru first 3 seasons. That rate dropped to 1 dinger for every 18.0 frames in 2014.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
W-L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
|
2011 |
Greeneville (R) |
2-5 |
5.07 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
55.0 |
62 |
37 |
31 |
13 |
49 |
|
2012 |
Lancaster (A) |
9-5 |
5.03 |
21 |
21 |
1 |
0 |
120.0 |
149 |
73 |
67 |
32 |
79 |
|
2013 |
Lancaster (A) |
4-5 |
5.85 |
37 |
12 |
0 |
3 |
112.1 |
142 |
84 |
73 |
43 |
64 |
|
2014 |
Lancaster (A) |
0-3 |
5.87 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
15.1 |
22 |
12 |
10 |
9 |
15 |
|
|
Corpus Christi (AA) |
4-0 |
2.09 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
38.2 |
25 |
11 |
9 |
14 |
29 |
|
|
Career Totals |
19-18 |
5.01 |
110 |
46 |
1 |
15 |
341.1 |
400 |
217 |
190 |
111 |
236 |
Brett Phillips
Outfielder
BORN May 30, 1994 in Seminole, FL
OPENING DAY AGE 20
HEIGHT 6'0
WEIGHT 184
BATS Left
THROWS Right
RESIDES Seminole, FL
ACQUIRED Selected in the sixth round of the 2012 June draft
Career Highlights: 2015 - Rated by MLB.com as the No.7 prospect among Houston farmhands. Possesses the best outfield arm and is the top defensive outfielder and overall athlete in the Astros system, according to BA. 2014 - Tabbed the Astros Minor League Player of the Year, batting .310 with 87 runs, 29 doubles, 14 triples, 17 home runs, 68 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 130 games between Quad Cities and Lancaster. Promoted to the California League at the beginning of August and hit safely in his first 5 games with the JetHawks, going 11-for-22 at the plate. Went 5-for-5 with 3 doubles, 3 RBIs and a stolen base August 22 at Inland Empire. Reached base in all but 3 of his 27 regular-season games with Lancaster, boasting a .980 OPS. Batted .324 with 5 runs, 3 doubles and 4 RBIs during the playoffs as the JetHawks won the California League Championship. Prior to his promotion to Lancaster, led the Midwest League in slugging percentage (.521) and outfield assists (14) while ranking 2nd in OPS (.883) and total bases (200). Also tied for 2nd in triples, tied for 4th in extra-base hits (46), and slotted 5th in batting average and runs scored. Named to the MWL Mid- and Postseason All-Star teams. Strung together a 15-game road hitting streak from April 8 to May 4. Hit .393 with a .472 on-base percentage during this run, which stood as the 5th-longest road streak in the circuit. Tabbed the River Bandit's Player of the Month for April, batting .301 with 3 triples, 2 home runs and 13 RBIs in 23 games. Posted a pair of 4-RBI performances, including July 6 when he clubbed a grand slam in Game 2 of a doubleheader vs. Wisconsin. For the month, logged an OPS of 1.035 after plating 20 runs on 9 doubles, 2 triples and 8 home runs. Batted .362 with men in scoring position. Hit .325 with 6 homers and 29 RBIs in 53 road games compared to a .274-7-29 line at home. Carried a .311 average and belted 10 home runs against right-handed pitching. Southpaws limited him to a .266 batting average. Hit safely in 8 of his final 9 games with Quad Cities. For the year, played 71 games in center field and committed 2 errors against 7 assists while authoring a .986 fielding percentage. Also logged 60 appearances in right where he notched 10 outfield assists and 4 errors over 129 total chances for a .969 fielding percentage. Prior to the season, labeled by Baseball America as the top outfield arm in the Houston system. 2013 - Appeared in 41 games between Greeneville and Quad Cities, hitting .242 with 13 runs, 9 doubles, 1 triple and 12 RBIs. Did not commit an error in 40 games at center field, spanning 90 total chances. Joined the River Bandits in Mid-June and was shipped to the Appalachian League on July 4. Career Note: Owns a .367 on-base percentage. Declined commitment to North Carolina State after singing with the Astros for $300,000. Was an all-county football player as a senior at Seminole High School - the only year he competed at the varsity level.
|
YEAR |
CLUB |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
|
2012 |
GCL Astros (R) |
.251 |
54 |
175 |
26 |
44 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
13 |
28 |
48 |
7 |
|
2013 |
Quad Cities (A) |
.231 |
12 |
39 |
4 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
1 |
|
|
Greeneville (R) |
.247 |
29 |
85 |
9 |
21 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
17 |
21 |
4 |
|
2014 |
Quad Cities (A) |
.302 |
103 |
384 |
68 |
116 |
21 |
12 |
13 |
58 |
36 |
76 |
18 |
|
|
Lancaster (A) |
.339 |
27 |
109 |
19 |
37 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
10 |
14 |
20 |
5 |
|
|
Career Totals |
.287 |
225 |
792 |
126 |
227 |
45 |
21 |
17 |
93 |
98 |
175 |
35 |