The book on Carlos Pena

Ÿ Pena’s 32.6 percent strikeout rate ranked him above only three major-leaugers with enough plate appearances to qualify: Drew Stubbs, Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds.

Ÿ Pena had a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .222 last year. The league average is around .300. A low BABIP can reflect bad luck, but teams were extremely effective with an infield shift on Pena, and he also battled a foot injury. Pena’s groundball-to-flyball ratio went from 0.54 in 2009 to 1.11 in 2010.

Ÿ One researcher has called Pena the “most extreme groundball pull hitter in the game.”

Ÿ Pena was born in the Dominican Republic, but he spent much of his youth in the U.S., attending Northestern University.

Ÿ A good fielder and a left-handed thrower, Pena won a Gold Glove in 2008 with Tampa Bay.