Tony Pena Jr's conversion to pitching in DR

[Boy Howdy]

Though somewhat error-prone as a major leaguer, former Braves and Royals shortstop Tony Pena, Jr. reached the big leagues largely because of his defense. Unfortunately for Tony, he posted a .548 OPS in parts of four seasons and found his career at a dead end this year at age 28.

So the Royals decided to turn his strong arm lose on the pitchers mound, and in 19 1/3 innings at three levels (mostly Single-A), he allowed just 12 hits and notched an 18:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Now he's hurling in the Dominican League, throwing 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball in his first handful of appearances, with five K's and not a single walk. I'm certainly rooting for him.