The Newberg Report's minor league player of the month for August is Oklahoma first baseman Carlos Pena.  Pena, the Rangers’ first-round draft pick out of Northeastern University in 1998, had a phenomenal month, battering the Pacific Coast League to the tune of .382/.533/.686.  Pena was simply an on-base machine during August. For the month, he played in 28 games and reached base at least twice in all but four of them, including a 20-game hitting streak. In fact, he reached base at least three times in half of his games, and had back-to-back games in which he reached base five times. For the month, he reached base safely an incredible 72 times – 39 base hits, 28 walks, four hit-by-pitches, and one safety via catcher's interference. But reaching base wasn't the only thing he did well in August; he also hit for power (13 doubles and six homers), displayed uncommon speed for a first baseman (six stolen bases), and played stellar defense (one error). 

Carlos Pena is one of baseball's top prospects overall, and is arguably its top first base prospect. The 23-year-old native of Santo Domingo, D.R. (his family moved to the Boston area when he was 14) was recently ranked #18 in Baseball America's Hot Sheet rating of the top minor leaguers in all of baseball for 2001 (fellow Rangers farmhand Hank Blalock was ranked third). Pena stands 6'2", 210, bats and throws left-handed, and is a graceful fielder at his position. He rose to prominence after his 1997 season in the prestigious wooden-bat Cape Cod summer league for college ballplayers. Only 19 at the time, Pena led the league in homers and RBIs, showing enough ability at the plate and in the field to convince the Rangers to use the tenth overall selection on the small college star.  Known as a smart young man and a hard worker, Pena has rewarded the Rangers by delivering increasingly strong performances at each passing minor league level, combining the ability to hit for average with plus power, and remarkable plate discipline for a player his age. 

Only a couple things could potentially block Pena's rise to stardom in a Rangers uniform. One is that he racks up lots of strikeouts. While he has been working to address this issue and has taken some strides lately, a good portion of the high strikeout totals is essentially the product of his disciplined approach at the plate; he will work a pitcher deep into counts, sometimes passing on borderline pitches while waiting for a better one he can drive (or taking the free base when pitchers won't give in) at the risk of striking out. Thus, while it would be nice to see Pena lower his strikeout rates, in working with him, Rudy Jaramillo and the other instructors should be careful that they don't diminish the on-base skills which define Pena as a top notch prospect. The other potential barrier, in this organization at least, is that the Rangers already have a star first baseman in Rafael Palmeiro signed for a couple more years, are heavily considering making Rusty Greer a first baseman/DH, have at least two other good prospects at first base coming up in the system in Travis Hafner and Jason Jones (and potentially even Jason Botts), and have two super prospects they must make room for in Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock, who already may be blocked at their own position by Mike Lamb. While Pena should still be firmly entrenched in the organization's thought processes as the team's first baseman of the future, with so many other worthy candidates capable of potentially playing the position, and with Pena having what should be a tremendous amount of trade value right now, it isn't inconceivable that he might be moved in order to address the team's pitching weaknesses. Additionally, while Pena should make a fine defensive first baseman in the majors, he has the agility and quickness that some of the aforementioned might lack, which would likely allow him to eventually turn into a good defensive corner outfielder, if and when the Rangers start contemplating position switches. 

The Pena era appears to have already begun in Texas. Following the completion of the RedHawks' season in early September, Pena was added to the expanded major league roster. In his big league debut on September 5, he recorded his first of what should be many runs batted in. On September 7, Pena notched his first big-league hit; a solid single to center off Kansas City hurler Kris Wilson. 

Honorable mention this month goes to RedHawks outfielder Chris Magruder, the centerpiece in the recent Andres Galarraga trade with San Francisco.  Magruder lit up the PCL with a .374/.485/.682 month of August. A 24-year-old native of Washington state, Magruder appears to have moved himself into serious consideration for a job in next year's outfield. Like Pena, Magruder is to be congratulated for earning a spot on the major league roster in September, and for recording his first major league hit; a single to left off of Kansas City's top prospect Chris George.

 --- Brian P. Hayes