After watching shortstop Tony Peña Jr. struggle at the plate for almost three years, it looks as if the Royals are now ready to see what he can do on the mound.Manager Trey Hillman said Peña, who recently cleared waivers, threw a bullpen session under the watchful eye of pitching coach Bob McClure on Friday and will soon report to Surprise, Ariz., to work on becoming a pitcher.“We’re looking at converting him,” said Hillman, who added that he sees Peña as a possible reliever.Peña, 28, wouldn’t discuss the move — “I’m just here to work out,” he said before Sunday’s game — but Hillman said Peña is on board with the decision.“He’s all for it right now, to at least take a look at it and see where it goes,” Hillman said.During his time in Kansas City, Peña has been solid defensively but struggled at the plate. After hitting .267 as a full-time starter in 2007, Peña hit .169 in 225 at-bats in 2008 and was hitting .098 in 51 at-bats this year before he was designated for assignment July 16. However, Peña showed the Royals something when he pitched the ninth inning of the Royals’ 19-4 loss to Detroit last July. Peña, who throws three pitches, sat the Tigers down 1-2-3 and punctuated the inning by striking out Ivan Rodriguez.“I saw touch and feel, and I saw a lack of fear (from him), even though the situation didn’t promote a lot of fear,” Hillman said. “He’s got the ability to throw from different arm angles, he’s got life to his fastball, and he showed in the strikeout of Pudge the ability to spin the ball.”Peña has a long road ahead of him, but plenty of players have successfully made the switch from position player to pitcher. One of them is 38-year-old lefty Ron Mahay, who was converted to a pitcher by Boston in 1996 after being drafted in 1991 as an outfielder.Mahay said it took him a while to get rid of his inner outfielder. But now, 13 years later, he is happy with the switch.“I was fortunate that the team I was with at the time gave me another chance, and I told him that he’s fortunate that this club gave (him) a second chance.” Hillman wouldn’t put a timeline on how long it would take for Peña to become a big-league pitcher but added that the move doesn’t necessarily mean Peña’s career as a shortstop is over for good. “Tony is still young enough that if the pitching doesn’t go the way that we think it has a possibility of going … he can always go back the other way,” Hillman said. Pitcher picks collegeFormer Shawnee Mission South pitcher Mike Morin, the Royals’ 40th-round draft pick in June, has chosen to head to college.That decision became easier once North Carolina swooped in with a scholarship offer earlier this month.Morin, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound righty, went 7-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 59 2/3 innings pitched for SM South this season.Etc.•Through 53 home dates (not counting Sunday’s game), the Royals had drawn 1,267,491 fans and were 188,205 fans ahead of their season total a year ago after the same amount of games. •David DeJesus got his 156th career double Saturday, putting him in a tie with Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran for 10th on the Royals’ all-time list.

Posted on Sun, Jul. 26, 2009 11:20 PM

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ROYALS NOTEBOOK

Royals look to convert Peña into a pitcher

By TEREZ A. PAYLOR

The Kansas City Star

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After watching shortstop Tony Peña Jr. struggle at the plate for almost three years, it looks as if the Royals are now ready to see what he can do on the mound.

Manager Trey Hillman said Peña, who recently cleared waivers, threw a bullpen session under the watchful eye of pitching coach Bob McClure on Friday and will soon report to Surprise, Ariz., to work on becoming a pitcher.

“We’re looking at converting him,” said Hillman, who added that he sees Peña as a possible reliever.

Peña, 28, wouldn’t discuss the move — “I’m just here to work out,” he said before Sunday’s game — but Hillman said Peña is on board with the decision.

“He’s all for it right now, to at least take a look at it and see where it goes,” Hillman said.

During his time in Kansas City, Peña has been solid defensively but struggled at the plate. After hitting .267 as a full-time starter in 2007, Peña hit .169 in 225 at-bats in 2008 and was hitting .098 in 51 at-bats this year before he was designated for assignment July 16.

However, Peña showed the Royals something when he pitched the ninth inning of the Royals’ 19-4 loss to Detroit last July. Peña, who throws three pitches, sat the Tigers down 1-2-3 and punctuated the inning by striking out Ivan Rodriguez.

“I saw touch and feel, and I saw a lack of fear (from him), even though the situation didn’t promote a lot of fear,” Hillman said. “He’s got the ability to throw from different arm angles, he’s got life to his fastball, and he showed in the strikeout of Pudge the ability to spin the ball.”

Peña has a long road ahead of him, but plenty of players have successfully made the switch from position player to pitcher. One of them is 38-year-old lefty Ron Mahay, who was converted to a pitcher by Boston in 1996 after being drafted in 1991 as an outfielder.

Mahay said it took him a while to get rid of his inner outfielder. But now, 13 years later, he is happy with the switch.

“I was fortunate that the team I was with at the time gave me another chance, and I told him that he’s fortunate that this club gave (him) a second chance.”

Hillman wouldn’t put a timeline on how long it would take for Peña to become a big-league pitcher but added that the move doesn’t necessarily mean Peña’s career as a shortstop is over for good.

“Tony is still young enough that if the pitching doesn’t go the way that we think it has a possibility of going … he can always go back the other way,” Hillman said.

Pitcher picks college

Former Shawnee Mission South pitcher Mike Morin, the Royals’ 40th-round draft pick in June, has chosen to head to college.

That decision became easier once North Carolina swooped in with a scholarship offer earlier this month.

Morin, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound righty, went 7-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 59 2/3 innings pitched for SM South this season.

Etc.

•Through 53 home dates (not counting Sunday’s game), the Royals had drawn 1,267,491 fans and were 188,205 fans ahead of their season total a year ago after the same amount of games.

•David DeJesus got his 156th career double Saturday, putting him in a tie with Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran for 10th on the Royals’ all-time list.

The Star’s Ryan Young contributed to this report.

Posted on Sun, Jul. 26, 2009 11:20 PM

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