No I’m not talking about switch hitting catcher Brayan Pena, who the Royals aquired off of waivers friday. I’m talking about Tony Pena Jr.

The Royals organization must make some sort of change with the lack of offense,(last in runs) power(last in HR’s) and speed(second to last in caught stealing)in the lineup. For a team with these kind of offensive numbers it’s probably not a smart idea to have 5 players on the current 25 man roster that are middle infielders(and also 3 catchers now). Manager Trey Hillman has stated that Pena Jr. will continue to be used as the Royals starting shortstop.

Despite TPJ’s above-average defense, he is hitting .157 with a .177 OBP.  I don’t care if he plays with Ozzie Smith’s defense these kind of numbers are unbearable. Something must be done with him. He cannot continue to start every night and give the opposing pitcher an automatic out every time up to bat. Pena Jr. has no idea which pitch’s to swing at, and almost never draws a walk. He is also a bad baserunner at a position that usually has speed.

There is no way the Royals can be a winning team with the lowest runs scored in the major leagues, no matter how many young pitchers they load the system with. Something must be done to help this awful lineup that the Royals put on the field every night, and releasing TPJ should be the first move.