Entering this season, Manuel Pena had homered just 31 times across 456 career Minor League games. In his 48th contest of the year for Double-A Amarillo on Saturday night, the 22-year-old popped his 20th roundtripper in two months, making him the first Minor Leaguer to hit that plateau in 2026.
Pena has embraced a raised-hands approach in the box, allowing him to lift and separate on a variety of pitches. He did just that facing Midland starter Henry Baez (ATH No. 14) in the fourth inning of the Sod Poodles' eventual 4-2 win over the RockHounds at Momentum Bank Ballpark, clobbering an elevated fastball out to the opposite field on an 0-2 count.
Pena’s milestone homer, by virtue of where it traveled, was something of a throwback for him. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, native has undergone a career renaissance in 2026 due to his focus on lifting the ball, particularly to his pull side. Pena entered the night with a 40.3 percent fly-ball rate (on pace for a career high), tied for the fourth-highest mark among all D-backs farmhands. He’s coupled that with a 44.4 percent pull rate, also on pace for a career best.
In short, he’s leaned into what makes hitters successful in the hitter-friendly Double-A Texas League: get out in front of the ball and hit it in the air.
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Pena is currently lapping his fellow organization mates when it comes to roundtrippers. Danny Serretti is second among Arizona Minor Leaguers with 10 homers, while JD Dix (AZ No. 6) and Carlos Virahonda (AZ No. 17) are just off the pace with nine. Last year, just one member of the D-backs -- A.J. Vukovich -- exceeded the 20-homer mark all season and he finished with 22 across 111 games.
Those home runs have allowed Pena to rapidly push his RBI total near the top of the Minor League leaderboard as well. He leads all Double-A hitters with 52 runs driven in this year, including 31 during the month of May.
COMPLETE D-BACKS PROSPECT COVERAGE
A breakout from an under-the-radar D-backs prospect isn’t unprecedented. Entering last year, fellow 22-year-old Jose Fernandez had just five plate appearances at the Double-A level under his belt. But after a stellar campaign for the Sod Poodles, he played his way onto the club’s 40-man roster. Then he starred in the Cactus League, Spring Breakout and nearly everywhere else in between en route to making his MLB debut in April, where he has since held down a roster spot and gotten consistent at-bats.
Pena has unleashed his power surge while being something of a utility man for Amarillo. He’s made at least five starts at first, second and third base, as well as left field and, you guessed it, designated hitter. Defensive flexibility has become a premium in recent years for D-backs callups, allowing manager Torey Lovullo to mix and match based on favorable matchups.