With Pena’s ERA down to 2.84, I thought I’d show him a little respect and take a quick look at this guy’s situation. Pena, 26, is pitching the eighth inning for Arizona. He’s been blocked by Brandon Lyon, who, at 28, is getting both drumsticks and the end-piece of the meatloaf.

But Lyon’s also doing a pretty decent job. His 14 saves, 1.29 ERA, and 1.11 WHIP are solid numbers. His .245 OBA is good. But his other peripherals are just average: 28 IP, 26 hits, 19 Ks.

Lyon is the Jon Rauch of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s a good RHP with 4 pitches (fastball, curve, change, slider), low-90s velocity, and solid control. In the NL that’s all you need to close. When he’s on, Lyon is good enough. When he’s off–as he was in spring training–he’s Brian Wilson. But I give Lyon a lot of credit: he’s an experienced pitcher who knows how to throw strikes. Five walks in 28 IP. It’s hard to blow a save on three 9th-inning hits. But walks will kill you.

Pena is the superior pitcher in terms of stuff. With a 95-96 mph fastball and a slider he throws from 84-89, Pena should, within the next couple years, hit 80 Ks/season. His slider can be sharp or it can be a slurve-type slow bender. Right now he’s at 23 Ks in 31 IP. He’s got a 2.84 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a .227 OBA. His K/9 has been around 6.5 in his three MLB seasons, but it’s strange to see a hard-throwing reliever with such low OBA, OBP-allowed (.294), and SLG %-allowed (.336) totals plateau in the mid sixes. I think that’s a product of immaturity–Pena just doesn’t have a lot of experience.

The other problem is that Pena has had trouble commanding his pitches. Last year he averaged 14.3 pitches/inning, and this year he’s stalled at 14.6. But that’s still better than Lyon, who, at 15.1, is right at his career average of 15.7.

Pena is 6-2, 219. He’s got a closer’s body, a closer’s mentality, and closer-type stuff. If he can be solid the rest of the year, I think he could be closing in 2009. Lyon, who just notched his 20th straight scoreless appearance, is a free agent in ‘09. Pena is making $400 K in ‘08, and isn’t arbitration-eligible till 2010. And he can’t become a free agent till 2013. With Chad Qualls pitching well, the Diamondbacks don’t have much incentive to hand Lyon a contract. Qualls works the eighth, and Pena works the ninth.

2008 is only Pena’s 4th season as a professional pitcher. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002; he went from AA in ‘05–his first minor-league season–to pitching for Arizona in ‘06. So it’s very possible that he’s still learning at the MLB-level. He’s not unlike Rafael Soriano, who could’ve been a great closer as early as 2004 had he not undergone TJ surgery.

Pena hasn’t surrendered an earned run since May 14. Now might be a good time to start taking a look.