Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55

The Brewers’ January 2024 international class is becoming one of the most notable in recent memory, and Peña, who signed for $800,000 out of the Dominican Republic, is certainly playing his part through two professional seasons. The infielder won the 2024 Dominican Summer League batting title with a .393 average and swiped 39 bags in 44 games. Alongside Jesús Made, he was promoted aggressively to Single-A Carolina in his first stateside season and even reached High-A Wisconsin before his 19th birthday. He slashed .270/.335/.422 with nine homers and 44 steals in 96 games between the two full-season spots.

Evaluating Peña entering 2026 is a balancing act. On one hand, he was one of the youngest and least experienced players in full-season ball and deserves credit for producing a 114 wRC+. He did so with a whiplike right-handed swing that made him tough to beat with heat, and he added strength that helped him produce exit velocities as high as 113 mph, an exceptional max for someone his age and size. On the other, Peña remained aggressive in search of contact and High-A pitchers exposed him as allergic to non-fastballs, throwing offspeed roughly 60 percent of the time after his promotion. Peña moved so quickly he needed exposure to that quality of stuff, but now, it’s on him to adjust back.

With plenty of speed, Peña brings energy and aggression to the basepaths, and he’s been an efficient basestealer. His wheels don’t match the current quality of his defense at shortstop. He’ll let balls slip by or will sail throws, despite showing the potential for above-average arm strength. With Made a level ahead of him now, Peña can focus on his work at shortstop, knowing he may need more time at second and third when the pair’s timelines are back in sync.

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 60

Milwaukee signed Jorge Quintana for $1.7 million as the headliner of its January 2024 international class, and Jesús Made ($950,000) has become one of the most highly regarded teenage prospects in baseball. But don’t sleep on another infield prospect from that same group in Peña, an $800,000 addition out of the Dominican Republic. Peña won the Dominican Summer League batting title with a .393 average while stealing 39 bags (tied for second-most in the DSL) and managing a 1/1 K/BB ratio over 44 games on his way to mid-season and post-season All-Star honors in the complex circuit.

A right-handed batter, Peña starts from a slightly open stance but looks balanced and relaxed in the box, using a slight leg lift to stay on time. His bat-to-ball skills are impressive at such a young age, leading to just an 8.2 percent K rate in ’24, but he knows it and will expand the zone a bit to get to that contact. He hit only one home run last season, but his exit velocities have blossomed with his move to full-season ball in 2025.

Peña has ample speed to burn and is aggressive on the basepaths. He’ll beat out grounders too -- part of the reason for his high .426 BABIP in the DSL -- and that will give future defenses plenty to consider. He moved around between shortstop, third base and even second because of the Brewers’ DSL depth at the six. His arm strength would play at third should he land there full-time. Peña may have to continue shifting around the dirt as he's moved aggressively alongside Made.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

Milwaukee’s 2024 international class was already considered solid when the organization added two of MLB Pipeline’s Top 25 prospects in the group in Jorge Quintana (No. 12) and Jesús Made (No. 22). Pena didn’t crack that initial ranking, but he did sign for $800,000 to give the Brewers another infield option at the lowest levels. The 5-foot-11 infielder took off in the Dominican Summer League, where he was the Player of the Month for June and a midseason All-Star.

While it’s important to not get too wrapped up in DSL stats, Pena’s have popped off the page as he’s flirted with a .400 average for much of the summer while keeping his strikeout rate below 10 percent. He looks at ease in the box, using a leg kick to stay in rhythm, and with plus-plus speed, he’s proven to be a menace on the basepaths, both in terms of swiping bags efficiently and in grabbing the extra base on balls to the gaps. There is some raw power in his 5-foot-11 frame, as he showed by homering in the DSL All-Star Game, and it could play even more in games as he matures physically.

Signed as a shortstop, Pena also saw time at third base and second in his first pro season. He’s still raw at the six, but he has the arm strength to be valuable at the corner if that’s where he needs to land full-time, especially with so many other shortstops in the system. Milwaukee has a recent history of getting aggressive with DSL performers, and Pena could fall in line with that when he heads stateside for his age-18 season in 2025.

Awards

Baseball America Low Class A All-Star

Year	Team
2025

CAR Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2025

CAR Player of the Week

Week	Team
06/01/2025

DSL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2024

DSL Mid-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2024

DSL Player of the Month

Month	Team
06/2024

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	02/21/2026	SS Luis Peña assigned to Milwaukee Brewers.
	08/05/2025	SS Luis Peña assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Carolina Mudcats.
	05/28/2025	Carolina Mudcats activated SS Luis Peña from the 7-day injured list.
	05/21/2025	Carolina Mudcats placed SS Luis Peña on the 7-day injured list retroactive to May 20, 2025.
	05/03/2025	Carolina Mudcats activated SS Luis Peña from the 7-day injured list.
	04/26/2025	Carolina Mudcats placed SS Luis Peña on the 7-day injured list.
	03/31/2025	SS Luis Peña assigned to Carolina Mudcats from DSL Brewers 1.
	03/08/2025	SS Luis Peña assigned to Milwaukee Brewers.
	03/06/2025	activated SS Luis Peña.
	07/20/2024	SS Luis Pena assigned to DSL NL All-Stars.
	06/02/2024	SS Luis Pena assigned to DSL Brewers 1.
	01/15/2024	Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent SS Luis Pena to a minor league contract.