RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Since Cristian Mena was 16 years old the Reno Aces pitcher has had a professional approach.
“Dream come true. You feel proud of your work,” he said after signing his first professional contract.
Two years later Mena started his journey in the Chicago White Sox system as an 18 year old. He has been one of the many promising prospects to come out of the Dominican Republic over the last few decades.
“That’s what we do all day, every day, everywhere,” Mena said of the Dominican Republic’s passion for baseball. “We play in the street. We play in the school. I think it’s something we have in our blood.”
Cost controlled, quality starting pitchers are hard to come by. When the White Sox traded Mena to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Dominic Fletcher, fans on the south side of Chicago weren’t exactly happy.
“It’s a hard sport like I say. It’s hard to get to the big leagues. If people think you’re going to be a good pitcher and you can make it that makes you feel good,” Mena said of the backlash the White Sox organization got over trading him away.
Mena is turning into a menace for the Aces. March through May he dominated with a 3.70 earned run average. June was shaky, but Mena still averages nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
He’s controlling what he can control, not letting bad starts bleed into his next one, and taking notes on players he hopes to follow.
“I just like to watch the best ones because I want to be (up) one day.”
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