Former St. Thomas Aquinas College Shortstop Joseph Pena has been assigned to the Vermont Lake Monsters of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League by the Oakland Athletics, following his spring training camp in Arizona. Pena was selected in the 33rd Round by the Athletics in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft back in June.

In seven games to date, Pena is hitting .278 with a double, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored, as Joey makes his way through the Athletics minor league system this summer.

The Class A Short Season New York-Penn League is a 14 team league, which features a 76 game schedule and local opponents such as the Brooklyn Cyclones (NY Mets), Connecticut Tigers (Detroit Tigers), Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay Rays) and Staten Island Yankees (NY Yankees).

New York–Penn League teams may have no more than three players on their active lists that have four or more years of prior combined Major League/Minor League service, with the exception of position players changing roles to become pitchers and vice versa. Teams can eliminate up to one year of Minor League service for players who have spent time on the disabled list. By July 1 of each year, all clubs must have at least 10 pitchers. The maximum number of players under team control is 35, 30 of whom may be active. However, only 25 may be in uniform and eligible to play in any given game.

You can catch Joey and the rest of his Lake Monster teammates in action during the following road games in our area:

July 14, 15, 16 - at Connecticut Tigers (Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium - Norwich, Conn.)

July 20, 21, 22 - at Hudson Valley Renegades (Dutchess Stadium - Wappingers Falls, N.Y.)

July 30, 31 & August 1 - at Connecticut Tigers (Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium - Norwich, Conn.)

August 15, 16 - at Brooklyn Cyclones (MCU Park - Brooklyn, N.Y.)

August 29, 30, 31 - at Staten Island Yankees (Richmond County Ballpark - Staten Island, N.Y.)