Hunter Pence won his arbitration case against the Astros and will earn a $6.9 million salary this season.
The Astros had a winning streak going in arbitration hearings, defeating Wandy Rodriguez last winter and Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta in 2008, but Pence emerges as the victor here. It was his second year of arbitration eligibility, as he earned $3.5 million last season as a Super Two player. Pence is coming off a season where he batted .282/.325/.461 with 25 homers and a career-high 91 RBI.
Pence got more than double his salary from last year and I think it's deserved. He is the future and now face of that franchise. Pence is one of two players even worth watching on the Astros, Wandy being the other.