1-Man’s Opinion on Sports–Wednesday. “Padres Outfield-Traffic Jam”
Lee Hamilton
5:13 PM (5 hours ago)
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“Traffic Jam-Petco Park-Outfield”
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I know it will wind up with a likely 90-loss season…currently (68-83)..
I know the pitching staff will finish with one of the worst ERAs in all of major league baseball..(4.60-ERA)..
I know the team will wind up last in batting and in most categories…(.232) at this point.
I know the attendance is struggling to get to the 2M mark, a low water mark in recent years, now at 1.994,000 today..
I know there are at least 30-players in the minor leagues, most of them in the lower minors, coming off good seasons at different levels, who might not be here for a couple of more seasons.
The big picture looks a bit brighter than the current snapshot of Padres baseball.
The fascinating story that is unfolding as we go to the final two weeks of the season, is the traffic jam in the outfield of guys, who have shown they can play and can contribute.
Hunter Renfroe may not have the batting average you hoped for (.231) but he has 21-homers, and has played a credible right field.
Manny Margot has arrived, at the tender age of 22, not getting overwhelmed (.265-13HRs), and playing a dynamic centerfield.
Jose Pirela is a late developer, who seems to be a professional hitter (.288) with some power (10home runs).
Travis Jankowski is back after missing most of the year with a fractured leg. If he hits back to last year’s numbers (.270), gets on base, and chases down flyballs, he is equal to a starter.
Corey Spangenburg has played in the garden in spots, and has established himself in multi position roles (.260-13HRs)
Jabari Blash shows flashes of power, has a cannon for an arm, and can play the corner spots, though hitting for average has been a challenge over multiple cups of coffee with the team…and he did hit 25-bombs and (.285) at AAA.
Matt Szczur has established himself as a super utility man, have glove, will play, lots of positions.
Add to the list of seven, might be the surprise package that is Franchy Cordero. He did hit for power here briefly, and slashed some, and struck out a lot. But on the fast track thru the minor leagues, he went for (.326-17HR) in El Pso.
Alex Dickerson, robbed of his season by a herniated disc, still has a (.309) career mark and 58-homers in 4-plus seasons. He goes into the mix next spring, post-surgery.
And further down the pipeline is Cuban sensation Jorge Ona (.277-11HR) in his first year in the states. Lower minor leaguers Michael Gettys (17HR)…Rod Boykin (.318), Rive Stevens (.287) and Edwin Moreno all excelled at Class A.
That’s nine outfielders plus five prospects in the chain.. Some will make it as backups, maybe some become trade bait.
The Padres will spend the winter trying to sort out who plays where in the infield.
And they will have to figure out how to acquire more pitching to compliment the two young arms in Luis Perdomo and Donelson Lamet.
But for the here and now, the outfield looks set. You can see that in the traffic jam on the organizational chart.
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