Padres: Checking in Around the Web

Franchy y Manny

List of Padres stories from the world wide web.

From The Athletic

“Minor League Matters: 10 players who could make big-league debuts this year” by Melissa Lockard

Lockard suggests Franmil Reyes, OF (AAA) could be making his debut this year. After listing his stats and accomplishments from this season she drops this:

Reyes, 22, is limited defensively, which may make him a poor fit with the Padres longterm. However, as San Diego continues to rack up losses at the big league level, they will have little to lose in bringing Reyes up to showcase him for the other teams that might be interested in him as a designated hitter or left fielder.

 My Take – If it is during September call-ups then I agree. The outfield is simply overloaded. Reyes turns 23 in July so there’s no extreme rush to get him up to Petco. There is already a surplus problem as is with Renfroe and Myers still on the DL. Once those guys are healthy you have them plus Cordero, Margot, Jank, Pirela, and Szczur. Renfroe is taking ABs in extended spring training already, and should be up sooner rather than later. When Myers gets back next month it might be time to cut ties with Szczur.

Still nice to see a Padre on a National list. Thanks Melissa!

“Austin Hedges’ pitch framing magic is a thing to behold” by Dustin Palmateer 

This is a great article if you don’t realize how important Austin Hedges is and how much value he is worth. Palmateer includes some great video examples and strike zone charts to make it easy for a dum dum like me to read. A small tidbit:

Hedges has already saved the Padres 3.5 runs from pitch framing in 2018, a number that leads the league — even though he’s missed the last six games to injury. Ellis, on the other hand, works with a stone glove. His -0.010 CSAA ranks 47th out of 57 catchers this season (min. 500 opportunities), and he’s posted a -39.5 Framing Runs figure over his 11-year career.

My Take - Like everyone else, I am concerned about Hedges bat. It’s tough not to be when his career OBP is .244. But his defensive stats alone prove he’s worth the 8^th spot in the lineup. Despite slashing 214/262/398 in 417 plate appearances last season, “Hedges was worth a team-leading four wins above replacement level, according to Baseball Prospectus.”

“Franchy Cordero’s first big adjustment is a promising sign” by Eno Sarris

Eno totally redeems himself after posting a not-so-go-to IPA list that included ZERO San Diego IPAs. This article could make even Craig Medy smile. The last paragraph of the article reads:

Franchy Cordero is still hitting balls super hard and running super fast. He still strikes out too much — top 15 in baseball right now — but he’s already made his first huge adjustment. Considering it came after just 99 plate appearances in the big leagues, it’s impressive. And it suggests there are more adjustments coming.

Sarris points out some facts regarding Cordero’s change in swing rates, including a decrease of 10 percent of swings chasing balls out of the zone. Franchy has significantly raised his OBP the last week plus, which has everyone caring less of Margot’s struggles. Speaking of the Manny…

From MLB (AJ Cassavell)

“Margot provides spark as Padres solve Nats”

A quote from Manny via Cassavell:.

"It feels good to see that the work I'm putting in is coming to fruition and finally showing itself," Margot said. "The only thing I can do is keep working, staying with the same process to make sure the results keep showing up."

Also from Manny:

"There were a lot of times where I was going up to the plate with things in my head, thinking about things. If you're doing that, that doesn't really let you be who you need to be. I do think I'm getting back to just being myself."

I for one sure hope so, since I said Margot would take steps towards (gulp) superstar status this season back in the season outlook in March. Hopefully his quotes and his recent performances can help Padres Nation relax a little bit. I mean we can have BOTH Franchy and Manny am I right? In the series vs the Nats, Margot went 5/10 with a double, triple, 2 runs, 2 RBI, and a stolen base from the 8 slot (Trea Turner went 1/10 from the 2 slot…REACTION FROM RANCHO PENASQUITOS TO SAN YSIDRO). 

From the UT

Nahhhhhhh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯