Padres MiLB June 27 Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Jaff Decker: 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SO
Eric Sogard: 2-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI, SO
Kellen Kulbacki: 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SO

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Stephen Faris: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
Simon Castro: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

The Padres, like most teams, send their high school draftees to Rookie leagues (the Arizona League in the Padres’ case) and they send their college draftees to the Short-Season A-ball (the Northwest League). Jaff Decker, understandably, is playing in the Arizona League. However, if he keeps playing like this, he won’t be there long. In 4 games and 14 AB, Decker has 7 hits, 2 doubles, a home run, 6 walks (vs. 2 strikeouts), and 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts. Now 4 games is WAY too small of a sample size from which to draw conclusions. However, we already know Decker has a sweet swing. The AZL might not be enough of a challenge. Should we start the promotion watch?

Matt Antonelli is described as one of the best athletes in the entire Padres’ system. And his transition to 2B is going well (except for his hitting this season in AAA). However, experts are divided as to whether he can stay at the keystone corner… Those questions combined with his athleticism suggest a potential move to CF. Another factor that could help force Matt off second, is Eric Sogard.

Eric doesn’t have tremendous power, his HR Friday night is only his second of the season, but his double was his 23rd. Eric is also a superior defensive second baseman.

Kellen Kulbacki was listed as a member of the Lake Elsinore Storm (High-A) to start 2008. However, he was injured when the season kicked off. As a result of that injury and some roster needs in Fort Wayne (Low-A), Kulbacki got his 2008 season started with the Fort Wayne Wizards. In 18 games, Kellen hit: .164/.260/.295. The Padres then brought him back up to Lake Elsinore where he continued to struggle. He hit .221/.361/.309 in May. Now, with June almost wrapped up, we see why the Padres were so high on Kellen (.310/.425/.606 so far this month).

Kellen and Jaff each profile best in RF. It will be fun to watch how this plays out.