Padres MiLB June 29 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 of the Day

Eric Sogard (High-A): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Jeremy McBryde (Low-A): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Eric Sogard now has 24 doubles and three home runs. His overall line is .320/.424/.438. Not only that, but he walks more than he strikes out (54 to 33).

The Padres have three positions that need to be addressed in the coming years (more than three really, but three that are relevant to my discussion): second base, shortstop, and center field. There are enough prospects to fill all three holes as long as Drew Cumberland “makes it.” However, after that there are a few players vying for the big league roles: Sogard, Matt Antonelli, and Cedric Hunter. Furthermore, some people expect Cumberland to move off SS and eventually man CF. This is a good thing; the Padres want multiple solutions at every position. It will be fun to watch.

Another thought…

When the Padres opened Petco back in 2004, they thought that short right field corner porch would come into play more often that it has and that the ballpark would favor left-handed hitting. It hasn’t. Despite that, the Padres continue to stockpile left-handed hitters: Eric Sogard, Mitch Canham, Cedric Hunter, Jaff Decker, Allan Dykstra (assuming he signs), Kellen Kulbacki, Andrew Cumberland, Will Venable, etc… Very few of the organizations top hitters hit right-handed (Antonelli, Huffman, Blanks are notable exceptions).

I don’t write that to be critical. I firmly believe the Padres know what they’re doing.