Padres Spring Training Report – Feb. 24, 2015

More bro-hugs and lots of “Good to meet you” handshakes going on the past couple of days as the position players’ official check in day to Padres camp was today.  Hail, hail the gang’s all here!

Lots of new faces, and a herd of media scurrying around from locker to locker chasing each other like a pack of hyena’s scurrying to the next fresh slab of meat to feed upon.  One reporter confided in me that he actually felt bad because all he did was go to shake hands with a player to say a quick hello and within seconds they were both surrounded by cameras, microphones, and open note pads faster than a frenzy of white sharks on a wounded fish.  There was no story there, but no one cared and the cameras rolled just the same.

Let’s be honest, there’s more interest in Padres camp this year than in any time in recent history, and that’s a good thing!  Oh, and it’s not just the fans and story hungry media that are feeling the excitement.  I was talking with one of the pitchers in front of his locker about what he’s working on this spring, and he stopped mid sentence, pointed at the crowd that had just engulfed Justin Upton and said, “Look at the players we have in here this year…this is incredible!”   It is incredible, and yet as the first full squad workout commences tomorrow morning there is till a lot of work to be done, and questions to be answered before opening day at Chavez Ravine on April 6th.

Those questions include:

• Who will be the opening day starter?  As we touched on in yesterday’s report, Buddy will hold this close to the vest for a while as he alway does.  Hopefully neither injury nor underperformance will be factors in his ultimate decision which likely is between newly acquired Shields who has six opening day starting assignments under is belt, and Ross who went to his first All-Star game last year.

• Who will be the 5th starter? Again we looked at this yesterday and Buddy reiterated today that the candidates for that spot are Morrow, Despaigne, Wisler, and Erlin who would be the only lefty in the rotation.  With no days off for the first 10 games, and only one in the first 24 that 5th spot will be needed, and will make starts against the defending W.S. Champion Giants, in Colorado, and against division rival D’backs and Dodgers so it’s a spot that will need to step up and will be a factor in determining what kind of start the Pads have to the season, and quite possibly even the season outcome.

• Who will fill the last spots in the bullpen? Benoit, Thayer, Vincent, Quackenbush, and Kelley,  would appear to be locks.  The last two spots (assuming a 5 man bench) will be filled by at least one lefty with Torres being the incumbent, Garces the youngster who showed well at the end of last season, and the more experienced Elbert coming off TJ all fighting for at a minimum one spot and possibly two.  From the right side Maurer will also be gunning for one of those last two spots, possibly along with whoever falls short in the fight for the 5th starting spot as a long man.  Mateo, Campos, Valverde, Lane and others want in as well.  No matter how it falls into place there should not be a weak link in that ‘pen.

• Who will be in centerfield? Right now the assumption is Myers will be given the inside track to keep his bat in the lineup that earned him the A.L. ROY award in ’13.  Cameron Maybin, however, has made it publicly clear that it is his intent to take that job himself.  Will Venable would also like to keep his playing time a abundant as possible, and with less of it likely coming at the corners if Kemp and Upton stay healthy.

• Who will be at 3rd?  Solarte did fine over there for the Pads last year, while posting the second highest OBP on the team.  Middlebrooks was brought in to compete, bringing with him the potential to be both a gold glove defender, and a power threat. Let the battle begin.

• Who will be at 1st? Alonso will be out to prove his hand is healthy, and can get back to being not only the 39 doubles guy he was in ’12, but also a bit more of a power threat.  Another left handed stick in the lineup would be welcomed. Medica is looking to show that the slump that pulled his average down from .277 to .233 over the last two months of the season is behind him. If Maybin does have a great spring do the Pads consider moving Myers to first?  There was also talk today of having Quentin don a first base mitt…?  It’s definitely not settled right now.

• Who will be the opening day shortstop? Amarista surprised a lot of people last year with the job he did covering for Cabrera during the end of the season.  His defense was absolutely solid, and got even better the more he played. With the added playing time, though did not come any increase in his .233 batting average or .286 OBP, both of which went up in July and August, but feel back down during September.  Barmes has been considered one of the top defensive shortstops in baseball in recent years by both scouts’ eyes and metrics, but has contributed little with the bat hitting under.250 each of the past six seasons. With the offense Preller has added in the past couple of months, maybe the team will be able to afford going with a defense focused SS, with anything that does come from that 8th spot in the lineup being a bonus.  Considering the Pads will likely face Kershaw on opening day the right hand hitting Barmes may get the nod, with a platoon situation ensuing given both players’ lopsided RH/LH splits, which would leave Alexi the lion’s share of the playing time with there being more RH starters.

• Who will be batting in the leadoff position?  That may depend a lot on who wins the 3rd base job.  If Solarte comes out on top, he could be the best option considering his OBP while at .336 was only a bit above the .312 league average was still better than anyone on the team besides Seth Smith.  Myers is another option, posting a .354 OBP his ROY season.  Maybe Amarista can show he can hold that .353 OBP he posted in Aug. more consistently throughout a season…?  Another possible option, although not traditional because of his lack of speed, could be Alonso who posted OBP’s of .341 or higher each of the three seasons prior to last year’s injury plagued campaign. He won’t steal you any bags, but who cares if he’s walking around the bases anyway thanks to a Myers, Kemp, or Upton HR?

• Who will make up the bench? Obviously this will depend a lot on what the answers are to some of the questions above.  You figure Federowicz will be the backup backstop behind Norris, and either Barmes or Amarista on the bench depending on the starter for the opposition that day. If Middlebrooks wins the 3B job, Solarte is still versatile on the infield, and a switch hit bat. Spangenberg will be in the hunt after his impressive intro to the big leagues last September with the bat, and showing some versatility manning 2B & 3B. Then there is the glut of outfielders with Maybin, Venable (one of the few left handed options), Quentin, and Medica (1B/OF) all fighting for a position. Too many guys for too few spots…Preller very likely could be wheeling and dealing again before the end of spring.

As for today’s workout, all went smoothly again in camp with the starting pitchers getting their third day of bullpens in.  Everyone continues to look good getting their work in, with many today throwing breaking balls for the first time.  Ross looked especially sharp for the second workout in a row, as did Morrow. (videos of both below).  Next time out these hurlers will be facing live batters, which is always fun…for the pitchers!

First full squad workout tomorrow.  This is what we’ve been waiting for since all these moves by Preller started to unfold – actually seeing all these new pieces doing their thing together on the baseball field.

Let the fun begin!

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