Throwdown Thursday-Week 3

Every Thursday, we at Chicken Friars will pick the two best Padres performers over the past week and analyze what they accomplished. Then we will leave it up to you, the fans, to decide who earned the week’s Throwdown Thursday’s honor.

First off, congratulations to the Padres’ third baseman Chase Headley for beating out Chris Denorfia in last week’s Throwdown Thursday competition. Headley won the week’s honor in a landslide, securing 85 percent of the vote while Denorfia managed 15 percent.

The 27-year-old switch hitter boasted a .385 average and a .452 OBP with three home runs and 7 RBI in the past week, making him the second Throwdown Thursday winner. During that stretch, Headley lead all of baseball in walks. He also clubbed two home runs in one game and played steady defense.

This week’s Throwdown Thursday’s nominees feature two players who the Padres heavily invested in during the off-season by signing them to contract extensions. One is a left-handed pitcher who many believe can be a star in the league, and the other is his battery mate who has shown tremendous growth:  Cory Luebke Vs.  Nick Hundley.

Cory Luebke: Luebke out dueled Philadelphia Phillies’ ace Roy Halladay, so that should say a lot about the type of week Luebke had. In the outing, Luebke gave up only two hits in a career best eight innings while striking out five.  Not to mention, he picked up the win.  Luebke was able to establish command of his fastball early, something he struggled with in his last few outings. He also managed t use his change-up effectively, a pitch he has been working on. Luebke looked every bit as good as the Padres had projected from him.

Hundley: Since Hundley broke out of his 0 for 21 slump, he has been hitting with a vengeance. In the past week, he strung together a .200 average, a .533 slugging percentage while hitting one home run with 8 RBI. He also has a hit in six out of his last eight games. In last Sunday’s 6-1 win against the Phillies, Hundley drove in a career-high four runs. While Hundley’s bat is finally starting to come around, he hasn’t lost focus on his defensive game. He has helped steer the Padres’ pitching staff into the top15 in team ERA, and has thrown out a league-leading 10 base runners.

Now, Padres fans, vote in our poll for the Padres performer of theweek.  Is it Luebke or Hundley?