Throwdown Thursday – Week 21

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.

Week 20 of the Throwdown Thursday competition did not produce a clear cut winner. Instead, Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin and shortstop Everth Cabrera will share the honor, a first in Throwdown Thursday history. Maybin and Cabrera both managed to split the Chicken Friars fans’ vote at 50 percent.

Maybin got his half of the vote by going on a hitting tear, thanks in part to a newly configured batting stance. For the week, the center fielder racked up 11 hits in 24 at-bats to compile a weekly average of .458. He also had four RBI and three stolen bases for the week.

The fans who voted for Cabrera were convinced of his move to the leadoff spot in the batting order where the shortstop batted .379 with three RBI, five stolen bases and two runs scored in the past week.

Despite a stellar week from both Maybin and Cabrera, neither player made the Week 21 Throwdown Thursday ballot. This week’s ballot features a pitching duel. One player has been consistently successful since coming off the disabled list and the other is a starting pitcher who made his Major League Debut. Eric Stults VS. Casey Kelley.

Eric Stults – The lefty toed the slab twice this week for the Padres and recorded the win in both outings. Stults pitched a combined 13 innings, giving up a total of eight hits and striking out nine batters for the week. He also managed to give up just one unearned run during that stretch. Stult’s arm wasn’t the only thing making headlines this week. At the plate, Stults collected three hits with three RBI.

Casey Kelly – With an injury to Jason Marquis, the Padres were forced to call-up its top-rated prospect in right-handed pitcher Casey Kelley.  In his Major League Debut against the Atlanta Braves, Kelly showed why he is the Padres’ most prized prospect. The 22-year-old tossed six innings while giving up three hits and striking out four. Kelly threw his fastball, change-up and curveball all for strikes. The former shortstop added on to his exciting night by collecting his first big league hit.

Now Padres fans, vote in our poll for the Padres performer of the week.  Is it Stults or Kelly?

Statistics Courtesy of MLB.COM