Padres Weekly Preview

Padres Prospect

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Glimpse of the Future

Yes, let’s start right here shall we? As the year winds down the Padres need to figure some things out. It appears Will Venable will be gone to make way for some Padres prospects who actually can play some consistent baseball. Liriano was supposed to be the starting right fielder a couple of years back until he had to have the dreaded TJ surgery. However, he has picked up this season right where he left off. He slugged 14 homers in AA before being promoted to AAA and hitting over .400 and 13 RBI in 16 games for El Paso.

Meanwhile, the no-undershirtless wonder Tommy Medica continues to play more consistently with more playing time. There was a scare this weekend when he got hit in the head, but he recovered to pinch hit Sunday and appears ready to go. The helmet cracked, but Tommy didn’t. Seeing this two on the field together along with a resurgent Jedd Gyorko and steady Yongervis Solarte at 3B might make Padres fans actually get excited about an offense that is traditionally in the bottom half of everything. Medica still needs to be more patient and improve on his walk count, but we will take a .276 BA anytime, and a gritty determination to do the job the Padres haven’t had since David Eckstein.