Will Cody Decker Ever Get a Chance?

On June 2nd, the MadFriars‘ released their minor league players of the month for May. For Double A they chose Trea Turner which I choose to ignore since Turner will be traded to the Nationals in several weeks as the Wil Myers trade will come to a close. However, their player of the month for Triple A, Cody Decker, has me wondering when will this multi-talented star for the Chihuahua’s get his chance?

Almost everyone loves an underdog, and that is exactly what Decker is. The seven year veteran to the minor leagues was never seen as a top prospect when he was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2009 draft, yet all Decker has done is hit and endear himself to fans. However, if you look at Cody Decker’s career line it appears like the unlucky baseball player deserves a shot. His career minor league numbers of .268/.350/.532, don’t pop off the page but I believe should be enough for the 28 year old to get a shot at the big leagues. Add this to the fact that Decker has power, he has hit 312 extra base hits in his minor league career, and 144 of those extra base hits have been home-runs. For those of you to lazy to crunch the numbers at home that is an average of 20 home-runs a year in his minor league career (also keep in mind that Minor League seasons are much shorter than the Major League season).

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So why hasn’t the Chihuahua’s best hitter gotten a shot in the Major Leagues. I’m talking not even one at bat, no September call-up, nothing, squat, zip, it’s tragic. Well all I can do is wager a guess. One reason could be the fact that Decker hasn’t been able to stick at a position. Over his seven minor league seasons Decker has played, first base, third base, catcher, left field, right field, DH and even one nearly perfect inning as a pitcher. Although, after looking at the number of games at each position it appears that he has received the vast majority of his starts at first base. Additionally, since when has versatility been a bad thing. I think this versatility should have accelerated Decker to the big leagues not hindered him.

So if it’s not his position what could it be? Well, I just have to chalk it up to bad luck. Although, we needn’t worry about young Decker. If baseball doesn’t work out for him, he will always have a career in show business. Check him out starring as Security Guard 1 in NBC’s “State of Affairs”. Or maybe you prefer Decker hosting the local El Paso News, and dare I say crushing it. If both of these things aren’t your speed check out Decker’s twitter handle @Decker6. I follow him and regularly get a laugh from his twitter feed. Anyway you slice it the future is bright for this young man, and the San Diego Padres better give him a shot before they lose him to Hollywood, or worse another team.

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