San Diego Padres: Rule-5 Draftee’s Performance So Far

Assessing the performance of Allen Cordoba, and checking in on some of general manager A.J. Preller’s other impressive Rule 5 Draft additions.

“No one has ever dominated a Rule 5 draft like A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres just did. But then, maybe no one has ever tried,” J.J. Cooper of Baseball America wrote in December. “The Rule 5 draft is an opportunity for teams to take a chance on a high-risk developmental prospect or find a low-cost, low-ceiling addition to the 25-man roster.”

A.J. Preller opted for the former route, picking players who had never advanced beyond low Single-A and ignoring the resulting ridicule from MLB pundits. He chose, in order, right-handed pitcher Miguel Diaz, catcher Luis Torrens and shortstop Allen Cordoba. With some exceptions, they must take up valuable space on the 40-man roster or be returned to their original teams.

The Padres front office might not like the word rebuilding but, in reality, has no choice if the team truly intends to compete in the next few years. Since Preller trusts his evaluators, and the team has no illusions about contending, why not take a flyer on players who could someday be difference makers? So far, all three draftees have seen action and shown signs of the talent the scouts spotted.

Diaz has appeared in 12 games, including the opening day loss to the Dodgers, where he faced four batters and fared far better than the rest of the pitching staff in a 14-3 beat down. Green has shown growing trust in the reliever and placed him in higher leverage situations.

Luis Torrens has appeared in seven games, three as a starter. With Austin Hedges behind the plate, Torrens will likely see limited action. However, no doubt Hedges will prove to be a far better mentor to the young catcher than Derek Norris ever was to Hedges.

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Andy Green told Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune “I’m leaving the kid from the Appalachian League in for defensive purposes in front of 40,000 fans,” after the Padres defeated the Giants on April 29 with the help of that kid, Cordoba.

Cordoba, has been the most impressive of the three so far. In that game against San Francisco, he hit his second home run, a three-run shot. An infielder from the Cardinals organization, Cordoba has seen time in left field more than the infield, but Green has said that should change. The Padres have a far greater organizational need at shortstop than in the outfield.

Next: Week #4 Power Rankings Update

Only time will tell, but the Padres just might catch lightning in a battle with any one of the three. Roberto Clemente and Johan Santana both started their major league careers as Rule 5 draftees.