San Diego Padres: Week #14 recap

Recapping all of the action from a winning week for the San Diego Padres, and looking forward to what will hopefully be a relaxing All-Star break this week.

At the ceremonial mid way point of the major league baseball season, the San Diego Padres are 12 games under .500 with a 38-50 record but are surprisingly not in last place. The San Francisco Giants have shocked baseball by playing even worse than our young, inexperienced team.

In two series during the past week the Friars won four and lost two versus the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies, taking each series two games to one.

The week featured some timely hitting and overall improved pitching for the second consecutive week.

Second baseman Carlos Asuaje, in his limited time on the major league roster, is the only hitter with a batting average over .300 and he has been a consistent contributor to the scoring over the last two weeks.

Related Story: Week #14 power rankings update

The offensive development of catcher Austin Hedges seems to be progressing well with 2 HR and four RBI in the two series. Although his batting average still hovers at .218 he has 13 HR and 43 RBI. For a young catcher in his first full season as the primary backstop I will certainly take it along with the stellar defense and his handling of the pitching staff.

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As is expected with a team batting average of .227, the Padres are ranked last in team offense in major league baseball and the pitching staff ranks 22nd with an ERA of 4.64. With those numbers it is surprising they have won as many games as they have. I expected this group to improve as they progressed through the season. Just by benefit of developing some through the year and playing together on a consistent basis.

As the July trading deadline approaches, it will be interesting to see who A.J. Preller trades away and what he gets in return. Most expect reliever Brad Hand, San Diego’s All-Star representative this year, to be the first to go. Other bullpen pieces might also be traded as well as some player depth in the organization but it will be surprising if they trade any major pieces before the youngsters in the minors are ready to make their debuts.

Next: Friars capitalizing on international prospects

The Friars open a home series versus the cellar dweller Giants on Friday for three games then hit the road for back to back road series against the Rockies and Giants.