San Diego Padres: Allen Cordoba Takes First BP Swings

The San Diego Padres are hoping to have another valuable prospect back in their minor-league system in the coming weeks.

As per Kyle Glaser of Baseball America, San Diego Padres’ prospect and former Rule 5 draft pick Allen Cordoba took his first batting practice swings in his attempt to return from the concussion he suffered in a February automobile accident in his native Panama.

Cordoba, 22, was selected by the Friars in last year’s Rule 5 draft out of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He spent the season with San Diego, as per Rule 5 guidelines, but struggled mightily after finding some success early. Keep in mind, of course, he had never played above the Single-A level with the Cardinals.

He hit .258/.324/.452 in April with two home runs, four runs batted in, and nine strikeouts in 31 at-bats. In May he took another huge step forward and slashed .308/.338/.400 with another homer and three more RBI in 65 at-bats. The young Panamanian was taking some serious strides.

In June, Cordoba came back down to Earth in dramatic fashion. Apparently, the rest of the league quickly got the scouting report on the then-21-year-old and they went to work on the inexperience of a rookie who had likely never had to make an adjustment quite like this in his short professional career.

He did not make that adjustment. In June he hit .148/.238/.204 with twelve strikeouts in 54 at-bats. Things didn’t get any better in July as Cordoba hit just.129/.263/.226 with 12 strikeouts again, but this time in only 31 at-bats.

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Cordoba relegated to the bench

The Padres had no choice but to keep him on the active roster or they would have to send Cordoba back to the Cardinals.

With the amount of promise that the young player showed over his first two-plus months with the Friars, that was not an option.

He got minimal plate appearances from August through the end of the season (24) and just two starts, and his stats reflected the infrequent playing time (.095/.208/.095 with nine strikeouts).

Cordoba injured in auto accident

Coming into this season, Allen Cordoba was slated to return to the San Diego Padres’ minor-league system after spending a few weeks with the big club in Peoria.

He never got that far, as he was involved in an auto accident just days before Spring Training and has been sidelined with concussion symptoms ever since.

Next: Three Moves the Padres Should Make

He was moved to the 60-day disabled list on April 3 and has been targeted as returning to baseball activities in June. Well here we are, and here he is.