San Diego Padres: Three Things To Make The Season Watchable

If the San Diego Padres make a defensive change, it could open the door for more possibilities.

A few days ago, San Diego Union-Tribune Padres’ writer Jeff Sanders tweeted out photos of Wil Myers taking ground balls at third base during batting practice. No big deal, Myers does it often, however, Sanders pointed out that he was receiving a lot of extra coaching this go around.

MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell wrote up a story yesterday with quotes from Myers and Andy Green about the idea of Myers moving to third base. Green shrugged it off as nothing more than an idea in the “infancy” stage and the Padres just playing around with one of their more athletic players.

This is something that would draw me into a Padres game, even if they go another month of winning just five games.

It’s been well-noted that Wil Myers is bored in the outfield. Also, the eyeball test shows a player who, often times, looks out of position in the outfield. Despite both of those statements, the advanced metrics speak very highly of Wil Myers as an outfielder, giving him a combined five Defensive Runs Saved and a 5.3 UZR rating.

Myers has experience playing third base in the minor leagues. It’s not a lot of experience but he’s not foreign to the position. Christian Villanueva has been improving defensively, however, that .176 average, .238 OBP, and .552 OPS against right-handed pitchers is brutal. If Myers is able to play more third base, that allows the Padres to use an outfield of Manuel Margot, Franchy Cordero, and either Hunter Renfroe or Franmil Reyes (looking ahead to 2019).

This wouldn’t solve the outfield situation but it’s a help. If the experiment fails, oh well. This season is far gone, so let’s get weird and see if something sticks. By implementing the change now, the Padres can see if Myers is workable at the position and make a decision now as to whether or not a third baseman needs to be signed this offseason.

Is it time for the San Diego Padres to bring up Luis Urias?

The answer to that question is, yes. For much of the regular season, fans clamored and begged for the Padres to bring up Luis Urias to replace Jose Pirela at second base. After a down season in the hits department, the urge to bring up Urias has cooled off, with a lot of fans now willing to let him remain in El Paso until next season.

While his .265 batting average isn’t what many have come to expect from Urias, his OBP (.379), OPS (.774), and wRC+ (110) are all very close to his numbers last season in San Antonio. Urias has increased his walk rate to 14% and has even tapped into some game-power, knocking out seven home runs (playing in the Pacific Coast League helped that).

There was a legitimate fear that Urias was going to be traded as part of a package for Chris Archer at the trade deadline, luckily the deadline has passed and Urias is still with the Padres. Call him up. Let’s see how the stick looks at the major league level.

If there is one thing he’s been consistent at throughout his minor league career, it’s been getting on base. Maybe his bat doesn’t show itself over these last few weeks but he continues to get on base and the Padres score a few more runs?

Bring up another top prospect, catcher Francisco Mejia.

While the San Diego Padres didn’t make a move on Tuesday, trade deadline day, they did acquire the best catching prospect in Major League Baseball, Francisco Mejia. Fangraphs agrees, ranking Mejia as the top prospect overall to be moved at the deadline, despite significant questions as to what position he plays and what type of player he winds up developing into.

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The hit tool is there, hitting .297 in Double-A last season and .279 in AAA this year. The Indians gave him 11 games in the big leagues last season and had called him up earlier this season for a game, attempting to have him play in their depleted outfield and provide depth at the catching position after injuries began to pile up. Can’t really tell anything from 15 pro-at-bats, though.

Since joining El Paso, he’s logged six hits in six games (including one double) with three walks. An injury concern delayed his debut with the Chihuahuas but he hasn’t disappointed since joining the team.

There are hurdles to making this move before the September roster expansion. A.J. Ellis is playing very good baseball and all reports from the clubhouse indicate that he is a tremendous asset to the organization. It’s surprising that he wasn’t moved at the deadline, not that he would bring back anything in return, but you have to believe that Ellis would have been a good fit for the Yankees. He could still be an August trade candidate, especially if any more major injuries occur over the final two months of the season.

Austin Hedges is also playing very well. He’s hitting .300 over his last 15 games and looks as if he’s more comfortable at the plate but we all know his production could suddenly drop so let’s wait and see.

There’s also the debate over what is more beneficial, everyday at-bats in AAA or two-three games a week at the major league level? The Indians believed he was major league ready, so let’s see what he can do at Petco.

Hang in there, Padres fans. The schedule across the month of August looks brutal, however, maybe we see some young guys finally get their call to the big leagues?