San Diego Padres: Hunter Renfroe Must Play Everyday

Hunter Renfroe has been impressive over the last few weeks. He needs to be in the starting lineup every day for the San Diego Padres.

A third trip to the disabled list for Wil Myers has provided Hunter Renfroe the opportunity to become an everyday outfielder and he has not disappointed San Diego Padres fans.

Across the month of August, Renfroe has 33 plate appearances, accumulating 11 hits (two doubles), four round-trippers including a game-winning grand slam, 12 runs batted in, and has managed to draw two walks while striking out just three times. Yes, you read that correctly, three strikeouts.

His slash line for the month reads .379/.394/.862 with a 1.256 OPS.

A noticeable improvement during this stint has been fewer strikeouts. He is showing a sort of patience at the plate that he hasn’t shown in his limited time in the major leagues. It’s only August 11th, however, his strikeout rate this month is just 8%. That’s down from nearly 25% in June and 32.3% in July.

Putting up impressive stats is one thing but delivering in clutch situations is what Hunter Renfroe has time and again proved he is capable of. Hitting a grand slam to win a road series speaks volumes of the twenty-six-year-old, former first-round pick. Renfroe can be an asset when the Friars eventually start making the playoffs. He just needs to be given the chance.

Fun fact, Renfroe has hit the last four grand slams for the San Diego Padres and is now tied for third in franchise history in grand slams. He still trails franchise leader Phil Nevin by three.

Andy Green must play Hunter Renfroe on a daily basis.

Despite putting up impressive numbers Hunter Renfroe might still struggle to find consistent

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playing time when Wil Myers returns. He will be battling with Travis Jankowski and Franmil Reyes for the last outfielder’s spot.

Unfortunately for Renfroe, Franmil Reyes has also been tearing up the batting charts in August. In his last seven games, Reyes is hitting .409 with three home runs.

There have been rumors about the versatile Wil Myers returning to the infield as a third baseman. While this seems like a long-shot, it could help clear up room for both Renfroe and Reyes, looking ahead to next season (not to mention the return of Franmil Reyes).

There are still many questions to be answered, surrounding this San Diego outfield. For now, let’s enjoy the surge of success for Hunter Renfroe and hope he can finish out the 2018 season on a high note.