San Diego Padres: Three players who need to have a good week

Francisco Mejia

Could Francisco Mejia actually start the year in the minors? Just a couple weeks ago, he was being pegged as the everyday starter for the Padres in 2020. However, his spring has been nothing short of a disaster, as he yet to record a hit. He has also failed to throw out a runner in three attempts.

We know Austin Hedges is going to make the Opening Day roster because his defense and pitch framing is too good to leave in the minors. The former second-round pick of the 2011 draft has failed to live up to expectations offensively. Look for Luis Torrens to take advantage.

Torrens, 23, only played four games behind the plate last season for the Padres but threw out 46 percent of runners in 85 games at Double-A Amarillo. As noted several times before, the catching situation is a mess, and Luis Campusano was part of the first wave of cuts.

So, essentially, the Padres have three players left to choose from.

Mejia needs to have a strong showing over the final two weeks. Fangraphs projects him to slash .251/.299/.412 in 116 games (84 wRC+) this year, and while it’s not the desired result, I think Padres’ fans would happily take that from the catcher.

And if Hedges could somehow hit .220 to .230, I think his defensive abilities would justify him being in the lineup every day, but until then, it’s not going to happen.