San Diego Padres: State of the franchise, shortstop

We review the quality of each position at the big league level and in the minors for the San Diego Padres. First up is shortstop.

When it comes to the positional depth at shortstop, the San Diego Padres have no shortage of talent. Highlighted by the debut of Fernando Tatis Jr. last year, the then 20-year-old blossomed into a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate. And while he was limited to just 84 games because of injuries, he figures to be a mainstay at the position for the next decade.

Tatis’ combination of power and speed are tough to come by in a player, which makes him so valuable. He’s under team control through the 2024 season, and while I’d like to see Padres general manager AJ Preller work out a long-term extension with his talented shortstop, the two sides have reportedly not gone down that road yet.

Let’s see what the Padres have behind Tatis at the position.

CJ Abrams (ETA: 2022)

Despite acquiring Tatis in June 2016, the Padres drafted Abrams with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. The 19-year-old out of Blessed Trinity High School was widely considered to be one of the best high school shortstop prospects in the country. Abrams is already ranked as the sixth-best shortstop prospect by MLB Pipeline and got his feet wet in Rookie ball last year.

In 32 games, Abrams posted a .401/.442/.662 line with 12 doubles, eight triples, three home runs and 22 RBI to go along with 14 stolen bases. He committed 11 errors, and a recorded a .919 fielding percentage, so he’ll need to clean that up when he begins the year at Single-A Fort Wayne.

Gabriel Arias (ETA: 2021)

Signed as part of the 2016-2017 international free agent period, Gabriel Arias hadn’t yet lived up to the lucrative $1.9 million signing bonus that the Padres gave him. He got off on the right foot, batting .275 in 37 games for Rookie ball but hit just .240 in 124 games for Single-A Fort Wayne in 2018.

Arias experienced a breakout season last year and tapped into the power that scouts tabbed him with. He hit .302 while smacking 17 home runs and driving in 75 RBI in 120 games for High-A Lake Elsinore. And while he is only 20 years old, it was encouraging to see the Padres’ investment paying off. Especially his production with runners in scoring position, batting .296 with two home runs, and 54 RBI last year.

He was among the first wave of cuts in Spring Training this year, but he was reportedly checking all the boxes that the front office needed to see. Arias must clean up his defense should he wish to stick at shortstop. He committed 30 and 26 errors in the field in 2018 and 2019, respectively. That simply will not hold up.

I’d expect him to begin the year at Double-A Amarillo with the potential for Triple-A and a September call-up next year. If his defense doesn’t improve, look for him to make a position switch to second base.

Owen Miller (ETA: 2020)

Drafted in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Owen Miller comes from a small school baseball program in Illinois State. He’s quickly moved up the farm system and spent all of last season at Double-A Amarillo, posting a .290/.355/.430 line with 13 home runs and 68 RBI. He’s not really a threat to steal any bases, but he does take a fair amount of walks.

His splits in 2019 were interesting in that he hit for average better off lefties – .347 versus .276 – but he crushed right-handed pitching. Miller tallied 10 of his 13 home runs and 48 of his 68 RBI against righties. He primarily batted fourth for the Sod Poodles, posting a .773 OPS in 80 games; however, in a 32-game sample size, Miller posted an. 885 OPS batting third.

Does he have a fit on the roster? I can say for sure that Miller is not going to be playing shortstop at the big league level, at least for the Padres anyway. Second base is wide open, and Miller has spent a considerable amount of time there as well. In 48 career games at the position, he’s recorded a .980 fielding percentage and committed just four errors.

If he hits well enough at Triple-A and the trio at second base struggles, look for Miller to be one of the first called up.