Padres: Jake Cronenworth Proving Himself Early in the Season

Perhaps the forgotten part of the Tommy Pham trade, Jake Cronenworth has certainly played a big part in the early going for the San Diego Padres.

If you’ve read any of my articles since the San Diego Padres traded for Jake Cronenworth than you know how high I’ve been on him. It’s not just because we share the same first name, but it’s because of the rave reviews I heard on him from those in the industry that had watched him play.

Everything I heard about Jake pointed to him being a hard worker, team guy, who is going to leave all out on the field every night he plays. Those are the kind of guys I love to watch.

If you watch any Los Angeles Angels games they have a similar player in David Fletcher who has quickly become one of my favorite players in the league. You can plug him in anywhere and he’s going to play great defense and give you a professional at-bat.

And though it’s a very small sample size, the Padres appear to be getting that from Cronenwroth.

He’s played in just 6 games and is 6-for-19 with a walk and just 3 strikeouts.

On Tuesday, in a span of about 15 minutes, Cronenworth showed out both at the plate and in the field.

Padres’ Twitter was on point as Cronenworth is making the most of this opportunity getting to play first base against righties with Eric Hosmer out.

First base wasn’t even a position I envisioned him playing back in spring training as he played mostly as a shortstop in the Rays system and many thought he was an above-average defender there.

With Hosmer possibly coming back over the weekend, I think the Padres have to find a way to keep Cronenworth in the lineup.

And with Jurickson Profar struggling at the plate, second base seems like the most obvious place to put him.

I really hope the Padres give him more of a chance even when Hosmer is back — and Hosmer isn’t going anywhere, so don’t ask.

I think Cronenworth also just brings even more energy to the team and is an easy guy to cheer for. Here’s to hoping he stays hot.