NBC7’s Ben Rosehart focuses on the development of the Padres leadoff hitter in this commentary
Friday marks the one-year anniversary of Travis Jankowski’s major league debut with the Padres.
In the 365 days that have passed since he singled in his first career at-bat, the young outfielder has become one of the most recognizable Padres not named Wil Myers.
The former first-round pick contributed four hits Thursday during San Diego’s 9-8 win over Arizona.
He had lots of help too, as Alex Dickerson supplied the clutch 3-run double in the 8th inning to put the Friars ahead to stay.
Jabari Blash also made a game-saving catch at the wall in the 9th to bail out closer Brandon Maurer who had a shaky outing.
Even pitcher Edwin Jackson made a pinch-hit appearance and eventually scored a run after working a walk.
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It was a great team effort to snap a five-game losing streak.
Jankowski really helped set the table at the top of the lineup. The Padres 2012 first-round pick raised his batting average to .263 and really loves playing against the Diamondbacks.
The Lancaster, Pennsylvania native is batting 13-for-34 against Arizona this season, which is good for a .382 batting average against the snakes.
Jankowski’s speed also jumps out at you when you watch him play. He can make an impact by tracking down potential extra-base hits in the outfield, but he does more than just play defense.
His wheels allow him to get on base in a variety of ways even when he puts the ball in play and it doesn’t make it out of the infield.
Perhaps the outfielder's most important weapon is his ability to steal bases.
Thursday night at Petco Park, Jankowski swiped his 26th bag of the season. He currently ranks first among all rookies in steals and 4th in the National League.
Moments later, Wil Myers slapped a flare into the outfield just over the second baseman’s outstretched glove. The ball was hit well enough to allow Jankowski to hustle home safely without a play at the plate.
That sequence brings to mind something manager Andy Green said back in spring training. The skipper mentioned he wanted his players to improve on their bunting and base-running as a way to manufacture more runs.
Translation: We need to play more small-ball.
Various trades, injuries and demotions have drastically changed the makeup of the Padres roster, but Jankowski has shown steady improvement in an everyday role over the past two months.
After spot duty in the beginning of the year, Jankowski assumed the starting centerfielder job when Jon Jay hurt his forearm back on June 19th in a game against Washington.
Jankowski reminds me of centerfielder Shane Victorino who was a key part of the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies championship team that won the World Series.
Victorino played great defense in centerfield and was also a clutch hitter at the plate who would often find ways to get on base and create some havoc on the basepaths.
Jankowski has a little less power than Victorino did in his prime, but he’s also just scratching the surface at the big league level.
If you want to sound super smart at the water cooler at work tomorrow, here’s a little trivia nugget for you to share: The Padres are 18-4 in games that Jankowski steals a base.
If it were up to me, I’d find a way to keep both Jankowski and Myers in San Diego – even when prospects like Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe get their expected promotions in the near future.
