The future of the Padres has arrived in San Diego. Well, part of it, at least.
Fresh off their Pacific Coast League title and with the El Paso Chihuahuas, some of San Diego’s top prospects have been recalled to the big league club. Among them are names Friars fans have been waiting a long time to hear.
Outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot, catcher Austin Hedges, infielder Carlos Asuaje, and pitchers Jose Torres and Buddy Baumann were all recalled from AAA. All of the position players are ranked in the Top-20 of the team’s best prospects.
Manager Andy Green says none of them are in the starting lineup for Wednesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks at Petco Park.
The arrival of these players is, to many Padres faithful, long overdue. Renfroe, Margot and Asuaje had career years in the PCL and Hedges proved a year ago he is more than capable of handling himself and a Major League pitching staff behind the plate. The organization wanted to get the youngsters post-season experience, even if it was at Triple-A, because they see it as a valuable learning tool for their development.
Now that they’re all up, expect to see Manager Andy Green start to see what he has by sprinkling them in to the lineup through the rest of the season. The 2016 season might be lost but if some of these guys come up and look like future stars, we might be able to end it with a positive note going forward.
