Padres rookies Cal Quantrill and Luis Urias have been brought up in trade rumors. The Mets are allegedly inquiring about acquiring them in a deal for Noah Syndergaard.
If that is a distraction for them they didn't let it show on Saturday night.
Quantrill allowed just one run in 5.1 innings and Urias was on base all four times he came to the plate (three walks and a hit by pitch) in a 5-1 Padres win over the Giants. Rookie right-hander Michel Baez continued the scoreless start to his big league career with 1.1 innings of solid relief work.
But the rookie who's already a superstar had the biggest night of all.
Shorstop Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits including a laser of a 2-run home run to centerfield, his 17th dinger of the season. With 58 games left to play it looks like he'll break teammate Hunter Renfroe's rookie franchise record for homers (26).
Tatis Jr. might have his sights set on an even bigger prize. His batting average is now .330. Jeff McNeil of the Mets leads the National League with a .336 mark. If Tatis can average 3.5 plate appearances over the final 58 games of the season he'll qualify for the batting title.
Only two players in history have been batting champions at the age of 20: Ty Cobb and Al Kaline. They are both enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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More importantly (for now) the Padres have a chance to win their first series since the All-Star break. The Giants will go with ace Madison Bumgarner, himself the subject of trade talks. The Friars haven't announced a starter yet but it's possible they go with a bullpen day.
