The Padres are off today, so I'll give you my thoughts on their game yesterday.
- Wow, Luis Perdomo ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A BONA FIDE MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER. Don't let his near sub -2.0 bWAR and plus 6.00 ERA fool you, his splits since the All Star break have been pretty good for a pitcher who had never pitched above Class A ball before the season started. I was listening to Andy Green on the 1090 postgame show, and he described Perdomo as "a potential number two starter" down the line. He could end up being one of the best Rule Five findings in a long time if everything pans out. Does he figure into the rotation next year? My guess would be no- he would probably be better served spending year in the minors to refine his stuff. However, if he keeps pitching like this and avoids the big inning, Andy Green might not have a choice.
- How about the power from these Padres bats! They're approaching the MLB record of 27 straight games with a home run, which is currently held by the Texas Rangers. As a cynical San Diego sports fan, something deep in my gut tells me they'll come up just short. But what do I know?!?! And who would I be to tell Alex Dickerson to stop hitting the baseball like he is right now. This kid can mash- he's homered in four straight games. Since the All Star break, his wOBA and wRC+ have been at a very strong (no pun intended) .384 and 146, respectively. Considering he was generally considered a AAAA prospect at the start of the season, skeptics will say he'll regress to the mean eventually- but it's been so darn fun watching the local boy launch baseball after baseball into the seats this week. With Melvin being dealt away, he'll likely get playing time in left field, and something tells me that even if he doesn't turn out to be a starting-caliber outfielder, he'll certainly be a valuable bench bat for years to come, à la Matt Stairs.
- Can you believe this is the first time the Padres have been to Toronto? Really? The Padres have been around for nearly fifty years, while the Blue Jays have been around since 1977. According to Baseball Reference, these teams have only met eight prior times. Before then, the Padres had only done battle less with the White Sox, who the Padres have only met in competition nine times. Admittedly, because I'm a millennial, inter-league play isn't a novel or strange concept to me, so perhaps older fans aren't as surprised. However, considering how long both of these franchises have been around, it's absurd that my Padres never once got to admire the Views From the Six until Summer Sixteen. (See what I did there? I'll be here all week. *audience applause*)
- How weird was that 9:47 AM start time? 9:47? It's as if the Blue Jays front office had Drake pick a random minute out of a hat before the season started for a fan promo.
- Finally, how about Christian Bethancourt's Little League home run? That was a sight to behold. And we would have never gotten to see it if the Padres hadn't traded Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox for Casey Kelly in 2011, who we flipped for Bethancourt this offseason. Thanks, Jed Hoyer!
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