Thoughts on the recent Padre and Dodger series
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 4:52 pm
I am fortunate enough to have friends that have had season seats for the Padres and Dodgers for over 30 years. Needless to say that the seats are awesome. They always invite me to the Pirate series when the Bucs are out here. I wasn’t going to go to Dodger Stadium because quite frankly I am tired of seeing the Pirates get man handled by the Dodgers. ( My Padre buddies refer to the Dodgers as the EEOTW- Evil Empire of the West). Decided to go and took in all 6 games. Glad I did.
Some observations on these past 6 games:
Tucupita Marcano: I think he is ready for prime time. Looked very confident at the plate, made some excellent defensive plays and he provides speed and enthusiasm. Might be able to provide 10-15 HR potential. He crushed the HR’s at Dodger Stadium.
Cal Mitchell: He is a nice physical specimen. I like his swing and think the power will come. However he does not have a ML arm for RF. In the Padre series his throws were weak and tailed.
Rodolfo Castro: This guy has a ton of natural ability. Very inexperienced in his decision making. I like that he is a switch hitter. The bomb he hit at Dodger Stadium shows his power potential even for a smaller guy. He also exhibits the emotion and enthusiasm like Josh Harrison. I want to see more of him.
Diego Castillo: I think he is a diamond in the rough. He will only get better as the season progresses.
Jack Suwinski: I am not as high on him. Granted he has 5 HR and he does play a solid OF defense; but he strikes out too often on pitches I think he should be putting into play.
Yu Chang: WTF. Big guy looks to be in great shape but couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. May need more time to adjust to a new team but he looked awful against the Dodgers.
VanMeter: Everybody’s whipping boy but he is driving in runs at a greater pace than Reynolds. Obviously if the young guys perform he will most likely be DFA
Gore and Contreras are going to be rotation mainstays for the Pads and Pirates.
Chavis: Serious player. No fooling around. Probably our best hitter so far. Still susceptible to the slider off the plate. I wonder if his forearm is still tender. He made 2 awful throws to Hayes and Heinimen
Finally I think Heinimen played great and showed a lot of leadership especially in the Dodger Series. He should get the bulk of playing time over Perez who is hitting under .100
So nice to stick it to the Dodgers!!!
Some observations on these past 6 games:
Tucupita Marcano: I think he is ready for prime time. Looked very confident at the plate, made some excellent defensive plays and he provides speed and enthusiasm. Might be able to provide 10-15 HR potential. He crushed the HR’s at Dodger Stadium.
Cal Mitchell: He is a nice physical specimen. I like his swing and think the power will come. However he does not have a ML arm for RF. In the Padre series his throws were weak and tailed.
Rodolfo Castro: This guy has a ton of natural ability. Very inexperienced in his decision making. I like that he is a switch hitter. The bomb he hit at Dodger Stadium shows his power potential even for a smaller guy. He also exhibits the emotion and enthusiasm like Josh Harrison. I want to see more of him.
Diego Castillo: I think he is a diamond in the rough. He will only get better as the season progresses.
Jack Suwinski: I am not as high on him. Granted he has 5 HR and he does play a solid OF defense; but he strikes out too often on pitches I think he should be putting into play.
Yu Chang: WTF. Big guy looks to be in great shape but couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. May need more time to adjust to a new team but he looked awful against the Dodgers.
VanMeter: Everybody’s whipping boy but he is driving in runs at a greater pace than Reynolds. Obviously if the young guys perform he will most likely be DFA
Gore and Contreras are going to be rotation mainstays for the Pads and Pirates.
Chavis: Serious player. No fooling around. Probably our best hitter so far. Still susceptible to the slider off the plate. I wonder if his forearm is still tender. He made 2 awful throws to Hayes and Heinimen
Finally I think Heinimen played great and showed a lot of leadership especially in the Dodger Series. He should get the bulk of playing time over Perez who is hitting under .100
So nice to stick it to the Dodgers!!!