Padres Organization Players of the Week: July 8-14

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

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Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Here is a recap of the top performers of the All-Star break-shortened week in the Padres organization.

Farm batter: CJ Abrams (R) 

Games AVG XBH RBI SB OPS wRC+
5 .500 8 4 3 1.475 258

The Padres’ 2019 sixth overall pick continues to rake in Rookie ball. Twenty games into his professional career, he is batting .446 with a 1.187 OPS, both are second-best in all the Arizona League. This week he batted an astounding .500 and has opened his professional career with a 20-game hitting streak. He is yet to go hitless in a game as a pro. This week he had two three-hit games as well.

The 18-year-old shortstop might find his way to Single-A Tri-City before too long. He is also showing elite discipline at the plate with just a seven percent strikeout rate. He has shown his athleticism with 11 stolen bases as well.

Farm pitcher: Omar Cruz (A)

Games IP ERA K BB FIP
1 5.2 1.59 10 1 0.44

Cruz earns his first Player of the Week nod of his career. In Friday’s start for Fort Wayne, he struck out 10 batters in just 5 2/3 innings, matching his season high. Cruz started the year in Short Season Single-A Tri-City but was quickly moved up to full-season ball after a solid showing in two games. He owns a strikeout rate of 14.4 batters per nine innings in three starts for Fort Wayne.

In his five starts between the two levels, he is yet to have a FIP higher than 2.69. The Padres signed Cruz in July of 2017 out of Mexico. In just 16 career professional games, he owns a solid 2.40 ERA in almost 64 innings pitched.

MLB batter: Manny Machado

Games AVG HR RBI OPS wRC+
3 .357 3 3 1.357 243

The real Manny Machado has finally stood up. Since June 1, Machado is hitting .286 with 14 home runs, a .967 OPS and a 146 wRC+. Only Mike Trout has more home runs over that stretch than Machado in the entire league. This is the Machado the Padres paid $300 million for and he has been worth every penny up to this point. He homered three times in the three-game series against the Braves to open the second half of the year, with five total hits.

With his hot six weeks, Machado’s numbers look much more aligned with his career totals. He is on pace for 40 home runs, which would be a career high, with a .850 OPS, which is almost 30 points higher than his career OPS. He and Fernando Tatis Jr. have carried the Padres’ offense for the better part of a month.

MLB pitcher: Cal Quantrill

Games IP ERA K BB FIP
1 6 0.00 3 1 3.21

Quantrill had his “coming-out party” on Sunday against the Braves. He tied his career high with six innings pitched and for the first time, he allowed zero earned runs in a start. His Game Score (via Baseball Reference) was 68, a career-best. He has been inserted back into the rotation after a brief spell as a reliever. He forced weak contact all game and just allowed three hits to Atlanta.

Quantrill has now pitched in 12 games this season, eight as a starter, with an exactly average 100 ERA+. He was solid as a reliever, with a 1.59 ERA in four outings but until Sunday, he had struggled to find his footing as a starter, with a 4.57 ERA.

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