Wil Myers – First Padres 25/25 Man & He Could Get Better
Wil Myers keeps growing and growing as a player and with that he is feeling a lot better at the plate recently. Despite a recent hitting slump, the 25-year old All-Star first baseman recently went into the San Diego Padres organization history books.
He became the first Padre to ever post a season with 25-or-more doubles, 25-or-more home runs and 25-or-more stolen bases.
On September 16, the first game of the Colorado Rockies series at Coors Field, Myers took pitcher Tyler Chatwood deep into right center field with a two-run shot. It was on a 3-2 count on Chatwood’s ninth pitch of the night in the top of the first inning with one out.
Unfortunately, the Padres dropped the first game one on a walk-off, 8-7 as Brandon Maurer blew the lead in the ninth. Myers finished 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI on the night.
So far this season, Myers has a batting average of .260, OBP of .334, SLG of .459 and OPS of .793. He has 86 RBI this season.
Although he continues to show progression offensively, Myers has been inconsistent at putting the ball in play and getting the clutch hit for the team. He was on fire in June, then things declined from there. But not to give up hope, he is healthy this season and was able to silence the critics that constantly talked about his troublesome wrist. Those injury concerns are a thing of the past and Myers should easily be productive for the Padres for many seasons.
As stated before, there have been talks of extending his contract and the front office needs to do something about it. Though with the recent suspension of manager A.J. Preller, that should not necessarily put his contract on the front line, but hopefully we hear the news Myers is staying longer with the Padres. That will certainly be a hot topic of discussion this off-season.
He is the type of player you want to build a team around. 25/25 is just the tip of the iceberg as far as potential production from this young man. He could very easily improve his game and take his play to the next level. That rare combination of speed and power is special. Myers’ enthusiasm for the game is contagious and with that the Padres have a face of the franchise for years to come.
Jolene Nacapuy is currently the media operations director of Proud Digital Media. She graduated in 2016 from the University of La Verne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She is a small town Hawaii native with high-energy and motivation, with experience in writing hard and breaking news, features, commentary’s and sports articles. She has written articles and taken photos for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has served as an assistant sports editor, sports editor and editor in chief of the Campus Times and also written for HerCampus La Verne. She has also contributed for Lakers Nation and Dodgers Nation. Jolene is a big sports fan and when she’s not working on her next story, she’s at a sports event.