NewsMovin' On Up: Blanks gets his shot
Padres' top slugging prospect learning outfield on the fly
By Lisa Winston / MLB.com
06/26/09 9:26 AM ET
The ultimate goal for every Minor Leaguer is to reach the Major Leagues. Every week, Movin' On Up will take a look at prospects who have reached that goal and made their big league debut.
The San Diego Padres took another step to keep their struggling offense from shooting blanks with the promotion of top slugging prospect Kyle Blanks from Triple-A Portland on June 19.
He made his debut that night in a 7-5 loss to Oakland, striking out as a pinch-hitter for starting pitcher Mike Ekstrom. The next night he moved into the starting lineup as the left fielder, going 1-for-3, and over the course of the week was hitting .167 in five games (four starts), with two starts in left field, one at DH and one at first base.
A first baseman for all of his young career, the right-handed hitter started seeing time in the outfield this spring with this plan in mind.
"The scouting reports were that he's done well," said Padres GM Kevin Towers regarding the position move.
"I've got a lot of advice from [Portland coach Max Venable and manager Randy Ready] and playing next to Will [Venable] was a big help. If I asked for help, he helped me. I think I made some good progress in that direction," Blanks said about the shift. "I'm pretty comfortable. There's some things I need to work on and was trying to work on."
Blanks' promotion came as part of a wave of moves that also saw rookie shortstop Everth Cabrera come off the 60-day DL, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo come up and pitcher Wade LeBlanc arrive. Meanwhile, DH Cliff Floyd was placed on the 60-day DL with a torn labrum, infielder Josh Wilson was waived and pitcher Chris Young went on the DL.
Drafted in the 42nd round of 2004 out of Yavapai College in Arizona, the 22-year-old Blanks hit .325 with 20 homers and 107 RBIs at Double-A San Antonio in 2008, earning the Padres' Minor League Player of the Year honors.
At Portland he'd been hitting .283 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs, including .370 in June, and had made 15 starts in the outfield.
A big guy (6-foot-6 with listed weight that has varied but is currently noted at 285), his resemblance to former slugger Frank Thomas has been noticed more than a few times. A similar career would certainly not displease the Padres.
Besides Blanks, only one other player made his Major League debut between June 19-25:
Alfredo Figaro, RHP, Detroit Tigers
DEBUT: June 20 in a 9-5 win against Milwaukee. The starting pitcher, he earned the victory with five innings of work, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out seven. He gave up a homer to Ryan Braun.
CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Double-A Erie on June 19 when C Dane Sardinha was designated for assignment.
NOTES: Replacing Dontrelle Willis in the rotation for the time being, Figaro skipped right past Triple-A. He went 5-2 with a 4.10 ERA in 11 starts at Erie this season, striking out 59 in 68 innings. He throws four pitches -- fastball, curve, slider and changeup -- and all of them for strikes. He was recently named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week.
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
