News
Cabrera takes advantage of opportunity
San Diego (55-75) at Florida (67-61), 3:10 p.m. PT
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
08/29/09 2:27 AM ET
MIAMI -- Not all is lost on a last-place team. And the story of Everth Cabrera is a perfect example.For three years, Cabrera, the current Padres shortstop, couldn't get out of Class A in the Rockies organization. But after being a Rule 5 Draft choice in December, he's gone from a low-level Minor Leaguer to not only being a pleasant surprise in San Diego, but a possible long-term solution there.
"It's a beautiful feeling for me," Cabrera said in Spanish about being an everyday player in the big leagues. "I never would've imagined being in the Major Leagues at this moment. I was always positive, but I didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did.
"But when [the Padres] picked me up as a Rule 5, I felt like I had already made it to the big leagues because I was like, 'Well, here's my chance, I'm going to take advantage of it.'"
Has he ever.
Cabrera missed 52 games with an injured left hand early in the season. But upon returning from the disabled list on June 19, he's started every single game at shortstop. And now, the overlooked prospect in the Rockies' system -- the one who had all the speed but supposedly couldn't hit consistently -- goes into the second of a three-game series against the Marlins on Saturday batting .274 with a team-high 20 stolen bases -- the most by a Padres player since 2006 -- 25 RBIs and a .360 on-base percentage.
"If you would've told me at the start of the season he'd be hitting .270, I would've thought that would've been a little high," Padres manager Bud Black admitted.
But since Spring Training, Cabrera has continued to get better.
Over his last five contests, the Nicaraguan switch-hitter has four two-hit games and has reached base safely in nine of his last 16 plate appearances. Cabrera's batting average on July 24 was just .220. But since then, he's hit .328 (41-for-125) to increase it by 54 points.
"He's been outstanding," double-play counterpart David Eckstein said. "I think the biggest thing about him is his work ethic. He shows up at the park every day working to get better, and he plays the game the right way in the sense of, if he makes a mistake, he learns from it, and it doesn't happen again. For a guy to take a step from [Class-A] to the big leagues, [that's] a lot of heavy stuff, and he's kind of handled it in stride, especially once he's come off the hand injury."
While playing mostly second base in the low levels of Colorado's system, everybody knew about Cabrera's speed and ability to play defense. But whether or not he could produce offensively on a consistent basis at the Major League level was in serious question.
Cabrera used that doubt as motivation.
"They said in the scouting reports that in the big leagues I would steal 40 bases but would hit .100," said Cabrera, who went 2-for-6 with two RBIs, two runs scored and two slick plays at shortstop in Friday's 9-5 win over the Marlins. "I was like, 'OK, we'll see.' So for me it's an accomplishment. It was huge motivation. I was going to work real hard, and that's what I did."
Cabrera is still only 22 and will be under club control for a while, which will make him a very economical player if he keeps producing at the plate and playing the kind of defense he has this year.
Black said Friday that Cabrera "is a guy that we look to as our future. Especially at such a premium position, we think he has a chance to be a Padre for a long time."
And Cabrera said he doesn't want to go anywhere -- ever.
"If these people took the risk to get me from Class A to the big leagues, that's a big risk," he said. "They didn't know what was going to happen with me. Everybody doubted me, and they believed in me. I wouldn't want to leave San Diego. I would love to play my entire career here now that they took that risk."
Pitching matchupSD: LHP Wade LeBlanc (0-1, 14.54)
The Padres recalled LeBlanc after Friday's game to pitch the second game of a three-game series against the Marlins on Saturday. The 25-year-old hasn't started in the big leagues since June 25, when he gave up four runs on five hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings against the Mariners. This will be his eighth Major League appearance and seventh start; he went 1-3 with an 8.02 ERA as a September callup last year. LeBlanc has made 24 appearances (20 starts) for Triple-A Portland this season, going 4-9 with a 3.87 ERA. The Louisiana native struck out 95 batters and walked 31. LeBlanc, a second-round pick by the Padres in 2006, will be making his first career appearance against the Marlins. FLA: RHP Ricky Nolasco (9-8, 5.31 ERA)
It was a struggle from the start for Nolasco in his last start. The right-hander yielded a three-run homer to Brian McCann in the first inning at Turner Field. He exited after 4 1/3 innings with the bases loaded at Atlanta, with his team ahead, 5-4. He threw 95 pitches. Nolasco was coming off a three-hit, complete-game win at Houston on Aug. 18, in a game in which he threw 115 pitches. This will be his second meeting with the Padres. At San Diego on July 22, he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits. Tidbits
With his 20th stolen base on Friday, Cabrera became the first Padres player to reach that number since Mike Cameron, Dave Roberts and Josh Barfield all did it in '06. ... San Diego tied its season high with six doubles and seven extra-base hits in its 9-5 win over the Marlins. ... Cliff Floyd, who still makes his offseason home in South Florida, stopped by the Padres clubhouse before the season opener. The 36-year-old outfielder has a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is out for the year. ... Eckstein, who leads the Majors in fielding percentage, has committed just one error in 431 chances at second base this year. Tickets
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• Sunday: Padres (Mat Latos, 4-3, 4.06) at Marlins (Sean West, 5-5, 4.44), 10:10 a.m. PT
• Monday: Padres (Tim Stauffer, 2-6, 4.11) vs. Nationals (Livan Hernandez, 7-8, 5.36), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Tuesday: Padres (Clayton Richard, 7-4, 4.79) vs. Nationals (TBD), 7:05 p.m. PT
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
