Renfroe heads to minor league camp with kind words from Black
By Bill Center
Padres manager Bud Black spoke in length about the future of Hunter Renfroe Monday morning after the club’s first-round draft pick in 2013 was one of six players sent to the minor league camp.
Also sent to the minor league camp were infielder Taylor Lindsey, catcher Griff Erickson and pitchers Justin Hancock, Tayron Guerrero and Aaron Northcraft.
“There’s a chance you could see a few back with us, maybe as soon as tomorrow with the split squad games,” said Black.
Then he turned his thoughts on Renfroe, a 23-year-old outfielder ranked among the Padres top three prospects.
“Hunter showed well this spring,” said Black. “There are a number of things he needs to take care of on minor league side to continue his climb to the majors. He is not a finished product.
“What we saw is a nice set of baseball skills. He can run, throw . . . defensively he does a nice job with routes and angles. We saw the raw power. He didn’t get a lot of hits, but I think the bat is there.
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“There is a lot to like about Hunter. He’s in a good spot, doing well. From college to pro, on a nightly basis he’s going to see better stuff. He’s going to continue to see better stuff as he climbs through the minors.
“This guy has a good head on his shoulder. He knows what he needs to do. He needs experience, at-bats against good pitching.”
Also:
— Black offered some thoughts about third baseman Will Middlebrooks: “He is an athletic player with an upside of skills. He moves well. He has a good arm and good hands in the field. Offensively, we’ve seen the power. When you look at him, you see a player . . . just the way he moves around the field, the way he runs. We’ve see that in flashes and spurts over the past three years, especially as a rookie in 2012. The Past couple of years were a little variable . . . seen that with injuries, the hand, the wrist, a little banged up. He was playing through discomfort with his swing. There is a lot of potential. He’s 27 with some experience. Hopefully he is ready to break out and show that potential on the field.”
— Black on the National League West: “We’ve got to catch those two teams, the Giants and Dodgers. We feel good about our team. We feel good about ourselves. We’re excited about it. We feel we’re ready to take them on.”
— On the middle of the Padres’ lineup: (Matt) Kemp and (Justin) Upton have done it consistently over the course of their careers. They are proven middle of the order bats. We need them to do what they can do. There is a little bit of a knock on our defense, I think they are going to take it to heart to prove the naysaysers wrong.
— Black said relief pitcher Brandon Maurer would test his sore back with a side session Monday. “He will be ready for game action in a day or two,” said Black.
— Casey Kelly came out of Sunday’s first batting practice session of the spring “feeling fine.”
— Black on the battle for the №5 spot in the rotation: “No one is ahead of anyone there,” said Black. “Both guys (Brandon Morrow and Odrisamer Despaigne) are throwing well. (Robbie) Erlin threw two good innings yesterday. (Matt) Wisler threw well in the Will Ferrell game. You have to have as much good pitching as possible.”
— On why Cubs manager Joe Maddon calls Black “Pepe:” “I got the name Pepe from a Spanish class at San Diego State,” said Black. “Bud is Pepe in Spanish. Joe and I were in an exhibition game at Hermosillo, Mexico. Pepe came up . . . you had to be there at the time. But from that point on, he’s always called me Pepe.” And what does Black call Maddon? JoJo.
