{"id":24728,"date":"2025-06-29T14:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T14:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/24728\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T14:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T14:46:11","slug":"power-players-the-whole-sheets-plus-leftovers-morejons-change-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/24728\/","title":{"rendered":"Power players; the whole Sheets, plus leftovers; Morej\u00f3n\u2019s change \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning from Cincinnati,<\/p>\n

Nibble, nibble, nibble.<\/p>\n

Nuke, nuke, nuke.<\/p>\n

The Padres could not get a run home yesterday until they just started hitting home runs.<\/p>\n

You can read in my game story (here<\/a>) about the unprecedented nature of their 6-4 victory over the Reds.<\/p>\n

Hint: It had to do with the solo home run by Luis Arraez, two-run homer by Jake Cronenworth and three-run homer by Gavin Sheets.<\/p>\n

The Padres need more balls to go over walls.<\/p>\n

They won\u2019t acknowledge that straight out. They simply say the homers will come and they like their approach of gap-to-gap line drives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you hit line drives, you use the whole field and you stay on the baseball and you make good swing decisions and you have power, you\u2019re going to hit, and you\u2019re going to get your power,\u201d Padres manager Mike Shildt said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not making good swing decisions and you\u2019re looking for power and you\u2019re not staying on the baseball through the middle part of the field, you\u2019re going to get inconsistency.\u201d<\/p>\n

In talking about the home runs \u2013 two against relief pitchers \u2014 we can\u2019t discount what the Padres did to extend several at-bats, get seven hits, walk twice and run up Andrew Abbott\u2019s pitch count to 102 so he was out of yesterday\u2019s game after five innings.<\/p>\n

This was no slouch finding his groove against a struggling offense. Abbott entered the game with a 1.79 ERA and was allowing a .193 batting average across his 13 starts.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, that guy threw the ball well, but you looked up and he\u2019s in the fifth grinding on 95 pitches,\u201d Shildt said. \u201cAnd we had good at bats. \u2026 Guys just kept going, going, going, going, going. Sometimes, you don\u2019t actually break through at that moment, but you\u2019re setting yourself up to break through later. And break through, we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wrote a couple times earlier this season about how the Padres lagged in home runs at the beginning of 2024 before heating up with the summer weather. But their line drive approach began yielding more home runs earlier last season.<\/p>\n

Through 82 games in \u201824, they ranked eighth in the major leagues with 88 home runs. They were 14th with an average of 1.07 homers per game.<\/p>\n

Even after yesterday\u2019s homerpalooza \u2014 just their fifth three-homer game this season and their second this week \u2014 the Padres\u2019 72 homers are fourth-fewest in the majors. Their average per game (0.88) also is fourth lowest.<\/p>\n

Hitting coach Victor Rodriguez is a big believer in not looking for home runs. You do that, he says, you don\u2019t hit them. And you probably don\u2019t hit much at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about the guys who got on before the homers,\u201d Rodriguez said last night. \u201cI love homers. But I love homers with people on base.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Padres finished last season tied for 10th with 190 home runs. Manny Machado (23) and Jackson Merrill (21) both ranked among the top 17 in MLB in homers from June 12 through the end of the season.<\/p>\n

The whole Sheets<\/p>\n

The Padres are looking to add a right-handed hitter before the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Left field is where their focus is. But they will make a right-handed hitter fit anywhere.<\/p>\n

It could be a first baseman, a second baseman. And there is always the designated hitter to work with.<\/p>\n

One thing giving them some flexibility is Sheets\u2019 improvement in left field.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an above-average outfielder,\u201d said Dave Macias, the Padres\u2019 outfield coach. \u201cHe\u2019s smart. He\u2019s athletic. He can throw. He\u2019s just a little bit bigger guy. He\u2019s different than Jackson. But he\u2019s a good outfielder.\u00a0 And getting consistency, (getting) reps out there is making him feel more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one is saying Sheets is going to win a Gold Glove. The Padres have two players on their bench most days who are better defensively than Sheets. One of them, Bryce Johnson, was a defensive replacement for Sheets in the ninth inning yesterday.<\/p>\n

But Sheets is the one who hit the three-run homer that won the game, and his potential to do so is why he is in the lineup every day. So he has worked hard to get better defensively and worked to keep his body right to meet the demands of being in the field virtually every day.<\/p>\n

There can be no disputing he has been playing his adopted position with far more authority and virtually no blunders over the past few weeks.<\/p>\n

Just before his deciding blast in the seventh inning Saturday, Sheets ran 58 feet and made a diving catch in the corner for the third out of the sixth inning on a ball that would have gone for at least a double and driven in a run.<\/p>\n

\n

Gavin Sheets lays out! pic.twitter.com\/Nv5vh1bHxK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) June 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHe beat \u2019em on both sides of the ball today,\u201d Shildt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing is just the work that we\u2019ve been putting in is starting to pay off in games,\u201d Sheets said. \u201cYou can do as much as you want in practice, but until it works in games, until you see it feeding off games, that\u2019s what really matters. So (starting) to see it work in games and making better reads, better and better each day.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no need to rehash the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Sheets\u2019 two runs into the wall \u2014 once with his body leaving an imprint in the padding and knocking him from the game and the other with his glove falling off and going over the wall while the ball hit about three feet below the top of the wall. Everyone saw the sometimes awkward routes and late jumps.<\/p>\n

Those came at a time when he was hardly playing there and had hardly ever played there.<\/p>\n

Sheets entered this season having made eight starts and played a total of 75 innings in left field. He had in his first four seasons, with the White Sox, spent most of his time in right field, at first base and as a designated hitter.<\/p>\n

And he was alternating early this season between first base, left and DH.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough in the beginning,\u201d Sheets said. \u201cI knew the role was going to be a lot of DH and then kind of bounce around to pick a guy up at first, pick a guy up in left. And with left being relatively new this year, it\u2019s tough. You\u2019re not getting as much work out there, and you just feel kind of naked every time you\u2019re out there. But Macias and I put in a lot of work and feel a lot more comfortable out there. It\u2019s still not perfect, but grinding out there and feel a lot more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yesterday\u2019s start in left field was Sheets\u2019 12th in the past 14 games. He had started seven of the previous 18 and just two of the season\u2019s first 50 games.<\/p>\n

He has not played at first base since June 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust getting out there consistently,\u201d Sheets said of left field. \u201cAnd I think too, just being able to \u2014 \u2018Hey, they want me to play left field All right, I\u2019m gonna focus on left field. And I\u2019m gonna try to be the best I can be out there and help this team win games out there.\u2019 And that\u2019s kind of the approach I\u2019ve taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

The left-handed batter is hitting .265 with a .792 OPS after going 3-for-5 with two doubles and the home Yesterday. Sheets\u00a0 moved into the team RBI lead with 49, is tied for second with 13 home runs and is fourth with 14 doubles.<\/p>\n

Ever since he showed his offensive renaissance was real, the Padres were always going to find a spot for him in the lineup.<\/p>\n

His playing a solid left field has also allowed them to work other players in at DH, which further allows for flexibility to get other players starts in the field. That is what happened yesterday with right-handed-batting Jose Iglesias playing second base against left-hander Andrew Abbott.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done a nice job for us, right?\u201d Shildt said of Sheets. \u201cAnd so, when you look at lineups like today\u2019s \u2026 we\u2019ve got a tough lefty out there. We want our everyday guys in there, but we also want Sheets\u2019 bat in there, and we want to get Iglesias in there. So where does Jose fit? He fits today at second base, which allows (Luis Arraez) to get a DH day, which he can come back tomorrow and be good and have some energy on a turnaround game. If Sheets can\u2019t go play left field, he\u2019s got to be in the DH spot and doesn\u2019t get Iglesias in there or tomorrow get a particular guy off their feet to go take that DH day. So it\u2019s very, very valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not to be left out<\/p>\n

Hitters talk constantly about their constant adjustments.<\/p>\n

Sometimes they have to make tweaks because of what pitchers are doing. Sometimes the adjustment is to essentially make no adjustment.<\/p>\n

For left-handed batters who don\u2019t fare well against lefty pitchers, it is often a matter of them being jumpy and \u201copening up\u201d too soon.<\/p>\n

Sheets, who for the first time in his career is truly getting a shot at being an everyday player, was talking about that earlier this week<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, staying staying closed on my front side,\u201d he said of his focus when facing left-handers. \u201c\u2026 When I can do that, I feel like I\u2019m seeing it better and give myself more of a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is what staying closed looks like (from a screen grab of the Padres.TV telecast yesterday):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here is what flying open looks like (from Padres.TV on Friday night):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Facing Andrew Abbott, one of the toughest left-handers in the National League yesterday, Sheets doubled twice in three at-bats. Abbott was allowing a .169 batting average and had given up two doubles and a home run in 71 plate appearances against him by lefties this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know when you come into today\u2019s game, you understand what you\u2019re going up against,\u201d Sheets said. \u201cYou know what kind of season he\u2019s having, what kind of stuff he has.\u201d<\/p>\n

After getting two extra-base hits against a left-hander for the first time in his career, Sheets is batting .225 (16-for-71) with a .615 OPS against lefties this season. That batting average is 57 points higher than his career average against lefties entering this season, and the OPS is 157 points higher.<\/p>\n

And, yes, Rece Hinds could have caught Sheets\u2019 second double had he not come in on a bullet right at him. That doesn\u2019t change the fact that Sheets squared up a fastball and sent it to right field at 107 mph.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On a roll<\/p>\n

Left-hander Adrian Morej\u00f3n extended his streak to 17 appearances without allowing an earned run by working a 1-2-3 seventh inning yesterday.<\/p>\n

He ended his three outs with three different pitches \u2014 a slider, a sinker and a changeup.<\/p>\n

Morej\u00f3n\u2019s changeup made its debut on May 23. He has thrown 17 of them, and hitters are 0-for-8 in at-bats ending on the pitch.<\/p>\n

The pitch drops and breaks away from right-handers, which are the only ones he uses it against.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that he can get lefties out,\u201d Niebla said. \u201cThe spin has been consistent, the fastball has been well-located. But the emergence of the changeup now, when he needs it \u2026 that\u2019s just neutralizing some of the right-handed hitters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going back 21 appearances, he has allowed just one earned run on seven hits and two walks (one intentional) while striking out 18 in 18\u2154 innings. He has stranded 13 of the 15 runners he has inherited in that span.<\/p>\n

His overall ERA is 1.98 in 39 appearances (36 \u2153 innings).<\/p>\n

Perhaps most impressive is that Morej\u00f3n is having that success while averaging 13.7 pitches per inning this season, tied for fifth fewest in the major leagues.<\/p>\n

King update<\/p>\n

I posted a story (here<\/a>) before yesterday\u2019s game about Michael King\u2019s \u201cprogression\u201d into a throwing program.<\/p>\n

We still don\u2019t know when \u2014 or even for sure if \u2014 he will pitch this season. The nerve issue he is dealing with is unpredictable.<\/p>\n

However, he has realized improvement in strength.<\/p>\n

And one clear sign he believes his progress is significant is King\u2019s demeanor.<\/p>\n

On the last road trip, he was dour. That is in stark contrast to how King usually presents himself. And it has been noticeable over the past week that he has been more like his usual jovial self.<\/p>\n

He observed that he has \u201cbeen in a very positive mood\u201d because of the progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really hard when I couldn\u2019t see the light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now that I can see it, it\u2019s a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darvish update<\/p>\n

Yu Darvish threw 31 pitches in the bullpen yesterday, and Shildt said the plan is for him to pitch another simulated game in the coming week.<\/p>\n

The Padres continue to not push the veteran right-hander. The important thing, team sources insist, is that he returns to pitch well in the season\u2019s final two months and the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Darvish, who is working back from elbow discomfort that has sidelined him since the middle of spring training, threw 51 pitches in a simulated game against players at low-A Lake Elsinore on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Tidbits<\/p>\n