The newest Padres

The 2011 First-Year Player Draft is well underway. The Padres selected Cory Spangenberg with their first selection (10th overall). When the dust settled on Day 1, the Padres made five selections:

10th – Cory Spangenberg (INF/Indian River State)

25th – Joe Ross (RHP/Bishop O’Dowd School)

48th – Michael Kelly (RHP/West Boca Raton Community HS)

54th – Brett Austin (C/Providence Sr. HS)

58th – Jace Peterson (SS/McNeese State)

As I type, the second day is underway, with the Padres picking in rounds 2-30. Among their picks is high school catcher Austin Hedges, taken in the second round with the 82nd overall pick. Hedges and Kelly each played at PETCO Park as part of the 2010 Aflac All-American Game. Video of each can be found below:

Austin Hedges:

You can’t tell where that ball lands, but I’m pretty sure they needed a new one for the next batter. Here is video of Austin at PETCO Park during the Aflac All-American Game:

Michael Kelly at the Aflac All-American Game:

Big day in Padreland

On the field, the Padres are rolling. Three straight wins, three straight series wins and 7-2 in their last nine games. Today the Pads welcome the Rockies to town for the second matchup with the division rivals.  San Diego took two of three in Colorado 5/13-15.

Off the field, the Padres have a big opportunity with the 2011 First-Year Player Draft kicking off today. Round 1 as well as Compensation Round A will take place this evening, beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT. The Padres have five of the first 58 selections in what Vice President/Assistant General Manager Jason McLeod calls “one of the deepest drafts in recent memory.”

Here is a summary of the Padres first five picks:

10th – Compensation for unsigned first-rounder in 2010 Draft (Karsten Whitson)

25th – Padres regular first-round selection

48th – Compensation for free agent Jon Garland

54th – Compensation for free agent Yorvit Torrealba

58th – Compensation for free agent Kevin Correia

Stay tuned to either the Channel 4 SD or XX 1090 broadcast this evening. Jason McLeod will visit both booths in-game, following tonight’s Draft action, to discuss the Padres selections.

For your viewing pleasure, take a look at last week’s video when we asked Padres players to recall their Draft Day experiences.

Back on track

The Padres snapped a brief two-game skid with a 3-1 win last night, improving to 6-5 in their last 11 games. Over that stretch, the Padres pitching staff has posted a 2.52 ERA with starters working 7.0 or more innings on six occasions.

Dustin Moseley picked up the win yesterday after 7.0 innings of one-run ball. A victim of bad luck all year long, Moseley is now 2-6  despite lowering his ERA to 3.00. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is one of just 23 qualifying pitchers with an ERA of 3.00 or better but is the only one of those pitchers who does not boast a winning record.

On the offensive side, Chase Headley extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games, Ryan Ludwick has now hit safely in 17 of his last 21 games and Chris Denorfia belted his fourth home run of the season.

Hundley on the mend

Nick Hundley, expected to go out on a rehab assignment tomorrow, tested out his strained right oblique this afternoon. Hundley strapped on the gear and threw down to each base, going through a full exercise of baseball movements to test out his side (Brad Ausmus, in gray, is working with him).

Notes on last night’s game

Chase Headley knocked an RBI single in the third inning last night, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. With that hit, he extended his career high and passed Orlando Hudson for the longest hitting streak by a Padre this season.

Ryan Ludwick drove in one run last night, giving him 36 RBI on the season. He leads the team and ranks tied for eighth in the NL. Luddy has now hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games.

The Padres drove in two runs on sacrifice flies in the seventh last night. The last time they had two sac flies in a single inning was 7/23/10 at PIT (top 2). Since the start of the 2007 season, the Padres have accomplished the feat just one other time (9/7/08 at MIL – top 7).