Here's a prediction for you...the most crucial player to the Padres' hopes this season has yet to wear a big league uniform in 2019. And he won't be wearing one tonight when the second half officially kicks off at Petco Park as the Friars entertain the Atlanta Braves.
But Travis Jankowski may very well be suiting up soon. And don't be surprised if he's right in the middle of a second-half run by baseball's youngest up-and-coming team. In fact, if the Padres are to reach the postseason (in what most believe would be a year ahead of schedule), it may be the 28-year-old speedster who helps them get there.
Through 90 games, 45 wins and 45 losses, the Padres have had a couple of glaring holes in their lineup. It's the main reason they haven't won more. They've had very little offensive production from a very important place to get production, and that's center field. Wil Myers has spent much of the season in center, giving the team below-average defense and even lower-than-that offense. Myers has struggled so much that Manuel Margot eased the job away from the high-priced former Rookie of the Year over the last couple of weeks before the All Star break.
Margot, definitely a nice player a couple of seasons ago, has strained since then to regain the form of his 2017 breakout campaign. He did hit a couple of homers right before the break, perhaps signaling a sign of things to come. But more than likely Margot still is suited best for late-inning defensive duty and spot starts against left handed pitching. Myers, who doesn't appear to fit in anywhere right now, may be moved before the trading deadline -- with the Padres willing to pick a big piece of his huge salary just for the right to create an open space for...well, for a guy who may actually fit into the open space of center field perfectly.
Jankowski is a defensive whiz who hurt himself in the spring diving for a line drive in the outfield. His wrist injury has kept him of the shelf since then, but now time has healed the wound, and the former star at tiny Stony Brook college in New York may be about ready to give the Padres a big lift. He has played in a handful of rehab games at Single-A Lake Elsinore and appears to be on track to be recalled to the big leagues within the next week or so.
If he is, Jankowski could easily begin a right-lefty platoon with Margot in center, while Hunter Renfroe and Franmil Reyes continue to patrol the corner outfield positions. Myers could be unloaded, and Josh Naylor could continue to serve as a capable backup. To me, Jankowski is the same type of player as Margot, but he's just a bit better. He brings the same speed, the same defense, and a better bat. He's a good base-stealer and could thrive batting in the No. 9 spot that Andy Green currently likes to put Margot in.
When Reyes goes out of the game for late-inning defense, Margot (in center) and Jankowski (moving to right) can both play and give the Padres an air-tight look in the outfield along with Renfroe -- whose defense has improved immeasurably this season -- as close games reach the wire.
Jankowski, by my way of thinking, will get the lion's share of the playing time simply because there is more right-handed pitching in baseball and he bats left-handed. If he can just equal his more-than-acceptable .332 on-base percentage number of a year ago, that will be a solid upgrade for the final few months of the season.
Of course, for the Padres to get where many think they aren't quite ready to go yet (and that's October baseball), guys like Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, Fernando Tatis Jr., along with Renfore and Reyes, are going to have to carry-over solid first halfs. But the one big change the Padres may make in the lineup could be the addition of Jankowski.
If that happens, keep a close eye on him. The Padres certainly will, which is why he may turn into the center of the attention.