After trading fan favorite Khalil Greene following the 2008 season, the Padres backed themselves into a tough corner. 

 

Since 2003, Greene had been one of the few constants in the Padres lineup, putting together solid, yet never spectacular, years. Outside of an uncharacteristic statistical jump in 2007 – see 12 homeruns over career average – Greene would consistently put together 15 homeruns, about 60 RBI and solid defense.

 

But when former Padres GM Kevin Towers decided to part ways with Greene last offseason, there was a void that had no obvious replacement.

The Padres began 2009 season with Luis Rodriguez manning shortstop. Rodriguez played admirably with an average glove, but the offensive drop off was so severe that when he went down with an ankle injury the Padres decided to give rookie Everth Cabrera a shot.

 

Cabrera was a Rule 5 draft pick that the Padres got from the Colorado Rockies in January 2009. Had he not made the opening day roster, Cabrera would have had to been returned to the Rockies where he would be blocked by Troy Tulowitzki.

 

But after an impressive Spring Training with the Padres that featured nine stolen bases and, despite his errors, impressive glove work, Cabrera was placed on the 25-man roster asa utility infielder. Cabrera had never played beyond Class A-ball, so when the Padres brought him along as a utility player it was thought that he would be a pinch runner with the occasional start to give veteran David Eckstein a rest at Cabrera’s natural position, second base.

 

As soon as Cabrera started getting regular playing time he injured his hand in a game against the Phillies and was forced to miss two months of his rookie season.

 

But he would come back with a vengeance.

 

For a player who had never seen a pitch above A-ball, Cabrera more than held his own in the pitcher-friendly NL West. He ended the season with a .255/.342/.703 line and an OPS+ of 98. Just for random comparison sake: in his first three seasons in the MLB, Jose Reyes had an average OPS+ of 83. Now I am by no means saying that Cabrera will be the player Reyes is, just pointing out that while Cabrera was not a highly touted prospect, his first season has definitely shown future promise for his bat.

 

Moreover, Cabrera’s peripheral stats project more production out of his bat in the future. Because of his game changing speed, Cabrera has a facet to his game that many other players do not. In his first season, he had a batting average of balls put in play (BABIP) of .328, comparable to players with a similar skill set – like Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury (.320 and .329 respectively). 

 

Another good indicator to the Padres is Cabrera’s ability to hit the ball on the ground. It is no secret that he has never, or will ever, have much pop in his bat, but that is not what type of player Petco plays to. The Padres need the type of player who will put the ball in play and use their speed and ability to get in scoring position for the middle part of the lineup. Cabrera and his 2.79 ground ball/fly ball ratio (a figure that would have led the league had he gotten enough at bats) should continue to cause infielders nightmares.

 

Once on base Everth can be a true game changer. He stole 25 bases in his rookie season, and led the minors in steals in 2008, with 73.

 

An additional weapon of Cabrera is his ability to lie down a successfully bunt. For the season, he reached base 46.4% of the time he attempted a bunt with eight sacrifice bunts. If Cabrera is going to be a catalyst at the top of the lineup, he will have to get on base anyway possible, including by laying down a bunt.

 

Cabrera’s defense has been a point of contention amongst Padres fans. Just looking at the numbers may make a grown man cry.  Here is how he stacked up to 2009 Gold Glove winner Jimmy Rollins.

Player	Year	Position	G	GS	Inn	PO	A	E	DP	FP	RF/G	RF/9	UZR	UZR/150
Jimmy Rollins	2009	SS	155	152	1364.2	212	389	6	66	.990	3.9	4.0	2.7	2.9
Everth Cabrera	2009	SS	102	101	896.2	140	304	23	59	.951	4.4	N/A	-11.7	-15.9

*Info from www.fangraphs.com - scroll to bottom for statistical definitions

Obviously, 23 errors hurts, there is no getting around it. But, when you consider that before 2009 he had played a total of 45 games at shortstop, the numbers become more understandable. Also, if you look into his errors, many of them were plays that he was in position to make but just rushed the play unnecessarily. With more experience Cabrera’s plus fielding ability should begin to take shape.

 

While Donavan Tate will be regarded as the first high ceiling exciting prospect that the Padres have had in nearly a decade, Cabrera is in the majors now. He brings excitement to an otherwise uninspiring team. While Adrian Gonzalez may be a perennial all-star, he may just be the most “Tim Duncan-like” player in the league.

 

Though Tulowitzki and Rafael Furcal will continue to gain notoriety at shortstop in the NL West, they better watch their back. The kid in San Diego is coming on strong, and if he can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, he may just start making noise all over the diamond.

 

Stat Glossary

G - Games                                                           

GS - Games Started

Inn - Innings                                                       

PO - Put Outs

A - Attempts                                                       

E - Errors

DP - Double Plays                                             

FP - Fielding Percentage

RF/G - Range Factor per Game ((PO+A)/G)    

RF/9 - Range Factor per 9 Innings (9*(PO+A)/IP)

UZR - Ultimate Zone Rating in Runs Above Average (Arm+DPR+RngR+ErrR)

UZR/150 - UZR Runs Above Average per 150 Defensive Games