Lake Elsinore Storm outfielder Jaff Decker came into the San Diego Padres organization as the 42^nd pick (1^st round supplemental) of the 2008 draft. A graduate of Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, AZ and only 18 yrs old, the left-hander began his professional career with the AZL Padres , the rookie league, that same summer. His success was impressive and created quite a buzz within the organization.

Decker was named the MVP of the league and was a post-season All Star as well as a Baseball America Rookie All Star with a .352 avg in 49 games and 159 AB. With significant power in his 5 ft 10 inch frame, Jaff hit 11 doubles, 2 triples and 5 home runs with 51 runs scored and 34 RBI. He also had 55 BB to 36 SO to give him a .523 OBP.

Decker also was trying out his legs with 9 SB in 10 attempts. All of this earned him a promotion at the beginning of the 2009 season that allowed him to skip the short season Eugene Emeralds and play for the Fort Wayne Tin Caps, where he joined many players older than himself to win the Low A championship in 2009.

His line of .299/.442/.514 in 104 games played and 358 at bats included 25 2B, 2 3b, 16 HR, 64 RBI and 78 runs scored. He had 85 BB and 92 SO, which seems to be the best indicator of the adjustments he had to make to be successful at this higher level. With a good eye, Decker did not have a history of having more strikeouts than walks. He also stole 10 bases out of 16 attempts with only 5 errors. He was named co-MVP of the team at the end of the season.

All this explains why the excitement was high for the beginning of Jaff’s 2010 season. The only real question regarding his ability came from the fact that he was felt to have a “bad body” for baseball. Similar to John Kruk and Paul McAnulty in shape, there were questions about his ability to control his weight and his fitness level. At 5-10, his weight had been documented to drift above 200 lbs more than once over the past 2 seasons.

So it is quite safe to say the coaching staff was excited to see Decker show up to early spring workouts at 190 lbs and in the best shape of his young career after spending the offseason dieting and working out. Jaff’s hometown is the Peoria, Az neighborhood very close to the Padres training facility. He was able to utilize the benefits during the offseason.

So it was doubly disappointing to all involved when, just one day before official spring training began, Jaff pulled a hamstring and missed the entire spring. Although placed on the Storm roster at the end of camp, he also missed the first 6 weeks of the minor league season.

When Jaff Decker came off the DL and made his first starts with Lake Elsinore, he was understandably rusty. His slow start to the season was somewhat concerning to us fans but not to the Storm staff. They continued to play him regularly, despite his avg hovering below .200 until the beginning of July.

Then Jaff Decker took off.

With a second half line of .305/.439/.616, he became the power-hitting outfielder that the organization felt they had when they drafted him. For the following 2 ½ months he steadily improved his timing and swing with impressive results.

On August 18^th, 2 ½ weeks into a .360/.492/.860 tear, Jaff Decker was hit by a pitch and suffered a broken hand. This was after a grand slam HR and 4 RBI in his pervious plate appearance. He was placed on the DL three days later and is out for the rest of the season. During that stretch is August; Jaff had 8 HR and 25 RBI.

Decker ended the season with 79 games played and 290 at bats with 53 runs, 76 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR and 58 RBI. He had 47 BB and 80 SO, a high K ratio for him but not surprising considering how his season began. He was successful in 5 out of 9 stolen base attempts and had 5 errors. This game him an overall season line of .262/.374/.500 which is not a bad line but not really representative of what Jaff Decker is capable of doing, if healthy.

The scouting report on Decker talks about his short, compact swing with power, his plus power potential with the ability to hit to all fields and how level he is able to keep his bat through the zone. He makes solid and consistent contact on the ball with repeatable hitting mechanics. The criticism of his wide-open stance was taken to heart and Jaff worked on that with a much more closed approach this year.

Defensively, Decker possesses a strong arm (he threw 92 mph as a high school pitcher), good foot speed and runs good routes. The only criticism being his judgment of the ball off the bat, which needs improvement. Consistently a left fielder with the Storm this season, Jaff may be able to develop the ability to play both corner outfield spots in the future.