For another Matt, Matt Antonelli, the second baseman waiting in the wings of the Padres farm system, the lasting memory of 2007 might have been the horrid play of the man who tops him on the depth chart, starting second baseman Marcus Giles, for it presents that rarest of moments in major league baseball... Opportunity.
Giles batted .229 with four home runs, 39 RBI over 420 at-bats for San Diego. His horrible performance landed him a spot on the bench down the stretch and he was eventually given his release after the Padres declined to pick up his option for 2008.
The Padres aren’t shopping the bag for a long-term tenant at this week’s Winter Meetings because they have a boatload of confidence in Antonelli, whom the organization believes will be a long-term Friars fixture, and future All-Star.
In the eyes of many scouts and baseball executives, Antonelli established himself as the top second base prospect in baseball after he batted .307 with 21 home runs, 78 RBI and stole 28 bases between Single-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio in 2007.
The 22-year-old earned California League All-Star honors with the Lake Elsinore Storm and later helped the San Antonio Missions to a Texas League title. As a reward, the Padres sent him to the Peoria Saguaros (Sah-wah-rows) of the Arizona Fall League to give him additional instruction and playing time against some of baseball’s finest upper-level prospects.
“He fits right in,” says Saguaros skipper John Russell who recently became the Pittsburgh Pirates manager. “He’s a hard worker. He likes to play the game.”
The Padres drafted Antonelli with their first round selection (17th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. At Wake Forest University, he played third base and earned first team All-ACC honors in 2006 after he hit .333 with 11 round-trippers, 38 RBI and stole 15 bases.
What impressed the Padres’ brass the most about the 6-0, 203 pound infielder was his baseball intelligence, his athleticism, a patient hitting approach and a compact swing that was quick to the ball. Regardless of the abundance of skills he brought to the table, some clubs were scared off by his perceived lack of power. That criticism was further substantiated after Antonelli failed to hit a home run in 206 at-bats during his professional debut in 2005. All those concerns were put to rest after the former Demon Deacon blasted 21 round-trippers in 2007.
“A lot of people didn’t buy into his power,” says San Diego assistant farm director Mike Wickham. “When you have a player that understands the strike zone, has the strength, has the hitting ability, that power will come.”
After spending 2005 at the hot corner, the Padres decided to move Antonelli to second base because of the presence of Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley. It turned out to be a seamless ...
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