San Diego Padres rookie Edward Olivares looks comfortable at the plate.
A completely revamped San Diego Padres outfield and the addition of the designated hitter in the National League has given many new faces an opportunity to flourish in San Diego, including rookie outfielder Edward Olivares.
Olivares has been a consistent hitter throughout his minor league career, posting a wRC+ of 100+ in each of his six minor league seasons, culminating in a big 2019 season with the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles last year (18 home runs, 123 wRC+, .358 wOBA).
The 24-year-old has now bypassed Triple-A without a minor league season in 2020 and is not only on the Padres initial 30-man roster, but has already had the opportunity to start a few games.
He has just seven plate appearances (2-6 with a walk), but his at-bats have been impressive. He’s far from perfect and did make a mistake or two defensively, but Olivares has the presence of someone who has already spent time in the major leagues.
OLI OLI OLI!
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 26, 2020
Edward Olivares has his first @MLB knock!#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/ktnVlyTlF0
Olivares is quickly forcing the hand of the Padres to give him more at-bats and if he can continue to put up the kind of numbers he did in the minor leagues, he becomes yet another weapon in this lineup that has very few weak points.
His strikeout numbers have been positive (17% each of the last two season), he’s coming off a career-high .349 OBP last season (for a full season), and he’s swiped 56 bags in his two seasons as a Padres minor leaguer.
The Padres felt comfortable enough with the outfield depth that they shipped off Franchy Cordero to the Kansas City Royals for bullpen help, and Olivares has seen more playing time than Josh Naylor who hasn’t looked great in his two appearances. The emergence of Olivares also means a more cautious approach with Taylor Trammell, who the Padres acquired at last year’s trade deadline.
Olivares wasn’t supposed to be on the roster right now, but he is and he looks promising on a team many are getting excited about as a likely playoff team. We’ll see just how much he can continue to force his way into the lineup in the coming weeks.