By Scott Barancik, editor
Cody Decker is known for producing funny videos. But according to our research, he deserves at least as much praise for his production at the plate.
Through games played Thursday (6/25/2015), the 28-year-old San Diego Padres prospect had 14 HRs and 49 RBIs in just 183 at-bats this season. That sounded pretty darn good to us, so we decided to see how Decker compared to his Triple-A peers.
We looked at HRs first. Twenty-six Triple-A players had 10 or more round-trippers as of Thursday. Who’s hitting them the most often? Cody Decker. The Padres’ all-time minor-league HR leader — he has hit 147 — is averaging one dinger per 13.1 at-bats this season for the El Paso Chihuahuas.[table id=62 /]
Next, we examined RBIs. Jewish Baseball News identified 67 Triple-A players who had amassed 30 or more RBIs as of Thursday. You probably won’t be surprised to find out who’s leading the pack: yep, Cody Decker. The UCLA alum is averaging one RBI for every 3.7 at-bats this season.
Now, it’s not our job to tell the Padres what to do. Maybe Decker isn’t capable of hitting Major League pitching. Maybe his play at first base or third base isn’t MLB-quality. We honestly can’t say.
But seven years into his storied minor-league career, the prince of Triple-A jesters has gotten more call-ups from ESPN’s Keith Olbermann (two) than he has from the Padres (zero).
San Diego, isn’t it time you gave Cody Decker a chance?
[table id=60 /]
Want our daily updates sent free to your e-mailbox? Click here
