Padres News: Is Dickerson Ready For The Big Leagues?
Alex Dickerson‘s hit streak ended Wednesday night at 29 games. He went 0-5 against the Sacramento River Cats, which is the Triple-A affiliate to the San Francisco Giants. A tough night for Dickerson, but he has plenty to hold his head high about. With Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot in Triple-A, the San Diego Padres have something to look forward to in regards to their outfielders.
His hit streak was the tied for the longest hitting streak in professional baseball at 29 games with Jackie Bradley Jr., outfielder for the MLB team the Boston Red Sox. Quite an accomplishment even though it was done in the minors.
During Dickerson’s 29 game hit streak, he maintained an average of .413 with five home runs, five doubles, and over 21 RBI. Dickerson is ranked as the number 22 prospect in the Padres minor leagues, we should see his ranking jump up very quickly. He should also get another call up to the big leagues, right? Not so fast.
Back in May, the Padres did call up the streaky Dickerson. Not only did they call him up, but they called him up to face one of best teams in baseball, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Tough task for a young rookie, but Dickerson’s aggressiveness, toughness, and cool demeanor proved why he belongs in the big leagues.
May 10th was the first game of the series against the Cubs, he was called in to pinch hit with the bases loaded. Most of you would think that a rookie would be shaking in his boots. Not Dickerson. He couldn’t step into the box any faster. The left-handed hitter drove the ball deep into the right field stands, with the crowd not even making a sound after that boom shot. One of the first Padres rookies in recent memory, to hit a grand slam. That is something he will always remember for the rest of his life. Very cool for a San Diego native.
After that series, Dickerson went back down to Triple-A El Paso. Now your thinking why would the Padres demote him back down? Well, he is blocked for full playing time at the major league level.
Dickerson needs consistent playing time and he can’t do that due to Matt Kemp‘s large contract. Kemp is still owed a hefty $21.5 million dollars for each of the next three years. The Padres would have to get creative in trading Kemp by eating some of his salary and not demanding that much in return.
So unless there is a team that want’s to pay his salary right now, there is no way Dickerson gets to play full-time in the outfield anytime soon for the San Diego Padres. Perhaps if the team deals Melvin Upton or Jon Jay, Dickerson could get some at bats. The Padres could really use his left-handed stick, but moves need to be made before that happens. Stay tuned and maybe we will get a chance to see Alex Dickerson get at bats very soon.
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