Padres Editorial: Drew Pomeranz Went From Virtual Unknown to Padres All-Star

Every year the beginning of July follows the same pattern in the baseball world. All Star selections are made, players are snubbed, fans express outrage.

As a San Diego Padres fan, I was one of the ones outraged when the rosters were announced and San Diego Padre left hander Drew Pomeranz was left off the roster. Well I guess I should introduce a caveat, at first it was more of a minor annoyance than outright rage. However, with injuries to several NL All Star pitchers, several replacements needed to be made. When Pomeranz was left off the initial list, and Bartolo Colon was selected instead, that annoyance did turn into quite a large deal of outrage. But that’s besides the point.

A mere days later, following an injury to Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard, Drew Pomeranz was finally announced as a National League All Star representative, giving the Padres two All Stars for the hometown game at Petco Park this Tuesday. The outrage quickly vanished as Pomeranz and his 2.47 ERA finally got his well deserved spot on the roster.

Aside from the number of injuries it took for Pomeranz to be picked for the roster, it is truly remarkable that Pomeranz has earned his first all-star selection this season. On December 2nd of 2015, when it was announced that Pomeranz and fellow left hander Jose Torres (as well as a PTBNL) were to be traded to the Padres in return for Yonder Alonso and Marc Rzepczynski, it’s hard to imagine anyone was seeing Pomeranz as a future all star just seven months later.

Originally drafted fifth overall in the 2010 draft by the Cleveland Indians, Pomeranz was viewed as a consensus top 50 prospect in 2011 when he was traded from the Indians to the Colorado Rockies as a part of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. Pomeranz had a shaky two and a half years in Colorado, accumulating a 5.20 ERA in 136.2 innings pitched in the big leagues, before being once again traded to the Oakland Athletics, this time in return for LHP Brett Anderson.

While not fantastic, Pomeranz’ results in Oakland were much better, as he accumulated a 3.08 ERA in 155 innings pitched between starting and relieving. Pomeranz had some struggles as a starter in Oakland, but was quite effective during his time as a reliever. Upon being traded to San Diego, it was unclear where Pomeranz would fit in to the Padres roster, as it was still up in the air as to whether he would be a reliever or starter. Pomeranz was given the chance to start in Spring Training and he excelled, eventually earning a position in the starting rotation. The rest, as they say, is history.

After struggling to find a real fit with his first three organizations, Pomeranz has seemed to find a perfect fit in San Diego. There’s obviously still the chance of him being traded once again, given the Padres current position on the win curve and his value as a trade piece, but for now, Pomeranz is truly enjoying playing where he’s at. Pomeranz may not be a San Diego Padre for long, but for now, he’s an All Star.

Patrick Brewer

Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.