Grisham and Padres enjoying exciting 2020 start with room to grow

The San Diego Padres are certainly pleased with the production they have received from new outfielder Trent Grisham in 2020.

Trent Grisham has shown more than enough upside in a young 2020 season to expect continued growth.

When the Padres acquired Grisham along with Zach Davies in the offseason, a lot of the storylines centered around what the Padres gave up in the deal. Luis Urías had been touted by the club as a major piece of San Diego’s future for years, causing his departure to overshadow Grisham’s arrival in San Diego.

Grisham, like Urías, was a highly-rated prospect that mostly underwhelmed in his brief stint with the Brewers in 2019. He had clear potential based off of his visible raw talent, but the need to show improvement caused him to earn a spot with the young Padres team.

Fast forward to August, and it is very clear that A.J. Preller knew what he was getting when he acquired Grisham. Not only did he prove himself capable in spring training, showing off the multitude of tools that made him so highly regarded, but he has carried that same momentum right on through the pandemic-fueled stoppage into the new season.

Playing in all 17 games so far for the second place Padres, Grisham has played a major role with both the bat and glove. Though his average has dipped down to .237 since his hot start to the season, his on-base percentage sits at a blistering .384 thanks to his 14 walks, second-best in the National League.

As a matter of fact, Grisham can be found in countless National League leaderboard categories despite cooling off of late. He is in the top ten in WAR at 1.0, trailing his teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. who sits at 1.4, good for baseball’s top spot. Grisham also finds himself near the top of other NL categories like stolen bases, home runs, runs created, and times on base, just to name a few.

Defensively, he has played a more than capable center field showing range and leadership, qualities crucial to success at the position. He has made a number of diving and running catches that have been impactful while providing energy for the team in big spots. For instance, against San Francisco in a critical moment, Grisham ran to his left on a hard-hit line drive by Evan Longoria that ended a bases-loaded rally.

Yeah, yeah, but we still need to put respect on Trent Grisham's name. 🌟#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/CGqA6KVWgl

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 31, 2020

The catch likely saved three runs and was an exhibition of his abilities. His glove and speed separate him from the rest of the outfielders on the roster, and his ability to come up with big catches give life to the team from the defensive side which AJ Preller and manager Jayce Tingler envisioned last winter.

Grisham has shown more than a few flashes of brilliance in all facets of his multi-tooled arsenal.  The pop in his bat is easy and powerful, his eye at the plate makes him a pest to all pitchers, his speed on both the bases and the field, and his ability to make highlight catches are what makes the young Texan so exciting. Having that many tools at his age is uncommon, and he has already shown them off in only 17 games.

Only time will tell exactly what type of player the Padres have with Grisham. Every baseball player and fan that follows the game enough knows that the game is far from easy. Players with exciting flashes at the beginning of seasons or careers are always in a never-ending war of attrition with the sport’s inevitable struggles. This rings especially true for a player Grisham’s age, with so much experience yet to be consumed. Seeing his game develop with the Padres for the remainder of 2020 and beyond will be exciting to watch, regardless of what happens.

It’s not too difficult to envision good things down the road for a player who has done so much to improve his game since putting on the Padre brown.

Kevin Modafferi

Kevin is a San Diego Native covering the San Diego Padres and their affiliates