A comfortable Jurickson Profar has been a significant contributor for the Padres; owner Peter Seidler a frequent fan on the road
The Padres offense is worse than anyone could have imagined through almost 50 games, ranking in the bottom 10 in almost every significant category.That hole in the lineup caused by the Padres counting on Jurickson Profar being their left fielder? The Padres wish they had more holes like that.
There is one person in the organization who has every right to be a little surprised with what he’s getting from Profar. Manager Bob Melvin had him in Oakland in 2019, when Profar was a second baseman. He hit .218/.301/.410 in 518 plate appearances and effectively lost his job at second early that summer due to some throwing issues.“When I went to Oakland that was my first time being outside of organization,” Profar said, referencing the team that signed him as a 16-year-old out of Curacao.
The Padres transitioned Profar to the outfield in 2020, and last season he started at all three positions on the grass. This year, he has played exclusively in left field. His six outfield assists are second in the majors behind the eight by Cleveland center fielder Myles Straw. Profar has batted in each of the first eight spots in the lineup. He sees an average of 4.2 pitches per plate appearance, more than all but 20 other major league players so far this season. He ranks in the top 50 in not chasing pitches outside the zone and making contact on pitches he swings at in the zone.