Why delaying Hunter Renfroe’s big league promotion until September makes sense
Fans of Mississippi State baseball and MLB observers have been watching the steady rise of former MSU outfielder Hunter Renfroe in the minor leagues, and many have wondered aloud why the Padres have not called him up to the big show. And with good reason.
Renfroe’s stats this season have been spectacular. Playing for the Padres’ AAA affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas in the Pacific Coast League, Renfroe currently leads the league in home runs (25) and runs scored (77), is second in RBI’s (87) and slugging percentage (.607), third in batting average (.331), while sporting an OBP of .356 and an OPS of .963. Those are pretty heady numbers in any league, to say the least.
Meanwhile the Padres are having a poor season and are out of contention for the playoffs, which raises the question why they have not yet elevated Renfroe. Justin Strawn previously elaborated on some of those reasons. Naturally, MSU fans would like to see Renfroe promoted earlier, rather than later, and several have taken to Twitter to express frustration that it hasn’t happened already.
Adding to that frustration is the fact that the Padres just dealt one of their high dollar free agent outfielders, Melvin Upton, Jr. in a trade with Toronto, in exchange for a minor league prospect and other considerations. Surely this move would clear the way for Renfroe’s immediate promotion.
But alas, it did not. Padres general manager A.J. Preller indicated in comments made Tuesday that Renfroe will likely be called up in September, when the minor league seasons are complete and major league teams are allowed to carry up to 40 players on the active roster.
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While most of us would like to see Renfroe called up immediately, the Padres decision not to call him up until September is probably more beneficial to Renfroe and his career than an immediate call up. First of all, a September call up does not damage Renfroe’s rookie status for next season. Even if he is on the roster for the entire month of September, he will still be considered a rookie next year.
The significance of this is that Renfroe would be eligible for rookie of the year honors in 2017, should he have a successful first full season in the bigs. This is no small matter, considering the level of Renfroe’s talent. He certainly has all the tools to be an impact player as a rookie.
Secondly, Renfroe is in the running for a Triple Crown (batting average, home runs, RBIs) in the Pacific Coast League. Minor league batting titles may not be as prestigious as getting to the big leagues, but they are nice to win nonetheless. With just a month left in the minor league season, why not give him the opportunity to win a triple crown?
A third reason to leave him at AAA is to ensure he continues to play every day. As mentioned above, there’s only a month or so remaining in the minor league season. Leaving him at AAA until season’s end gets him maximum playing time, and there’s still the entire month of September for him to obtain experience at the Major League level.
Finally, if indeed Renfroe begins 2017 on the Padres opening day roster, as I believe he will, he has a much better opportunity to make a big splash and become better known by both casual fans and writers alike. For these reasons, I believe a September call up, that leads to a spot on the 2017 opening day roster is the best way for this enormously talented player to break into Major League baseball.