Justin Huber Traded for PTBNL
Posted by basebal5 on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Justin Huber could be counted on to patrol left field
for the San Diego Padres. (Getty images)
From the Royals media relations department:
The Kansas City Royals traded first baseman/outfielder Justin Huber to the San Diego Padres in exchange for a player to be named.
Huber, 25, has made brief appearances in the Majors with the Royals the past three seasons after being acquired from the New York Mets on July 30, 2004.
Dave Notes:
In seven seasons in the minors, the right-hander has .289/.369/.495 averages. He can play first base and the outfield. He has really improved his contact abilities, dropping his K% from a high of 26.7% in 2006 to 16% in 2007.
From his side of the plate, he dominated right-hander in AAA (.970 OPS), but strangely, lefties gave him trouble.
The Padres have been searching for a left fielder in the past few weeks and even Chase Headley, their top prospect in the organization, was sent down to AAA to continue and work on his defense. That alone, because his bat his ready. While waiting for him to be available, Huber could take pressure off of him and provide power from the corner outfield position.
Frankie Piliere, of Saber-Scouting, offered this insight during our conversation on the 25-year-old:
He's still a bat with upside but just hasn't really been a good enough defender to give himself a real shot at a full-time job. I think in a good platoon situation he could be a solid MLB player. I really liked him back in his Met prospect days but he started hitting some snags at the upper levels when pitchers expanded the zone on him
For a DH profile guy, he's never been nearly patient enough.
