C Austin Hedges, 1b Tommy Medica and 2b Cory Spangenberg to play in Arizona Fall League
Four Minor League pitchers also to be added on a later date
SAN DIEGO - Major League Baseball today announced that minor league prospects catcher Austin Hedges, first baseman/designated hitter Tommy Medica and second baseman Cory Spagenberg will represent the Padres with the Peoria Javelinas at the Arizona Fall League this off-season. In addition, four additional Padres minor league pitchers will be added to the roster at a later date. Arizona Fall League Executive Vice President Steve Cobb made the announcement.
Hedges, 21, is rated by both Baseball America and MLB.com as the best catching prospect in the Padres organization and was tabbed as the second-best catching prospect in all of Minor League Baseball in Baseball America's midseason prospect rankings this past July as well as the 30th-best prospect overall. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native has posted a .250 batting average (71-for-284) with a .322 on-base percentage and .384 slugging percentage as well as 24 doubles, one triple four home runs and 35 RBI in 82 games between Advanced-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio and was the starting catcher for the United States at the SiriusXM Futures Game this past July at Citi Field in New York City. Defensively, he has caught 37 percent of attempted basestealers this season, preventing 38 of 108 would-be thefts. Over parts of three professional seasons, the right-handed backstop owns a career .264 batting average with a .332 on-base percentage and .419 slugging percentage as well as 53 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 95 RBI and 55 walks in 187 games. Hedges was selected by the Padres in the second round (82nd overall) of the 2011 draft out of Junipero Serra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California.
Medica, 25, currently ranks second among Padres farmhands with 17 home runs this season. The right-handed first baseman and designated hitter has spent the majority of the season with Double-A San Antonio where he leads the club this season with 15 home runs and leads all current Missions players with a .548 slugging percentage. Including a five-game stint with the Arizona League Padres while rehabilitating from a left oblique strain that caused him to miss all of May and most of June, the San Jose, Calif., native has hit for a combined .283 batting average (76-for-269) with a .360 on-base percentage and .561 slugging percentage to go along with 18 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, 57 RBI and 28 walks over 74 games. After returning to San Antonio on July 3, was named the Padres' Minor League Hitter of the Month for July, batting .301 with 16 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, six home runs and 19 RBI in 28 games. The Santa Clara University graduate was selected by the Padres in the 14th-round of the 2010 draft.
Spangenberg, 22, is making his second consecutive appearance in the Arizona Fall League, having also played in eight games for the Peoria Javelinas in 2012. The left-handed hitting second baseman has split the 2013 campaign between Advanced-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio and has hit for a combined .285 batting average with a .342 on-base percentage and .398 slugging percentage to go along with 63 runs scored, 20 doubles, eight triples, six home runs, 50 RBI and 34 stolen bases in 123 games played. The Clarks Summit, Pa., native has committed only 10 errors this season, including just three in 69 games since being promoted to Double-A on June 7, and was named the Padres' Minor League Defensive Player of the Month for July. Rated by MLB.com as the 14th-best prospect in the Padres organization and second-best middle-infield prospect, he owns a career .288 batting average with 171 runs scored, 49 doubles, 17 triples 10 home runs, 134 RBI and 86 stolen bases in 293 games over parts of three professional seasons. Spangenberg was selected in the first round (10th overall) by the Padres in the 2011 draft out of Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Fla.
The six-team league, owned and operated by Major League Baseball, will play six days per week (Monday-Saturday) in five Cactus League stadiums in the Phoenix area - Camelback Ranch-Glendale (Desert Dogs), Mesa Hohokam Stadium (Solar Sox), Salt River Fields at Talking Stick (Rafters), Scottsdale Stadium (Scorpions) and Surprise Stadium (defending-champion Javelinas and Saguaros). Daily start times are 12:35 p.m. and 6:35 p.m. Opening Day is Tuesday, October 8.