Hagerty drops a line to talk M. Upton, Decker

Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.

El Paso Chihuahuas broadcaster Tim Hagerty phoned in to Padres Social Hour on Wednesday afternoon to give an update on how San Diego's Triple-A affiliate was handling its players. Hagerty thinks that Padres fans would be happy to know how offseason pickup Melvin Upton Jr. is doing on his rehab assignment, as all signs point to a speedy recovery.

"There's no sign of a limp," said Hagerty. "No sign of foot discomfort or anything like that. [Upton is] looking to pile up ABs, pile up games. He does have a stolen base and has been looking great out there."

Upton, the older brother of San Diego outfielder Justin Upton, has been sidelined since before Spring Training with left foot sesamoiditis, an ailment that causes swelling and discomfort in the forefoot. According to Hagerty, however, you wouldn't know that Upton was injured at all with the way he's been playing.

"In his first game in El Paso, he ran back to the wall and jumped up, hit the fence, going all out to try and catch a ball," said Hagerty. "To me, a guy coming off a foot injury wouldn't normally do that, so that was a positive sign."

Hagerty went on to comment how the rehab assignment was like "Upton Jr.'s Spring Training," and he said that the veteran outfielder was making the most of his time with El Paso. In addition to Upton's positive signs in Triple-A, Hagerty mentioned the recent successes of Padres farmhand Cody Decker.

"Cody has been hitting home runs in bunches," said Hagerty. "He's hit five home runs in six games. He leads the Pacific Coast League in a few categories with how many runs he's brought in. He had 26 last year, so Cody's turning it on right now."

Decker has hit 11 home runs with 33 RBIs in 39 games for the Chihuahuas, and his recent success fuels the speculation that he may get called up -- if not for his playing ability, then for "his social media presence, at least," quipped Hagerty.

Hagerty closed out his time on the show discussing a famous moment in Minor League history, as Wednesday marked the anniversary of the famous Rodney McCray catch where he crashed through a wall to track down a fly ball: "Had there not been the video … it would have been thought to have been a myth. 'He ran through the wall? No way that happened!'"

To hear Hagerty's thoughts about Triple-A manager Pat Murphy and utility man Tommy Medica, be sure to watch the rest of Jesse Agler's interview with Hagerty in the video above.

For more interviews, highlights and Padres content just like this, be sure to check out padres.com/socialhour.