BALTIMORE -- There wasn't much of a grace period for Padres rookie infielder Ryan Schimpf upon his arrival to the big leagues one week ago.
The 28-year-old infielder had his contract selected from Triple-A El Paso last Tuesday, and since then, he's played in every game -- getting six starts and one appearance as a pinch-hitter.
Schimpf wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
"Everybody wants to play," Schimpf said Tuesday. "I'm definitely thankful for the opportunity to come in here and get some playing time right away and try and help the team win."
After Tuesday's 10-7 win over the Orioles, Schimpf was 3-for-18 with a pair of doubles and five walks. Before his callup, he was on fire for El Paso, hitting .355/.432/.729 with a team-leading 15 home runs.
For now, at least, it appears as though Schimpf is the Padres' everyday second baseman in the absence of Cory Spangenberg, who is likely out until after the All-Star break with a strained left quad.
San Diego views Schimpf's opportunity as a message to their Minor Leaguers that they're watching closely.
"He's warranted a shot," said Padres skipper Andy Green. "I think there's other guys down there who warrant shots right now, too, but opportunity hasn't presented itself. I hope that's the message they read: That if the opportunity's there, they seize it.
"In his case, he came into a situation where Spangenberg was one of our regular guys, and now we've kind of been in search all season long to find that guy to fill his shoes. Schimpf's come up, he's done a solid job. I think there's more in there; I think he's going to continue to produce at a higher level."
Schimpf's first few starts came at third base, with Yangervis Solarte getting the nod at second. Last Friday, Green switched those roles somewhat permanently. He said Schimpf only started at third initially because that's where he had been playing in El Paso. Green wanted to make Schimpf as comfortable as possible for his debut.
"I came up a second baseman, and in the past few years, I've been playing a lot of third," Schimpf said. "I feel comfortable at either one. It doesn't matter to me where I play, as long as I can do something to get in [the lineup]."
Schimpf's immediate placement into the starting nine is quite clearly a reward for his success with El Paso -- not that Schimpf's worried too much about the reasons behind the Padres' decisions.
"I just come prepared every day to be ready to play whenever I'm called upon," Schimpf said. "It doesn't matter whether it's a pinch-hit or starting lineup."