108 Stitches w/ Bill Pierce

Planet Padres would like to welcome it's newest Beat Writer Bill Pierce. He will be dropping by and posting occasionally under the title "108 Stitches". You might find him at Petco Park or covering the Elsinore Storm from time to time. We hope you enjoy his contributions. Thank you for joining us Bill, and we hope you stick around for a long time to come.

- 108 Stitches -

Nick Hundley.... Time for the big boy pants

Maybe Nick is not your your first choice as the starting backstop for the friars but if a close look is given you may be surprised at what what you see. He comes from a strong college program (Arizona), and since his debut in 08' has played well. His largest sampling would be last season where he pretty much filled-in for an aging Torrealba. This came out as about a half year of work. Projecting a full service type of year barring injury, I think a solid season lies ahead.

These projections are...

550 AB's
66 runs
140 hits
36 2B
4 3B
16 HR
86 RBI
and 50 BB

... basically, not bad at all.

Now consider this. A full season of reps and constant playing time will only make these numbers go up..... Defense is a little bit of a ? In the past I have seen that he can loose his focus behind the plate. This is not to say that the staff doesn't like throwing to him, but boxing simple pitches is a little too common for him. This costs the staff strikes and runners often advance when they should not. I believe he has a plus arm, and with some seasoning can rectify these shortcomings.

Hundley has been a great clubhouse guy and has shown that he can rally the troops. I predict that he has a career year and perhaps solidifies the near future for the Padre catcher position.

-Bill Pierce -

Planet Padres Beat Writer

Play Ball !!!