14 homers, 56 RBI.
Those are Anthony Rizzo’s totals in 44 games for Triple-A Tucson so far.
And they’re totals Brad Hawpe may struggle to match if he spends the entire season as the Padres’ first baseman.
Rizzo actually has slowed down a bit of late. He’s hit a mere .329/.415/.671 in May after dominating Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .400/.471/.744 line in April.
But even Rizzo’s bad splits are terrific. He’s doing his best work at home in Kino Stadium, but he’s still hitting .340/.411/.660 in road games. Of course the left-handed hitter is tearing up right-handers, but he’s hitting a fine .333/.364/.500 in 30 at-bats against southpaws.
And with 56 RBI in just 169 at-bats, it’s obvious he’s saving his biggest hits for when it matters. 11 of his homers have come with men on base. He’s hitting .410/.474/.860 with runners on and .458/.521/.949 with RISP.
The Padres, meanwhile, have gotten a .224/.270/.367 line with six homers and 22 RBI in 196 at-bats from their first basemen. Hawpe is on pace for 13 homers and 42 RBI at the moment.
To be fair, Hawpe is getting the job done at the moment. He’s actually been very good this month. But with Eric Hosmer having graduated, Rizzo has taken over as the game’s best first base prospect and he’s moved up his timetable in a big way with his huge start. If Hawpe goes into another slump, it’s going to be very difficult for the Padres to resist the lure of calling him up.