Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Times reports that the Padres are expected to promote catching prospect Austin Hedges on Monday.
With Derek Norris hitting well -- he owns a .337/.352/.494 triple-slash line -- Hedges likely won’t be seeing regular playing time. Instead, Hedges will probably take Wil Nieves’ role as back-up catcher and he should also get some at-bats as a pinch-hitter.
Hedges, 22, is batting .343/.413/.552 with two home runs and 15 RBI with Triple-A El Paso. He’s considered one of the best catching prospects in baseball along with Blake Swihart (recently promoted by the Red Sox), entering the season rated as the #27 overall prospect by Baseball America.
