Major league baseball has suspended 20-year old righty swinging outfielder Donovan Tate for 50 games due to a second positive test for a drug of abuse. Tate came into this season as the Padres’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. Tate has played in 17 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 20 for 68 (.294 avg, .839 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 42 games in his first two years in the minors for the Padres and he is 40 for 158 (.253 avg, .748 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. This is a big setback for Tate, but the Padres will try to get him to clean up his act so that he can realize his full potential.

24-year old righty swinging 1B/LF Kyle Blanks is hitting well in the minors this year. He has played in 62 games in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 76 for 245 (.310 avg, .943 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 9 homers, 41 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Blanks has already played in 87 games in parts of two years with the Padres and he is 53 for 250 (.212 avg, .761 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 13 homers, 37 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Padres could sure use Blanks’ power and they could be getting close to giving him another shot in San Diego.

21-year old lefty swinging 1B Anthony Rizzo tore through AAA this year. He played in 52 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 73 for 200 (.365 avg, 1.159 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 16 homers, 63 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He was one of the key players in the Adrian Gonzalez deal with the Red Sox over the winter. But, Rizzo isn’t finding life in the majors to his liking quite yet. Rizzo has played in 17 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 8 for 49 (.163 avg, .706 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has walked 11 times already (which is good) but he also has whiffed 18 times for the Padres and that’s way too many. The Padres won’t likely let Rizzo twist in the wind too much longer unless he starts hitting like they think he can.

Righty swinging outfielder Dave Winfield got his first shot at the major leagues with the Padres and that was the start of his Hall of Fame journey (he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2001). Winfield’s best season with the Padres came back in 1979. Winfield played in 159 games for the Padres in 1979 and he was 184 for 597 (.308 avg, .953 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 34 homers, 118 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He led the N.L. in RBI’s in 1979 which helped him make the N.L. All-Star team. Winfield also won a Gold Glove in 1979 and he was also 3rd in the voting for the MVP Award. Winfield played in 1,117 games in his 8 years with the Padres and he was 1,134 of 3,997 (.284 avg, .821 OPS) with 599 runs scored, 154 homers, 626 RBIs and 133 stolen bases. Winfield is 10th in Padres’ history with his .284 batting average. He is also #3 in games played (1,117), #3 in hits (1,134), #8 in OPS (.821), #2 in runs scored (599), #4 in homers (154), #4 in RBIs (626), #4 in doubles (179), #3 in triples (39), #6 in stolen bases (133) and #4 in walks (463) in Padres’ history. Winfield made it to 4 All-Star teams in his time with the Padres and he also won 2 Gold Gloves. He is one of the very best players in San Diego Padres’ history.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Tim Stauffer should sue the rest of the team for non-support in his last three starts. In Stauffer’s last three starts, he is 1-1 with a 0.41 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. He has given up 15 hits while only walking 4 batters in his last three starts covering 22 innings pitched. Stauffer has started 15 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 2-5 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Stauffer has been a late bloomer for the Padres and they are getting paid off for their patience with him.