The Padres invested quite a bit in bringing in 33-year old righty swinging 2B Orlando Hudson and 31-year old righty swinging shortstop Jason Bartlett last winter and the results have been sub par in 2011. Hudson got a 2-year, $11.5 million dollar deal with a team option for the 2013 season (which he likely won’t see). Hudson has played in 113 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 92 for 378 (.243 avg, .682 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 7 homers, 42 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Jason Bartlett came to the Padres in a deal over the winter for infielder Cole Figueroa, righty reliever Adam Russell, righty reliever Brandon Gomes and lefty reliever Cesar Ramos. Bartlett has played in 135 games for he Padres so far this year and he is 135 of 538 (.251 avg, .628 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 2 homers, 40 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Figueroa didn’t make it to the majors yet for the Rays, but Gomes, Russell and Ramos have all pitched for them this year. They have combined to pitch in 129 games (0 starts) for the Rays this year and they are 3-4 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. The bottom line is that the Padres need Hudson and Bartlett to play better in 2012 than they did this year.

In shortstop Jason Bartlett’s first 7 years in the majors, he hit .281 with a .731 OPS in 721 games. This year though, Bartlett has not produced much with a bat in his hands. Bartlett has played in 112 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 112 for 452 (.248 avg, .618 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 2 homers, 35 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. The Padres are hoping that Bartlett picks up the pace with the bat the rest of the season as they need all the help that they can get.

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.

The San Diego Padres had high hopes coming into this season for 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Will Venable. Venable played in 131 games for the Padres last year and he was 96 for 392 (.245 avg, .732 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 13 homers, 51 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. This season though, Venable hasn’t been near the same player as he was in 2010. He has played in 47 games for the Padres and he is 31 for 141 (.220 avg, .575 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 0 homers, 8 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Padres hope that Venable will come around soon as they have had problems scoring runs this year.

The San Diego Padres need more pop out of the middle infielders, as Orlando Hudson and Jason Bartlett are off to slow starts with the bat. Hudson has played in 28 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 22 for 93 (.237 avg, .644 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Hudson wields a great mitt but the Padres really need him to start picking up the pace with the bat. Jason Bartlett has played in 24 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 21 for 94 (.223 avg, .530 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Padres need Hudson & Bartlett to hit at least .275 this year, or they are going to have a very hard time scoring runs the rest of the way.