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.

Lefty swinging Brad Hawpe and righty swinging Jorge Cantu were supposed to be able to handle 1B for the Padres this year but they have both been awful. Hawpe has played in 20 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 8 for 59 (.136 avg, .374 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. He has also whiffed 22 times already this year as he’s swinging through a ton of pitches. Jorge Cantu has played in 22 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 10 for 61 (.164 avg, .442 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. If neither of these guys start hitting soon, I look for the Padres to call up Kyle Blanks and give him an extended shot at his natural position.