By Mike Janela
Now that’s how you start a week off right!
First, Monday’s Social Hour featured co-hosts Bob Scanlan and Bill Center on the show together for the first time. Then, we had a jampacked hour with Nick Canepa’s weekly report card, MLB licensed artist S. Preston in studio showing off his awesome prints, and Luis Perdomo turning into an unexpected hourlong topic of conversation.
To top it all off, the Padres went out and squashed the Braves, 7-2, in Game 1 of their series. Back to Social Hour, though, here’s a next-level look at some of the topics we discussed Monday.
PERDOMO’S POTENTIAL
In discussing Rule 5 draft pick Luis Perdomo, the name Johan Santana came up. 
He is, without question, the best-case scenario for a Rule 5 pitcher and the biggest Rule 5 success story among arms (with the bats, names like Roberto Clemente and Jose Bautista have come through the Rule 5 draft, too). While the odds of Perdomo having a career replicating the great Santana’s are slim, here’s a further breakdown of how their stats compare through the first 16 appearances (that’s how many games Perdomo has pitched) of their Rule 5 season in the bigs:
- Luis Perdomo, 2016: 1-2, 10.38 ERA, 30.1 IP, 2.41 WHIP, 7.12 K/9
- Johan Santana, 2000: 1-2, 7.15 ERA, 45.1 IP, 1.94 WHIP, 7.16 K/9
Bottom line: don’t give up hope on the kid yet.
BLASHT FROM THE PAST
Speaking of Rule 5 picks, the only other one from this offseason that remains with the Padres is outfielder Jabari Blash, currently playing at Triple-A El Paso.
Jose Bautista is very much a cautionary tale for giving up on a prodigious power hitter too soon. The fellow Rule 5’er had four teams play hot potato with him in his rookie season, as he amassed a total of 48 ABs for the Orioles, Rays, Royals, and Pirates. He was taken in the Rule 5 draft, plucked off waivers once, had his contract purchased once, was traded three times on top of that and wore seven different jersey numbers before settling into the fearsome Toronto No. 19 we know him as now. So Blash, who owns a stellar .976 OPS with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 14 games at El Paso, could warrant some patience too.
IN THE DOGHOUSE
The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Nick Canepa called in to deliver his weekly report card grades on the Padres offense, defense, pitching, and coaching. We on the set could not have disagreed more with his evaluation of the offense, which he gave a C for the week.
In the 7 games for which the grading accounted for, San Diego’s bats put up 45 runs (quick math: 6.4 per game), with 12 HR and a respectable team OPS of .831. Across all of Major League Baseball for that week, the Padres scored the third-most runs, hit the sixth-most homers, and boasted the ninth-best OPS. Not just in the N.L. – in all of MLB! What’s an offense have to do to get an A around here?
ON THE NEXT SOCIAL HOUR
With a Cy Young winner and one of the voices of the Padres joining me, Tuesday’s show should be a great one. Join Randy Jones, Jesse Agler, and myself at 5:30 PT at Padres.com/SocialHour, FOX Sports San Diego, or ESPN 1700, as we discuss the potential of the current crop of Padres pitchers and try to solve a mojo mystery.
