DIVISIONAL OUTLOOK: NL West—SD's middle infield

San Diego Padres

Jedd Gyorko (2B, SD) is making his case to be the starter at second base for the Padres, as he connected for three home runs in the first week of the Catcus League. He hit 30 home runs a season ago, between Double-A and (mostly) Triple-A. While each of those stops was a hitter-friendly environment, most analysts feel that Gyorko is ready to be a strong offensive contributor at the big league level. With Chase Headley as the long-term answer at third base, the Padres moved Gyorko over to second last season, where he appeared in 47 games. That is obviously still a work in progress, but if he can handle things defensively and keeps hitting, it may be difficult to give the second base job to anyone else.

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