For the 5th straight year two of the Padres' prospects have been selected to be part of the Future's Game. Lake Elsinore Storm Catcher Austin Hedges and San Antonio Missions Outfieder Yeison Asencio will be on hand in New York the Sunday prior to the MLB All Star Game to participate in the event. Hedges is currently hitting .275 for the Storm with a .352 OBP and a .435 SLG. Asencio was recently promoted to the Missions and is hitting .307 with a .312 OBP and .427 SLG in 18 games there. In his previous 57 games with Lake Elsinore he hit .296 with a .319 OBP and a .457 SLG. Some of you maybe remember Asencio as the Padres prospect formally known as Yoan Alcantara who was caught lying about his identity and age. He's still just 23 years old even after his real age was found out.
The Padres have had less than stellar results from previous participants in the Futures Game. Last year Rymer Liriano and Ali Solis were invited. Liriano is on the shelf with an elbow injury and Solis is no longer with the organization. In 2011, James Darnell and Reymond Fuentes got the call. Darnell has battled through injuries and has since been release while Fuentes struggled last season before redeeming himself in San Antonio this year. 2010 featured Simon Castro and Drew Cumberland. Both no longer with the team. Castro was traded to acquire Carlos Quentin and has still not made a major league debut while Cumberland is out of baseball entirely. Going back to 2009, the Padres had their last true Futures Game success story in Mat Latos who paired with Luis Durango in that exhibition. Both are no longer with the team although Latos' legacy lives on through Yasmani Grandal, Yonder Alonso, Edinson Volquez and Brad Boxberger. Wil Inman was the lone representative in 2008 and never broke out of AAA after being acquired by the Padres in the Scott Linebrink trade to Milwaukee.
Hopefully this year's class will have much more success than previous ones. Here's to watching and hoping.