If you have not been following Jake Cronenworth, now would be the perfect time to start he has been absolute fire for the San Diego Padres up to this point of his rookie campaign.
In fact, Cronenworth, who was a standout at St. Clair High School (MI) before playing for the University of Michigan, has been brilliant through his first 25 games for the Padres as he is batting .342 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs.
Because of his hot start, Cronenworth has been named to ESPN’s 2020 MLB All-Star team.
From ESPN:
Cronenworth, 26, got lost in the deep Rays farm system and reached Rule 5 eligibility last winter. So he ended up in the trade that sent him as well as Tommy Pham to the Padres for Hunter Renfroe. Pham got hurt, but the Padres have still reaped rewards from the deal because of Cronenworth’s breakout season. After filling in ably for Eric Hosmer at first base when Hosmer was injured, Cronenworth has moved all around the infield and become a semifixture at second base, where he has started 12 games. He has hit .342/.402/.608 over his first 25 career big league contests, backed up by an expected wOBA (.507) that ranks third in all of baseball. He has been a revelation.
Time will tell if Cronenworth can keep up this pace but he sure is fun to watch! Not to mention, he does and says all the right things off of the field, which is refreshing.
