Padrograph #1104

Eddy Rodriguez defected from Cuba with his family when he was just eight years old.  His father was a fisherman and they left on the boat, which nearly capsized.  They ran out of food and resorted to eating coffee beans.  He played college ball at the University of Miami and played a season of independent ball before signing a minor league contract with the Padres in 2011.  He was promoted to the Padres when the starting catcher was injured.  He played in just two games for San Diego in 2012.

the 46th Padre is MLB's #22 Prospect

The Padres today called up their 46th player, SS Luis Urias.  He will play mainly second base for the rest of this season.    He is currently ranked #22 in the Top 100 Major League Prospects and the #4 prospect for the Padres.  He is 21 years old and has been playing in the Padres system since 2014. 

45th Padre for the win

Last night the Padres called up their 45th player of the year, Jacob Nix.  He pitched six scoreless innings and picked up the win in his major league debut.  In the best farm system in the majors he was the number 14 prospect for the Padres.  He was drafted by the Padres in the 3rd round in 2015.

All the 2018 Padres so far

Stealing an idea from Wrigley Wax I made a compilation of everyone who has played for the Padres this year.  They are in alphabetical order, but from here on out the new guys will be added at the end.  Almost all the unsigned cards have been sent to the players to sign, except for Colten Brewer, which will go out this weekend.

Padrograph #1103

Jeff Fulchino, played in the majors from 2006 to 2011. He played for the Marlins, Royals, Astros and Padres.  He was never traded moving from team to team via the waiver wire.  He pitched in just three games for the Padres after being waived by Houston.  He had pitched in 36 games for Houston for coming to San Diego.  He finished his career with a 4.84 ERA.  I sent this custom card to Jeff via an autograph dealer I know. 

2018 Allen & Ginter

Padrograph #1102

Today one of the cards I sent out just over a month ago came back, it took thirty nine days.  It was postmarked Memphis, Tennessee which slightly confused me until I checked his Wikipedia page.  Tyler Webbb had been picked up by the Cardinals off the waiver wire on June 29, 2018.  He made his major league debut in June of 2017 with the Yankees, who traded him to the the Brewers for Garrett Cooper.  He appeared in four games for the Padres this year before being waived by the Padres. 

I also pulled a few other cards out of the pack. 

Card Show Pickup

I went to the card show today and ran into Gavin of Baseball Card  Breakdown.  I didn't find any Padrographs I needed.  I did pick up several packs of cards so I will present them over the next few days.   Today's pack is Topps 2001 Series 2.

 Doug Glanville, played in the majors from 1996-2004.  Since 2008 he has been writing for the New York Times.  He wrote a book in 2010.
 Delino DeShields, played from 1990 to 2002.  His son has been playing in the majors since 2015.
Tom Lampkin is a local player who played from 1988-2002.  He played for the Padres in 2002.
Shane Spencer was once featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The pack also featured:
Mike Myers, Rockies
Tino Martinez, Yankees
Pete Schourek, Red Sox
Mitch Meluskey, Tigers
Kip Wells, White Sox
A.J. Hinch, Royals
Garreet Stephenson, Cardinals
Esteban Loaiza, Blue Jays
Billy Wagner, Astros
There was a draft picks card and a Pirates team card that seems to be missing something (upon further review it is not).

The Draft picks are Josh Axelson and Carmen Cali.
 Josh Axelson was drafted in the 5th round of the 2000 draft.  He played in the Cardinals system until 2005.  He played in an independent league in 2006 and then seems to have disappeared.
Carmen Cali was drafted by the Cardinals in the 10th round of the 2000 draft.  He made it to the majors with the Cards in 2004 and 2005, and with the Twins in 2007.

Padrograph #1101 and a upgrade

 Padrograph #1101, Freddy Galvis, Freddy was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent at age 16 in 2006.  He played for the Phillies from 2012 to 2017 and then was traded to the Padres in 2017 for a minor league player.  Has played in 93 games for the Padres this year.  I sent him a custom card earlier this year and it has not come back yet.  I hope it does I like the picture better than this one.  I got this one on eBay.

Padrograph #668, Dave Robinson.  I had a 1970 multi player card signed by Dave, but I found this picture and made a custom 1971 card. 

Padrograph #1100

Juan Moreno, Juan was signed by the A's as an amateur free agent in 1993.  He was signed by the Rangers as a free agent in 1998 and 2000.  He pitched in 45 games for the Rangers in 2001, then he was traded to the Padres in April 2002 for Jason Moore.  He pitched in 4 games for the Padres in 2002.

Padrograph #1099

Matt Strahm, Matt came to the Padres in a trade with the Royals that also brought Travis Woods and Esteury Ruiz to San Diego and sent Ryan Buchter, Brandon Maurer and Trevor Cahill to Kansas City.  Matt has pitched in five games for the Padres in 2018 and pitching 25.2 innings with a 2-2 record and a 2.45 ERA.  I picked up this on eBay.

Who will be Padrograph #1100.  I have about 20 customs out to members of this years team and I have a card coming from Venzuela. 

Celebrity Jersey Card #1

WWE Superstar Bill Goldberg threw out the first pitch for a Padres game.  I wish I could figure out how to get him to sign this.  I just made it today.

Padrograph #1098

Christian Villanueva, was signed by the Rangers as an amateur free agent in 2008.  He was traded to the Cubs in 2012 with Kyle Hendricks for Ryan Dempster.  In December of 2016 the Cubs granted him free agency and he signed a free agent contract with the Padres.  He played in 12 games for the Padres in 2017 and has played in 64 games this year and has hit 16 Home Runs.