30-year old righty swinging LF Carlos Quentin has been on fire in June with the bat.  He started slowly this year with the bat but he’s making up for lost time now.  Quentin has played in 12 games so far in June for the Padres and he is 17 for 43 (.395 avg, 1.085 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs.  He is locked in at the plate as he has walked 6 times this month against only 4 whiffs.  Quentin has now played in 50 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 41 of 157 (.261 avg, .838 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 7 homers and 22 RBIs.  The Padres have got hot right along with Quentin, so they need him to keep ripping the heck out of the baseball.

The Padres have released 27-year old righty reliever Daniel Stange.  Stange pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Padres this year and he was 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.  His only major league experience came back in 2010 for the Diamondbacks.  Stange pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the D-Backs in 2010 and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Padres moving forward.

The Padres have designated 26-year old righty swinging 3B/OF James Darnell for assignment.  Darnell played in 15 games in AAA-ball for the Padres this year and he was 15 for 61 (.246 avg, .642 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 10 RBIs.  Darnell played in 25 games in his two years with the Padres and he was 14 for 62 (.226 avg, .671 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The Padres better try to deal Darnell, because I don’t think he will clear waivers.

The San Diego Padres have acquired 27-year old righty swinging 2B/SS/3B Pedro Ciriaco from the Boston Red Sox for either a player to be named later or cash.  Ciriaco played in 28 games for the Red Sox this year and he was 11 for 51 (.216 avg, .646 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has now played in 135 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 100 for 349 (.287 avg, .813 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 3 homers, 30 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  This was a good pickup for the Padres as Ciriaco is a solid defensive player with versatility.  He also has good speed and he has been a solid hitter in the show until this year.

33-year old lefty starting pitcher Eric Stults bounced around the majors early in his career, but he appears to have found a home with the Padres in San Diego.  Stults has pitched in 13 games (all starts) for the Padres so far this year and he is 5-5 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Stults has now pitched in 31 games (27 starts) in his first two years with the Padres and he is 13-8 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  Stults has given up 163 hits and 40 walks while whiffing 108 batters in his first 174 innings, which is impressive.  The Padres hope that Stults keeps up the good work moving forward.

The San Diego Padres lose 26-year old righty swinging CF Cameron Maybin for at least the next six weeks due to PCL damage to his left knee.  As of right now, he won’t need surgery to fix his knee.  Maybin has played in 14 games so far this year for the Padres and he is 8 for 51 (.157 avg, .467 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 5 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Maybin has now played in 298 games in his first three years with the Padres and he is 402 of 1,622 (.249 avg, .676 OPS) with 156 runs scored, 18 homers, 90 RBIs and 70 stolen bases.  Maybin just can’t buy a break as he missed a substantial chunk of the 2013 season earlier this year due to a wrist injury.

The San Diego Padres have placed 24-year old righty swinging 2B Jedd Gyorko on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained right groin.  Gyorko has played in 60 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 66 for 232 (.284 avg, 802 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 8 homers, 25 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  24-year old lefty swinging Alexi Amarista and 26-year old righty swinging Logan Forsythe will share time at 2B until Gyorko returns to action.  Amarista has played in 60 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 34 for 131 (.260 avg, .727 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs.  Forsythe has just come off the D.L.  He has played in 1 game for the Padres so far this year and he is 2 for 2 (1.000 avg) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 walk.  Forsythe has now played in 154 games in his first three years with the Padres and he is 120 of 467 (.257 avg, .693 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.  The Padres hope that Gyorko only misses a couple of weeks, as he has really been hot with the bat lately.

The Padres have designated 32-year old lefty swinging catcher John Baker for assignment.  Baker played in 16 games for the Padres this year and he was 6 for 40 (.150 avg, .411 OPS) with 2 RBIs.  He played in 79 games in his two years with the Padres and he was 52 of 233 (.223 avg, .559 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 0 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Baker has now played in 291 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 231 of 894 (.258 avg, .705 OPS) with 115 runs scored, 14 homers, 105 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  The Padres shouldn’t miss Baker too much moving forward with Yasmani Grandal and Nick Hundley behind the plate.

UPDATE:  (6/15/2013) - The Padres have lost John Baker on waivers to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

24-year old righty reliever Kevin Quankenbush has been lights out in AA-ball for the Padres so far this year.  He has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in AA-ball for the Padres so far this year and he is 1-0 with 11 saves, a 0.32 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP.  Quankenbush has now pitched in 113 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 6-3 with 56 saves, a 0.70 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.  He has only given up 79 hits and 44 walks while whiffing 182 batters in his first 127 2/3 innings in the minors….which are amazing numbers.  He is going to be pitching with the Padres in the near future.

The Padres have placed 26-year old lefty swinging 1B Yonder Alonso on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 1st, due to a sore right wrist.  Alonso has played in 54 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 54 for 190 (.284 avg, .751 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers, 29 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  This will open up some P.T. for 26-year old righty swinging Kyle Blanks.  Blanks has played in 37 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 28 of 101 (.277 avg, .810 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The Padres should be o.k. at 1B until Alonso returns to action.

UPDATE:  (6/5/2013) - Yonder Alonso has been diagnosed with a fractured right hand which will cause him to miss the next 4-6 weeks.