Mississippi State Bulldogs

Hunter Renfroe Promoted to the Major Leagues

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The San Diego Padres today announced that they are calling up outfielder Hunter Renfroe to join the Major League team for its remaining games.

Renfroe, the former Mississippi State superstar, just completed a stellar season for the Padres AAA club in El Paso, where he lead the team with 30 HR and 105 RBI’s, while posting an AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS line of .306/.336/.494/.825.

Major league ball clubs are allowed to expand their rosters to 40 players during the month of September, and many clubs use this opportunity to bring their top prospects to the big show and get them some valuable MLB experience. It is likely that Renfroe would have been elevated earlier in September, but his team the El Paso Chihuahuas were in the playoffs and won the Pacific Coast League title. Tuesday night El Paso lost 3-1 to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the 2016 Gildan AAA national championship, which is essentially the world series title for minor league baseball.

The Padres drafted Renfroe in the first round of the 2013 free agent draft as the #13 pick overall, following a sterling career at Mississippi State, where he was an integral part of the Bulldogs run to the championship series of the College World Series. Widely touted as a five-tool player, Renfroe came into his own during his final season for the Bulldogs, where he slugged 16 home runs and drove in 65 runs, with and AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS line of .345/.431/.620/1.051.

Mississippi State and San Diego fans have openly questioned why the Padres did not elevate Renfroe to the big league much earlier in the year. It seems the reasons for that have more to do with business reasons than with the Padres needs or Renfroe’s readiness. By waiting to this late in the season to call him up, the Padres control Renfroe’s contract for an additional year.

Expect Renfroe to compete for a starting position in spring practice and begin the 2017 season on the Padres opening day roster.