Not to discount the fantastic work that A.J. Preller and the rest of the Friars’ ownership, front office, and coaching staff have done to improve every aspect of this franchise over the last few years, but the arrival of Eric Hosmer has seemingly taken the San Diego Padres’ blueprints of the future and brought them to life much quicker than anyone could have anticipated.
The Padres’ core, pre-Hosmer, consisted of Wil Myers, the newly-acquired Freddy Galvis, Hunter Renfroe who was coming off of a big year, and a handful of younger guys who were finally going to get a shot (Cory Spangenberg, for one).