Abrams socks two homers in Triple-A debut

Padres top prospect C.J. Abrams bypassed Triple-A all together on his way to earning an Opening Day roster spot in San Diego, jumping from Double-A to the big leagues as a 21-year-old last month. So when he arrived at Triple-A El Paso this week, he did so knowing a strong start for the Chihuahuas could find him back in the big leagues before long.

Message: received.

Abrams homered twice Wednesday in an explosive introduction to Triple-A, clubbing a three-run shot and a two-run homer in his debut at the level. Pulling both homers off right-hander Sean Hjelle, Abrams matched his 2021 home run output from Double-A in a single night, highlighting El Paso’s 10-inning slugfest 10-9 loss to Sacramento.

It was a far cry from the offensive struggles Abrams experienced in the big leagues over the past few weeks, slashing .182/.270/.273 in his first 20 games with the Padres after being summoned in the wake of Fernando Tatis Jr.'s shoulder injury. Abrams’ first Major League stint featured its share of notable moments, particularly the first career homer he launched in his first plate appearance at Petco Park in the team’s home opener. But he’d lost playing time to Ha-Seong Kim as of late, and the recent acquisition of utility man Sergio Alcántara and returns of Luke Voit and Wil Myers made Abrams vulnerable roster-wise.

San Diego optioned him Tuesday to Triple-A, where Abrams, sixth overall pick in the 2019 Draft, was originally slated to begin the year.

Abrams then introduced himself in a big way Wednesday, belting a 2-2 slider from Hjelle onto the street down the right field line at Southwest University Park in his second at-bat. An inning later, Abrams got a hanging changeup from Hjelle and drilled it out to right-center field. The Chihuahuas also received run-scoring hits from Shogo Akiyama and Nomar Mazara, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a River Cats attack led by David Villar’s two-homer, 6-RBI night.

The takeaway, though, was Abrams, a playmaker who can impact the game in myriad ways and always seems to make something happen whenever he’s on the field. But that hasn’t always been easy for the Padres' top prospect, ranked the No. 9 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. Injured limited Abrams to two games above Rookie ball in 2019 and 42 games at Double-A in 2021, including a fractured left tibia and sprained MCL that ended his season prematurely last summer. When active, he was dynamic, hitting .343/.398/.529 with 28 steals in 76 combined games.

As much as anything, continued health will be a focus for Adams as he rounds out his development at El Paso, with an eye toward rejoining the Padres at some point and never looking back. Abrams is an 80-grade runner whose calling card is speed, and he’ll get plenty of chances to show it off leading off and playing shortstop every day for the Chihuahuas.

On Wednesday, though, all he had to do is jog.