Thomas Anthony Medica (med-eh-KUH)…a graduate of Bellarmine Prep High School (CA) where he led the Bells to a CCS title as a senior and was named the West Catholic Athletic League MVP…attended Santa Clara (CA) University…at Santa Clara, was 2007-08 First-Team All-West Coast Conference and a 2007 Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger All-American...a member of the USA National Team for the 2007 Pan-American Games and named All-Cape Cod League in 2008...originally signed by Padres' scout Noah Jackson.
2014
Set career-highs in most categories, including games (102), at-bats (240), runs (31), hits (56), doubles (11), triples (two), homers (nine), RBI (27), stolen bases (six) and walks (14)...Made his first Opening Day roster, getting the start in left field and batting sixth in a 1-for-3 effort with a walk against LAD that night...Had three stints total with the Padres, Opening Night - 4/25, 4/28- 30 and 5/25 through the end of the season...After playing exclusively at first base during his 19-game stay in the Big Leagues in 2013, made 22 appearances in left field in 2014, including 19 starts...Belted six home runs against left-handed pitching in 2014, the second-most among Major League rookies, trailing only Jose Abreu-CWS…his 14 RBI against southpaws led National League rookies and ranked tied for sixth in the Majors...In 22 games against NL East opponents, hit .385/.439/.577 (20-for-52) with a double, three homers and seven RBI...Fell a single shy of the cycle on 5/28 at ARI after he went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and a home run to go along with three RBI and two runs scored…he was the 11th player in franchise history and the second Padres player in 2014 to fall just a single shy of the cycle (also Seth Smith on 5/10)...Set career-highs with two home runs, five hits, four runs and four RBI in a 5-for-5 effort on 8/1 vs. ATL…he became the second Padres player in Petco Park history to record five-or-more hits in a single game (also Mark Loretta, 5-for-8 in a 15-inning contest on 4/29/05)… also became the first Padres player since Tony Gwynn on 4/28/98 (also 5-for-5) to record five-or-more hits in a game without making an out...With his 5-for-5 effort on 8/1, became one of 17 Major League rookies since the 1914 season to tally five hits without recording an out and collect 11-or-more total bases in the process…he was the 10th Major League rookie in that time frame to accomplish this feat while also hitting multiple home runs and the first since Micah Hoffpauir did so for the Cubs on 9/25/08.
2013
Saw his first Big League action, playing in 19 games with the Padres in September...Selected from Double-A San Antonio on September 10 and made his Major League debut with a start at first base the following day at Philadelphia...In his second at-bat, hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for his first career hit off of Phillies' Cliff Lee…was one of three Padres to homer for his first career hit in 2013, joining Jaff Decker on August 12 at Colorado and Chris Robinson on September 25 vs. Arizona...Became the first Padre to hit a home run in his first Major League game since catcher Eddy Rodriguez did so on August 12, 2012 at Cincinnati...On September 12 at Philadelphia, hit a double for his first hit of the game off of Roy Halladay, becoming the first player in the Majors to record two extra-base hits off former Cy Young Award winners for his first two career hits since Jason McDonald did so for Oakland in 1997 (June 5-6, 1997 off of Pat Hentgen and Roger Clemens, both doubles)...Began his career by reaching base safely in his first seven games, the third-longest streak in franchise history and the longest since Anthony Rizzo also reached base safely in his first seven career games in 2011…was the first Padre to have a hit in each of his first five big league games since Freddy Guzman did so in 2004...Led the Texas League champion San Antonio Missions with 18 home runs and ranked second with a .296 average.
2012
Spent the entire season with Class-A Lake Elsinore, but played in just 93 games due to injuries...Named to the California League postseason All-Star team.
2011
Played in 92 games, ending the season with Class-A Lake Elsinore.
2010
Batted just .176 in 34 games in his first professional season at Short-A Eugene.