Good reason to be patient with Venable

Our man Corey Brock wrote an article the other day about the Padres being patient with youngsters Kyle Blanks and Will Venable. We discussed Blanks the other day, so let’s concentrate on Venable. So far he’s hitting .233/.307/.473. He’s striking out a lot (33% K rate) and the .307 OBP isn’t great, but he’s providing a lot of power, and his overall production has been fine (actually, above average). He’s also 8-8 on steal attempts so far. In fact, his .355 wOBA is behind only Hairston, Gonzalez, Headley, and Torrealba amongst Padres. His .231 ISO trails only Scott Hairston. Not to mention his defense has been excellent, by the numbers, so far in his short career. I know there’s still a certain aura that surrounds batting average, and I have little doubt that’s why Venable is being called out here. And make no mistake, batting average is important. It just isn’t a great measure of a hitter, by itself. I certainly have my doubts that Venable will continue hitting with this kind of pow...