Padres Rymer Liriano makes his ML debut tonight in RF & batting 7th

San Diego, CA- San Diego Padres Top Prospect Rymer Liriano will make his Major League Debut tonight at Petco Park against the Colorado Rockies. Liriano will start for the Padres in right field and is batting 7th.

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Yesterday it was reported by UT-San Diego’s Jeff Sanders that the Padres are promoting their top positional prospect.

Liriano signed with the Padres in 2007 as one of the first players to join the Padres academy in the Dominican Republic and he is the first ever player from the academy to reach the Major Leagues.

Rymer Liriano has for years been projected as one of the Padres top prospects and was expected to be the team’s starting right fielder last season, before Tommy John Surgery knocked him out for the entire season.

The Padres didn’t plan to rush Liriano to the Big Leagues this season and honestly most Padres fans didn’t expect to see him till next season. Yet this season Liriano has surpassed everyone’s expectations and picked up right where he left off in 2012 when he was the Padres Top Prospects.

Rymer Liriano began the season in Double-A San Antonio, where he hit .264 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI’s before being called up to Triple-A El Paso last month. Liriano has had little issue adjusting to the new level, batting .467 with 11 doubles, one triple and 13 RBIs in 16 games for El Paso.

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Here’s a scouting report by Jim Callis of MLB.com on Rymer Liriano.

"Prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, Rymer Liriano had reached Double-A San Antonio, and he impressed scouts with his five-tool potential. He missed all of last year as he recovered, but, now healthy again, he’s picked up where he left off with the Missions.Like Renfroe, Rymer Liriano has good raw power, but he has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game. He’s struck out more than 100 times in each of his professional seasons, and he’ll need to refine his pitch recognition to make the most of his tools.Liriano has solid speed, and he uses it well on the basepaths and in the outfield. Before the surgery, he was mostly a right fielder, but he has played mostly left field since returning. Liriano’s offensive skills allow him to profile in any outfield position. – Jim Callis"

Liriano with his performance in Triple-A all but guaranteed a September call-up, but instead the Padres have decided to call him up early to give him a couple months to show off his abilities. Liriano will be given every opportunity this season and next spring to win the Padres starting right-fielder job.