Kids Are Alright: HeadChase Lamar - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

"My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention."

Some ingenious pundits thought that the San Diego Padres would call up Chase Headley soon enough for him to make an impact in the NL ROY race. Even after releasing Jim Edmonds, it appeared as if the Fathers would rather wait and let "Lamar", as I will be calling him from now, develop at AAA instead.

But with the Pads in dead last in the MLB and Jake Peavy DL bound, Kevin Towers has intimated that changes are afoot. So maybe, that NL ROY hope is still alive, since some of these changes will likely include calling up youngsters for a full on pot of joe.

Chase Headley will likely be one of those call-ups. Right, Kevin? Right?He has to be, actually. Desperation is a stinky, stinky cologne, and I got a whiff of Towers all the way from North Carolina after the Padres game last night. In fact, like Evan Longoria, Headley would probably be here now were it not for the Pads' cheapness and "decision" to play him in the outfield with Kevin Kouzmanoff at third.

Headley is hitting .289/.355/.494 with seven home runs and 20 RBI for the year at AAA Portland, and even with a horrid .364 BB/K ratio, he's still mashing. That ratio is pretty ghastly, but don't forget that a lot of Headley's struggles came early in April after being sent back down -- in May he's absolutely lacing the ball with 5 HR and a .347 average.

Remember that he's young, so he will struggle at times (also like Longoria), and he has a shoddy park for hitters. But he's a talent with plenty of power in his bat and deeper leagues, keeper leagues or deeper keeper leagues want to get on this guy now, in anticipation of a call up within the next two weeks.