By Bill Center

Robbie Podorsky

Let’s be honest.

Few of even the Padres’ most devoted fans had any idea who Robbie Podorsky, Olivier Basabe and Tucupita Marcano were going into the 2018 season.

Podorsky entered the season as a 5-foot-7, 170-pound, 25th-round pick from the 2017 Draft. Marcano was best known for being named for his hometown in Venezuela — Tucupita. And although he was also a native of Venezuela, Basabe was an eighth-round pick in the 2017 Draft out of Faulkner University.

In a Padres’ minor league system that numbers some 200 players, Podorsky, Marcano and Basabe weren’t on the radar going into the 2018 season.

They are now.

Each had something of a breakout season. A look at the trio:

— Robbie Podorsky, 23, was drafted out of McNeese State in his native Louisiana. The right-handed hitter’s game is speed. Although he lacks the size and power of the prototypical left fielder, Podorsky has hit for a high average with a high on-base percentage in his first two professional seasons.

Before his 2018 season was cut short by an injury during the first week of July, Podorsky was hitting .353 with a .403 on-base percentage between Single-A Fort Wayne (57 games) and Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore (five games). Podorsky had seven doubles, six triples and a homer with 24 steals, 38 runs scored and 27 RBIs in 224 at-bats. He had a .854 OPS this season.

In 2017, while playing in the Arizona Rookie League and with Short-Season Single-A Tri-City after the draft, Podorsky was identified as the fastest runner in the Padres’ system by Baseball America. The right-handed hitter batted .325 in his first professional season with a .375 on-base percentage and a .764 OPS.

— Basabe is also a right-handed hitter. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound 21-year-old hit .272 with a .348 on-base percentage and a .737 OPS in the Arizona Rookie League following the 2017 Draft.

This season, Basabe hit .296 between Tri-City and Fort Wayne with a .349 on-base percentage and a .440 slugging percentage for a .789 OPS. The versatile infielder-outfielder played 40 of his 57 games with Tri-City, where he hit .313 with a .371 on-base percentage. Overall, Basabe had 14 doubles, a triple, five homers and six stolen bases in 216 at-bats with 25 runs scored and 32 RBIs.

— Marcano turned 19 on Sept. 15 after his first season in the United States. He hit .366 between the Arizona Rookie League (35 games) and Tri-City (17 games) last summer with a .450 on-base percentage and a .438 slugging percentage for a .888 OPS.

Marcano, who played shortstop and second base, drew 30 walks in 225 plate appearances in 2018 with just 16 strikeouts. He had five doubles, three triples and a home run with 15 steals. He also scored 45 runs in 52 games with 26 RBIs.

The 6-foot, 150-pound left-handed hitter was a member of the Padres’ deep 2016 international signing class, although he wasn’t as highly regarded as other prospects. Marcano was spotted by Antonio Alejos and Yfrain Linares while they were scouting other players.

Marcano hit only .206 as a 17-year-old during his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League in the summer of 2017. But he had a .337 on-base percentage while drawing 34 walks against 15 strikeouts in 204 plate appearances.