There comes a time when a player has to prove himself in the major leagues, when hitting balls all over Triple-A ballparks serves no real purpose.

The Padres have determined Luis Urias to be at such a juncture.

The organization’s top-ranked position prospect, who played in last week’s Triple-A All-Star game, will be back with the big club and in the lineup Saturday against the Cubs.

Also joining the Padres here will be 20-year-old pitcher Adrian Morejon, who has never appeared above Double-A.


In the case of Urias, the Padres waited long enough that they hope his stay is permanent this time.

After starting the season with Triple-A El Paso, Urias was recalled April 8 and proceeded to go 2-for-24 with 11 strikeouts before being sent back down April 21.

While with the Padres, he particularly struggled with fastballs. His miss rate and average on fastballs were well below the league average.

Urias immediately hit once back in Triple-A. He posted a .372 average, .467 on-base percentage and .744 slugging percentage with 11 doubles and 13 home runs over his first 40 games with El Paso.


The Padres were not nearly as interested in results as in Urias’ mechanics and approach. His leg kick was too high, several personnel people opined, and they wanted him to get back to concentrating on contact.

Some in the organization said recently Urias had gotten his stride in check, though the Padres chose to wait and see how he maintained. He was almost recalled a couple times recently, but the Padres decided to keep left-handed hitting Josh Naylor in their lineup instead. Urias then suffered a minor shoulder injury this past Sunday, which caused him to miss four games.

Their patient handling of Urias is another sign of the Padres’ long-term vision. They want him to remain in the majors now that he is back. While there has been trade interest in the 22-year-old, the Padres see him as their long-term second baseman.

Even as Urias cooled over a 17-game stretch in June in which he hit .214/.282/386 in 78 plate appearances, the reports from El Paso were no better or worse than they had been when he was hitting balls all over the Pacific Coast League.


In his last 17 games in Triple-A, Urias went 20-for-74 with a .333 on-base percentage. He went 1-for-7 with a homer in his two games back from the shoulder issue.

The prevailing idea over the winter was that Urias would begin the season at shortstop and Ian Kinsler would be at second base while Fernando Tatis Jr. spent time in Triple-A.

But the 20-year-old Tatis, at the time the organization’s top prospect, had a strong spring, and Urias struggled at the plate after an offseason spent rehabbing a hamstring injury.

While reversed in who they were waiting on, the Padres’ plan was still that a short while into the season, Urias and Tatis would be paired in the middle of the infield.


It happened for six games in April. Now it will happen again.

Morejon, who signed with the Padres three years ago for $11 million out of Cuba, has pitched just 164 1/3 innings in the minor leagues. Thirty-six of those came this year for Double-A Amarillo, where he had a 4.25 ERA with 44 strikeouts. He appeared earlier this month in the Futures Game and pitched a scoreless inning.

A starter in the minors, Morejon will pitch out of the bullpen for the Padres.

Corresponding roster moves will be announced Saturday.