Tommy Medica

Thomas Anthony Medica

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
• School Santa Clara University
• High School Bellarmine College Preparatory
• Debut September 11, 2013
• Final Game September 28, 2014
• Born April 9, 1988 in San Jose, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Tommy Medica made the majors in 2013.

Medica was the catcher for the US team that finished second in the 2006 World Junior Championship; he hit .304/.469/.391 and his 6 runs were second on the team to Mike Moustakas. He had a better OPS than teammates Moustakas, Freddie Freeman, Matt Dominguez and Christian Colon. In 2007, he hit .373/.436/.497 as a college freshman despite a hand injury. He led the West Coast Conference in average by .004 over Darin Holcomb and was named the All-Conference catcher. Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball named him Freshman All-American. He was on Team USA's college edition, splitting action behind the plate with Petey Paramore; he hit .308/.392/.385 and threw out 6 of 11 base-stealers. He was 7 for 24 with 2 walks and 4 RBI in the 2007 World Port Tournament and was on the Silver Medal-winning US team in the 2007 Pan American Games (Paramore started in that event).

Tommy batted .342/.438/.509 as a sophomore and was 8th in the WCC in OBP, again winning All-Conference. He starred for the Harwich Mariners as they won the Cape Cod League title, hitting .352/.462/.381. He was third in the league in average behind Jimmy Cesario and A.J. Pollock and tied Tony Sanchez for second in OBP behind Marc Krauss. He and Sanchez were the All-League catchers. He started 2009 strong with Santa Clara (15 for 35, 7 2B, HR, 9 R) but a shoulder injury cut his season short and he was redshirted. Back for a fourth year, he hit .386/.464/.667 with 60 runs, 67 RBI and 13 dingers in 54 games. He was among the WCC leaders in slugging (1st), runs (2nd), hits (2nd, 4 behind Drew Heid), total bases (152, 1st, 10 over Heid), doubles (21, 2nd), homers (4th), RBI (1st) and steals (15, 3rd). He was All-WCC, this time in the outfield. The San Diego Padres, behind scout Noah Jackson, took him in the 14th round of the 2010 amateur draft.

In his pro debut, Tommy hit only .176/.318/.216 for the Eugene Emeralds, playing strictly DH. He was mostly a DH in 2011, spent with the AZL Padres (9 for 23, 2 2B, HR, 4 BB), Fort Wayne TinCaps (.268/.366/.465 in 44 G) and Lake Elsinore Storm (.302/.440/.504 in 42 G). As a DH-1B for the 2012 Storm, he established himself by batting .330/.406/.623 with 37 doubles, 19 home runs, 65 runs and 87 RBI in 93 games. He led Padres farmhands in average, was 5th in homers and third in RBI despite his limited action (behind Nate Freiman and Jedd Gyorko). In the California League, he led in doubles (3 ahead of runner-up Leon Landry), led in slugging (39 points over Landry) , led in OPS (53 points ahead of Kyle Parker), was 4th in average (between Steven Proscia and Billy Hamilton), was 8th in RBI and ranked 4th in OBP (between Brad Miller and George Springer).

Medica spent most of 2013 with the San Antonio Missions (.296/.372/.582, 18 HR, 57 RBI in 76 G) and had a rehab stint with the AZL Padres (5 for 17, 2 2B, 2 HR, BB, 6 R, 8 RBI in 5 G). He tied Jake Goebbert and Erik Castro for 8th in the Texas League in home runs. When Yonder Alonso was hurt in September, Medica got the call to the majors. He hit 6th and started at 1B in his major league debut. He struck out against Cliff Lee then homered his next trip up, putting San Diego ahead 1-0. He flew out against Lee then struck out in the 9th against Jonathan Papelbon to close a 4-2 loss. He hit .290/.380/.449 with 3 home runs, 9 runs, 10 RBI and 10 walks in 19 games for the 2013 Padres.

Related Sites

• Tommy Medica at mlb.com