Michael King Was 'Shocked' With Padres Rookie During MLB Debut

After 11 seasons in the minor leagues, the San Diego Padres finally made the MLB dreams of catcher Rodolfo Durán come true.

Durán was called up by San Diego after an injury to Luis Campusano occurred, giving the 28-year-old a chance to make his debut.

Durán just did that on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals, helping the Padres out in a tough spot. And in his first big league action, Durán didn't disappoint at all, at least behind the plate.

Durán didn't register a hit in three at-bats, but his sequencing and defense was excellent, and caught the attention of veteran pitcher Michael King.

“Duran called a hell of a game,” King said to reporters after the game. “I was not surprised, but I guess a little shocked, like, having so much composure and maturity during your debut. He definitely carried me through those innings."

"Communication with him was great," Kind added. "He sat next to me in between every inning, and we talked about sequences that we just threw, hitters that were about to be up there. And if I shook, he would ask me why, or he would say that was the next pitch that I was going to go to, or he was one pitch ahead or one pitch behind me."

King went six innings of work, allowing just one run on one hit and two walks while striking out six. San Diego went on to lose the game, but Durán's debut was a nice one.

In 23 games played at Triple-A this year, Durán hit .238 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in, while posting an OPS of .785. Last season, Durán was great, slashing .288/.356/.429 with 16 home runs and 73 runs batted in.

King has been around the game for a while now, and it seems that Durán made an impact on him. But the communication aspect here is massive, especially for a young catcher making his debut.

"This is a pretty cool call-up for him and all of us," manager Craig Stammen said. "We really loved what we saw from him in spring training this year and what he did last year in Triple-A. I expected him to be a great catcher. He's got a great arm, but his bat has come alive the last two years. We definitely see him as a big league catcher."

The Padres were impressed with Durán's approach to the game, and if Campusano is out for an extended time past his injured list stint, he may be given a longer leash. Overall, it was a very solid debut for the 28-year-old catcher in what has been a very long time coming.

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