The San Diego Padres on May 4 made the following roster moves:
Selected C Austin Hedges from Triple-A El Paso and designated C Wil Nieves for assignment. Hedges, who will wear No. 18, will be making his first Major League appearance with his first big league call-up. He was originally signed by the Padres as a second-round selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft and is rated by MLB.com as being the fourth-best catching prospect in all of baseball. Baseball America rates Hedges as the No. 4 prospect in the Padres organization heading into this season.
His .324 average with El Paso this season ranked fourth-best among catchers in the Pacific Coast League, while his .914 OPS ranked third-best among PCL catchers.