Padres Call Up Colt Morton

With Michael Barrett on the DL, former Wolfpack catcher Colt Morton is getting the chance to play for the big club in a reserve role:

Colt Morton was promoted from Double-A San Antonio to join the Padres in San Francisco today. Matt Stocco is going from Single-A Lake Elsinore to San Antonio. And Aeden McQueary-Ennis, the Padres' eighth-round pick last June, is going from extended spring training in Peoria, Ariz., to Lake Elsinore. McQueary finished last season with the Storm, going 9-for-31 with a homer.

Why was Morton promoted rather than Nick Hundley from Triple-A Portland? Morton is already on the Padres' 40-man roster. Plus, the Padres want Hundley, 24, who many consider to be the organization's top catching prospect, playing every day in Portland.

Morton is a career .248/.345/.473 hitter in the minors. B-Pro's projection system thinks he'll hit .216/.308/.398 in San Diego.