Young's rep makes him appealing to Padres

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Chris Young has a reputation for giving his best effort each time he steps on the mound, and it doesn't matter if that's in a Cactus League game in front of thousands of fans or on a back field in front of a few coaches.
That's part of the reason the club likes Young so much, though the pitcher's results have been mixed.
"He is going to give you who he is, and it doesn't matter what or who the competition is," Padres manager Andy Green said. "We've talked to some of our young guys about how their intensity level goes down [on back fields] because they are not competing against themselves. They are lowering their level to the opposition. ... If you want to be great, you can't be that way."
Young, who is competing against Luis Perdomo, Tyson Ross, and Robbie Erlin for one of the two spots in the rotation behind Clayton Richard, Bryan Mitchell and Dinelson Lamet, gave up one run on two hits in five innings in a camp game on Wednesday.
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"It's decision time," Green said. "There's not much else to look at from his body of work at this point in time."
The 38-year-old right-hander, who could also earn a spot on the 25-man roster as a reliever, struck out five and did not walk a batter in the outing. He has allowed 11 runs and struck out 13 batters in 13 1/3 Cactus League innings.
Young's role as a leader also works in his favor.
"The way C.Y. does it is that he is not preaching it, he's living it," Green said. "You can get coaches to preach it. You can't get coaches to live it. You can't get coaches to go on the back field and show you what a back field game is supposed to look like. You can tell them, and when he shows them, that marries up in their head and they figure it out quicker."
Ross and Erlin are scheduled to pitch in a camp game on Friday.

Camp battle
Jose Pirela is a virtual lock to start in left field for the Padres on Opening Day in one week, but he's not taking anything for granted.
"I'm ready for the regular season," Pirela said in Spanish. "I've been working very hard, and I've been focused on my routine to be prepared for next week. I feel like I've been taking advantage of my time here in Arizona."
After going 1-for-3 in Thursday's 7-6 win over the Indians at Goodyear Ballpark, Pirela leads the team in hits (20), batting average (.444) and OBP (.509). He has a hit in eight consecutive games and has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 contests. He could also play second base during the regular season.
"I'll play wherever they want me to play to help this team win," Pirela said. "We have a young team, but we are solid, and I do believe we will be much more competitive than last year."

Injury update
Outfielder Franchy Cordero, 23, who left last Thursday night's game with groin tightness, is making progress. San Diego's No. 10 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, ran Tuesday and Wednesday and continues to get treatment. He's not sure when he will return to action, but the Padres are hopeful to get him in a game before the end of Spring Training.

Worth noting
• Austin Hedges left the game after being hit by a pitch on the left calf in the seventh inning.
• Left-hander Eric Lauer was reassigned to Minor League camp.
Up next
Bryan Mitchell is scheduled to take the mound for the Padres against the Rangers at 6:40 p.m. PT on Friday at the Peoria Sports Complex. Watch the game live on MLB.TV.