Contreras, 26, didn’t really earn the demotion. He hit .273/.310/.385 while playing solid defense all over the field. With just 22 strikeouts in 61 games, you could count on the veteran to put the ball in play. He even chipped in a career high four homers and outpaced his 2009 Double-A line of .248/.283/.347 by a mile.

Still, he’s the victim of a numbers game for now. Contreras is lucky to even be in affiliated ball–he was released by the Padres in spring training and re-signed when middle infielders Josh Barfield, Beamer Weems, and Matt Antonelli were all injured early in April.

Portland is a far more offense-friendly environment than San Antonio, so even though he’ll be facing worse pitching, Contreras could see a decline in his numbers after the demotion. At his age, that’s going to be very difficult for him to overcome.

Carrillo comes off the DL after the 7-day minimum stay. He hasn’t had much of a season, with a 4.59 ERA and 63/42 K/BB in 100 innings, but that’s much better than the poor showings put up by Josh Geer (6.09 ERA) and Steve Garrison (8.87 ERA). I’m surprised Garrison wasn’t the one demoted; there’s a chance he could be sent down in exchange for Contreras in the coming days, but relievers Brandon Gomes and Evan Scribner also deserve callups.

After missing several weeks to open the season, Luebke was his usual strikethowing, effective self in Double-A, posting a 2.40 ERA and 44/12 K/BB in 56 innings.

In his first start in Triple-A, the lefty threw six solid innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. The 25-year-old walked three and struck out seven.

With Will Inman also on the DL, the Beavers have lost their two most consistent starters to injury. They’re left with a rotation of Luebke, Josh Geer, Steve Garrison, Cesar Ramos, and a fifth pitcher. Radhames Liz, who used to be the fifth starter, was moved to short relief yesterday, taking over for Luebke and throwing a scoreless seventh, so he seems to be out of the rotation picture. Liz went 5-5 with a 4.93 ERA as a starter, and was hampered by homer (10 in 65 2/3 IP) issues. The 26-year-old needed to be moved to the bullpen at some point.

At this point, Luebke may actually have positioned himself as the first guy to be called up if the Padres need an extra starter.

Of course, groundball rate is a great skill for a pitcher to have, and it can (to an extent, at least) transcend low strikeout rates. A pitcher who doesn’t get many swings and misses is a more palatable option if he induces a lot of grounders (a la Chien Ming Wang) rather than inducing a lot of flies (a la *insert AAA mainstay here*).

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