The most eagerly anticipated debut for the Padres since ... well, maybe ever, comes tonight at 7:05 p.m. when 21-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo takes the field at Petco Park against the Washington Nationals.

“I like the fact that people are excited to watch him play,” said Padres’ general manager Jed Hoyer. “I like the fact that there's a buzz about him coming up.”

The 6’3”, 220-pound Rizzo created that buzz in the two months he spent at triple-A Tucson, tearing up the Pacific Coast League with a .365 batting average, 16 home runs and 63 RBI.

He was also the key component in the off-season trade that sent hometown hero Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox.

“This is frankly ahead of the schedule that we imagined when we acquired him,” Hoyer said. “We thought he was a guy that if he pushed us, could be a September call-up and probably help us in 2012 and he's played so well, both in spring training and this year, that he really forced us and pushed the clock.”

Hoyer admitted that discussions about calling up Rizzo began in May when he was batting over .400. But the Padres wanted to see Rizzo get more “seasoning” against left-handed pitchers. They also did not want to put the pressure on Rizzo of being the “savior” of a last-place team, even though the Padres still occupy the basement of the National League West.

Hoyer said he had targeted the interleague road portion of the schedule, which begins with three games June 17 at Minnesota and then three games at Boston, as a way to work Rizzo into the lineup and move free agent acquisition Brad Hawpe from first base to designated hitter. But Hoyer said manager Bud Black urged him to move up the call up by a week and Hawpe started playing right field on Monday.

“I don't think (Rizzo’s) a savior of a team now,” Hoyer said. “I think he can come up and be a part of something. I'm glad Brad (Hawpe) has gone to the outfield. He's been a great teammate about it.”

Black said Rizzo would probably bat “5th, 6th or 7th” in the lineup Thursday night against the Nationals and scheduled starting pitcher Livan Hernandez.

Black also said that he looks forward to having Rizzo on the squad.

“There was times when the media was calling for (a call-up),” Black said. “I wasn't quite convinced but the last three weeks or so have been pretty convincing just watching him.

“I was impressed by the young man (in spring training) by his overall presence of how he carried himself for a young guy. I thought that when everybody thought the time was right, I'm on board.”

Originally drafted by the Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2007 draft, Rizzo missed most of the 2008 season after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in April of that year. He underwent cancer treatments and chemotherapy for six months, pre-empting what was supposed to be his first professional season.

Rizzo said he is now cancer free, and in February, he said he has a greater perspective on life and baseball.

"Coming out of it, I feel like it made me a lot stronger as a person," Rizzo said. "I mean, if I go on a 0-for-20 slump, it doesn't matter that much to me. I'll get out of it.”