Robby Snelling dials in on the back fields in Peoria. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
PEORIA—A day after the Padres-Mariners Spring Breakout and several backfield games were rained out, Saturday was busy at the Peoria Sports Complex. The Padres ran a pair of simulation games and had two games against low-level minor leaguers from the Rangers system, meaning 30 different pitchers saw action.
Dylan Lesko and Robby Snelling, the top two pitching prospects in the organization, highlighted the afternoon. Lesko, facing batters who will open the year in Low-A or the complex, worked two innings, striking out five and issuing one walk. He ran his fastball up to 96 in his second inning, but sitting more consistently around 93. His trademark changeup was excellent, while his new slider and curve were inconsistent.
For the Padres’ top draft pick in 2022, who will be 24 months post-surgery soon after opening day, last year was primarily about getting back to where he’d been in high school. This year, he’ll be asked to make some changes as he faces more advanced hitters.
“Obviously, it’s not going to be perfect yet,” said Lesko on Friday. But right now, I’m trying to throw it hard, keep it smaller, and keep refining it every day. Eventually, by the season, I’m hoping it’s going to be ready to go and a real weapon for me.
“Having that puts another thing in a hitter’s mind, especially with the higher velo.”
Snelling, who was to have opened the Spring Breakout game, worked against a group of Padres hitters, sitting 91-93 with a sharp curve and effective change that he continued to find feel for over the winter. Beyond his stuff, the system’s top performer last year has consistently drawn raves for his ability to make adjustments and bring new pitches into his game.
The lefty, who is now up to 220 pounds, made strides with this changeup in his first full campaign last year.
“It’s really just trial and error,” said Snelling. “I probably went through about eight different grips, just seeing what works best with my arm slot with how my body moves. Now that I found it, I’m super happy with where it’s at.”
Expect Snelling to open the year at the front of the San Antonio Missions rotation, while Lesko should be ticketed for High-A Fort Wayne.
Fellow top-20 pitchers Ryan Bergert and Austin Krob also got two simulated innings. Both spent time in big league camp this spring and had been on track for the Spring Breakout contest. Both are likely to open the year in a deep rotation for San Antonio.
Bergert’s riding fastball continues to get plenty of bad swings. After he switched to a sweeper instead of a traditional deep slider last year, hitters struggled with pitch decisions, helping him to 126 strikeouts over 105.2 innings at two levels.
While he didn’t face hitters, Adam Mazur threw an impressive bullpen session working with Missions pitching coach Jeff Andrews. He’s been 94-97 during games and live bullpen settings this spring and is starting to land his changeup consistently. He should also break with San Antonio.
Last year’s 11th-round pick, Carson Montgomery, got his first two innings of game action against Texas. The 21-year-old, who struggled through a career at Florida State despite having very good stuff, had plenty of traffic in his first inning but settled in during the second. He can work in the mid-90s with a sweeper and change that both have good lives, but he doesn’t hit his spots as often as he’ll need to. He will be a key arm to keep an eye on in 2024.
Francis Peña popped in an inning of work against the older Rangers hitters. The 23-year-old, who didn’t sign his first professional contract in the Dominican Republic until last January, was pumping his fastball at 95-96 and touched 97 while also showing a tight, hard slider. His stuff at least matched what we saw in innings from Cole Paplham and Carter Loewen, who figure to start at least one level ahead of him. Peña should be working out of the back of the Fort Wayne bullpen to open this season.
Reggie Lawson, who had retired in 2022 because of constant injuries, reached out to the Padres at the end of last season to see about staging a comeback after he finally got healthy. The righty from the High Desert in California worked his first in-game inning Saturday, getting the fastball up to 95 and drawing a few ugly swings from younger hitters overmatched by his offspeed stuff. He didn’t show the slider he had added late in 2019, which will probably be necessary when he heads out to the upper minors for this season.
Among the position players, the two youngest players in camp both got starts. Ethan Salas was impressed by taking a well-executed 1-2 changeup back up in the middle for a line-drive single in one of his two plate appearances. Behind the plate, he worked well with Lesko and the hard throwers who followed him. … Playing on the other field, Leo De Vries showed good decision-making from both sides of the plate. Matched up with a wild but hard-throwing lefty in his final plate appearance, De Vries had two good takes after he got behind in the count and ultimately worked a walk. The 17-year-old looked completely comfortable going against a 24-year-old with several years of full-season ball under his belt.
Jay Beshears crushed a triple and made loud contact twice more as he continued a strong spring. While there will undoubtedly be a tendency to compare a later-round bat-first guy without a clear offensive home out of Duke to Graham Pauley, they are different profiles. Beshears, who is a righthanded hitter, has a big frame at 6-foot-4 and isn’t as loose at the plate, but he could be positioned for a big offensive campaign after looking gassed at Lake Elsinore at the end of last year.
