Quote from WindsorUK on September 10, 2021, 9:10 am

After his first 2 appearances, Adrian Martinez looks to be coming around.

Who is Chase Walter and why have I never heard of him? 6'7"? Big dude!

Quote from Randy Manese on September 10, 2021, 9:29 am

As I understand it, Walter was a late round draft choice of the Angels in 2019 but didn't sign with them.  He then signed as a free agent with the Padres in June of 2020.

He is a big guy, 6:07, 260+, and started this year with Lake Elsinore before a late season promotion to Ft. Wayne.  Intriguing strikeout/innings ratio but doesn't always know where it is going, given his 11 WP and 3 HB so far this year in just 38.1 innings.   Already 23 years old, so have to see how he finishes at High A to see if he moves up any further in 2022.  Needs to get his walk rate below 4.0 to keep any interest in him if he continues that high K rate of over 15/inning.

Quote from fenn68 on September 10, 2021, 11:03 am

RP are a bit of wild cards based on A ball results ... so Chase Walter is maybe yes maybe no ... for now.

However, he does possess a 95-98 MPH FB and a good slider (87 MPH range) as I understand ... still with some command issues. The right combo for an effective RP if the command settles.

Good chance he starts 2022 in AA since he is a RP and the "stuff" is not the question. Can work on command at either level. Padres are not that far off needing some internal prospect boost to the pen (a good arm that has multiple options at the minimum) so nudging Walter up the ladder fast makes sense.

I would guess the Padres have eyes on a few internal prospects for future pen duty (Wilson in AAA should be a factor in 2022) ... 2021 results may not be the best clue if others have a similar two pitch potential.

Quote from fenn68 on September 11, 2021, 5:47 am

For some optimism … Hassell, Angeles, and Valenzuela have adapted to the promotion to High A (FW) quickly. Was some question how quickly they could adapt given what should be a more difficult hitting environment than LE and at their level of experience. However, all three … very young for the league and all at premium positions (CF, SS, C) have. Consider:

Hassell (just turned 20) … CF … (47 AB) … 277/346/511 (857)

Angeles (19) … SS/2B … (38 AB) … 316/422/474 (896)

Valenzuela (20) … C … (27 AB) … 296/474/296 (770)

Small sample size but still impressive and given the LE work … probably is reflective of their talent / potential. Would not be surprised to see all three in AA next year given how the Padres quickly moved Tatis and Abrams to AA.

Quote from Randy Manese on September 11, 2021, 10:54 am

Glad to see the comments on Gilberto Vizcarra in today's DFR.  In my opinion, he is in the running for the 3rd best catcher in the Padres' farm system behind Campusano and Valenzuela.  He was below league average for most of the year offensively, playing sporadically, but has really come on since Valenzuela's promotion.  On the defensive side, completely shuts down an opposition's running game better than Valenzuela and not that far behind in other aspects of catching prowess.  Jonny Homza had come a long way both offensively and defensively before injuries caused his break-out season to nose-drive and Juan Fernandez was always known for his offensive over his defense, but if Vizcarra can carry a 250+ average and 700+ OPS into the higher minors, he has a chance to be a regular at those levels because he is so good defensively.  He's Rule 5 eligible so we'll have to see if he sneaks through in December.  If he makes it through, should be the primary catcher at Ft. Wayne in 2022.  In fact, all four of the top catchers below Campusano are Rule 5 eligible.

Quote from Randy Manese on September 12, 2021, 11:49 pm

Hassell struck out 5 times in 5 AB's today.  Probably won't see that happen again in a long long time, especially in the minors.  Fatigue may be setting in for a player in his first full season, but he's held up pretty well so far.  With only 6 games left on the schedule, Hassell has proven he is the real deal and could be pushed to San Antonio next year if he shows well in instructs and possibly gets just a little bit stronger without putting on bulk that would negatively affect his speed.  I still liked Veen over Hassell on draft day but we'll see how both do as they move up the ladder.

Quote from Randy Manese on September 14, 2021, 6:32 pm

Watching Adrian Martinez going against Albuquerque today and after 3 innings  he looks a lot better than in his earlier games.  Spotting the slider and high FB well and very composed - much like he was at San Antonio in June.   Sinker also working well but doesn't seem to be throwing as hard as in earlier starts for El Paso, which may be a good thing if it allows his pitches to work better.   We'll see how he finishes this game, but so far, very impressive.  Only hit so far was a bouncer up the middle that was hit solidly but not very hard.

Quote from Randy Manese on September 14, 2021, 6:51 pm

Martinez cruised through 4th inning, including second time through the top of the order but the interesting news came from Alb announcer who said Campusano is out with an oblique injury.  That's not a serious injury but an injury that is hard to come back from without total rest over a 1-3 week period, sometimes longer.  May not play remainder of season but could be ready for instructs.  Glad it wasn't an arm or shoulder injury, which is what I feared.

Agree with Fenn in that Campusano may be our most attractive and available trade chip for someone very special - hopefully not just to get rid of salary of Myers or Hosmer.

Quote from WindsorUK on September 16, 2021, 7:35 am

Quote from WindsorUK on September 10, 2021, 9:10 am

After his first 2 appearances, Adrian Martinez looks to be coming around.

Who is Chase Walter and why have I never heard of him? 6'7"? Big dude!

Martinez getting better every outing!

First 3 starts-15 earned runs. Last 3 starts-5 earned runs

He keeps  this up, we might see him the last week of the season.