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#2221 · December 31, 2022, 10:15 am
How good of a C (Defensively) is Juan Fernandez? I know he is only 23yrs old and at AAA.. and has hit ok although without power most of his milb career.. is he a + Defender? An avg one? Or below avg?
#2222 · December 31, 2022, 12:49 pm
Quote from Henry Silvestre on December 31, 2022, 10:15 amHow good of a C (Defensively) is Juan Fernandez? I know he is only 23yrs old and at AAA.. and has hit ok although without power most of his milb career.. is he a + Defender? An avg one? Or below avg?
No, not a good defender … as such the past year the Padres had him all over the field in SA/EP … DH/3B and only minimal catching.
Has some bat to ball skills … so guessing they are working on that for a potential utility role (and a #3 insurance catcher).
A long shot prospect … and probably not as a catcher.
#2223 · December 31, 2022, 1:16 pm
Quote from Henry Silvestre on December 31, 2022, 10:15 amHow good of a C (Defensively) is Juan Fernandez? I know he is only 23yrs old and at AAA.. and has hit ok although without power most of his milb career.. is he a + Defender? An avg one? Or below avg?
Hard to find info on Fernandez. I only found 1 or 2 mentions of him. Apparently both his defense and arm are works in progress. Of course this article is a year old. I haven't found anything more current.
#2224 · December 31, 2022, 1:44 pm
Quote from Randy Manese on December 30, 2022, 12:51 pmIn reviewing the current state of the Padres' minor league system, it is true that we paid a huge price in top projectable talent for the Soto/Bell/Drury adds at the end of the year. However, much like other recent trades for pitchers when we gave up a lot of talent, much of what we gave up has not come close to the impact of the players we obtained, the exceptions being the unexpected demise of Clevinger's health after trading with Cleveland and getting absolutely robbed by Seattle in the Nola et. al acquisitions.
The low evaluation of our system (bottom 3rd?) is probably based on how far away most of these prospects are from contributing at the major league level, if they even get there. Still there is developing talent just below the expected fast-movers like Merrill, Zavala, Lesko and soon to be signed Ethan Salas. They may be way down in the Dominican Summer or Arizona Complex leagues or Low A Lake Elsinore this year but IF their talent carries forward there are a lot of intriguing bats and arms that will make our system comparable to where we were when we started to dismantle it to make a playoff run in 2020. Look for a lot of new names on our Top 30 list during the 2023 season, as we see the growth of these younger players and a re-evaluation by industry sources into at least middle 3rd of all minor league systems as the year progresses. Of course, Preller could blow it up again, but I think even he sees the need for projectable lower cost talent to keep the team sustainable over time.
People forget that Preller built his reputation in the scouting ranks. He's one of the best in the business. I think part of the reason he's so comfortable trading away so much talent is that he's confident he can find more.
#2225 · December 31, 2022, 2:57 pm
Quote from Jeremy Hill on December 31, 2022, 1:44 pmQuote from Randy Manese on December 30, 2022, 12:51 pmIn reviewing the current state of the Padres' minor league system, it is true that we paid a huge price in top projectable talent for the Soto/Bell/Drury adds at the end of the year. However, much like other recent trades for pitchers when we gave up a lot of talent, much of what we gave up has not come close to the impact of the players we obtained, the exceptions being the unexpected demise of Clevinger's health after trading with Cleveland and getting absolutely robbed by Seattle in the Nola et. al acquisitions.
The low evaluation of our system (bottom 3rd?) is probably based on how far away most of these prospects are from contributing at the major league level, if they even get there. Still there is developing talent just below the expected fast-movers like Merrill, Zavala, Lesko and soon to be signed Ethan Salas. They may be way down in the Dominican Summer or Arizona Complex leagues or Low A Lake Elsinore this year but IF their talent carries forward there are a lot of intriguing bats and arms that will make our system comparable to where we were when we started to dismantle it to make a playoff run in 2020. Look for a lot of new names on our Top 30 list during the 2023 season, as we see the growth of these younger players and a re-evaluation by industry sources into at least middle 3rd of all minor league systems as the year progresses. Of course, Preller could blow it up again, but I think even he sees the need for projectable lower cost talent to keep the team sustainable over time.
People forget that Preller built his reputation in the scouting ranks. He's one of the best in the business. I think part of the reason he's so comfortable trading away so much talent is that he's confident he can find more.
I mean in 15 days we will add another top 100 spec and likely top 3 C prospect in baseball by the time the new rankings come out look for Merrill to move up to top 20..Lesko probably stays put at #94.. Snelling maybe cracks top 100 at #99 (he is ranked as the top #10 lhp spec in baseball already just outside the top 100).. I would guess Salas based on his rep and solid grades at 16 yrs of age opens up at #89.. some reports have him ahead of Lesko behind Merrill .. some have him behind Lesko and Snelling ahead of Zavala.. so it's safe to say worst case he opens top 7..best top 2 in our system
One more Draft 2024 ..and De Vie #2 Intl spec for next signing period already linked to us..plus AJP ability to acquire other organizations specs should have our system rocking as soon as mid summer.. 2024
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JasonE135
#2226 · December 31, 2022, 3:15 pm
Didn't see the question earlier on Juan Fernandez, but generally agree with Fenn's statement. I watch a lot of minor league games on TV and while I don' t think he is an awful catcher, hd certainly is not any better than the middle of the pack in Padres' catching prospects. Chandler Seagle is acknowledged as the best catcher currently in the system and he is probably followed by recently signed vet Pedro Severino and then Brandon Valenzuela. If the reports on Salas are correct, and the snippets I've seen him throwing are impressive, likely he'll be among those top 3 in defensive ability and far above all of them offensively.
I think it would be generous to rate Fernandez defensively in the Juan Zabala/Jared Alvarez-Lopez/Brett Sullivan group of catchers but he's certainly behind guys like Homza, Vilar and Linares. Campusano would likely fall in this latter group for defensive purposes.
Nola's last two seasons at catcher probably has him near the bottom of defensive ability in the majors if you are looking primarily at throwing runners out, however, he is good at blocking badly thrown balls and apparently has the confidence of all our pitchers to call a good game. Certainly an area for improvement over the next couple of years.
#2227 · December 31, 2022, 4:02 pm
Quote from Randy Manese on December 31, 2022, 3:15 pmDidn't see the question earlier on Juan Fernandez, but generally agree with Fenn's statement. I watch a lot of minor league games on TV and while I don' t think he is an awful catcher, hd certainly is not any better than the middle of the pack in Padres' catching prospects. Chandler Seagle is acknowledged as the best catcher currently in the system and he is probably followed by recently signed vet Pedro Severino and then Brandon Valenzuela. If the reports on Salas are correct, and the snippets I've seen him throwing are impressive, likely he'll be among those top 3 in defensive ability and far above all of them offensively.
I think it would be generous to rate Fernandez defensively in the Juan Zabala/Jared Alvarez-Lopez/Brett Sullivan group of catchers but he's certainly behind guys like Homza, Vilar and Linares. Campusano would likely fall in this latter group for defensive purposes.
Nola's last two seasons at catcher probably has him near the bottom of defensive ability in the majors if you are looking primarily at throwing runners out, however, he is good at blocking badly thrown balls and apparently has the confidence of all our pitchers to call a good game. Certainly an area for improvement over the next couple of years.
Nola's average pop-time of 2.01 seconds ranked between 60-64 among MLB catchers last year. That's pretty bad. However, I see several big names with worse arms on this list. I also see that Jorge freakin' Alfaro had the 3rd best pop-time in MLB last year. I don't even know what to make of that.
Austin Barnes has one of the worst arms among catchers it seems. Tatis should love that.
#2228 · December 31, 2022, 4:51 pm
Quote from JasonE135 on December 31, 2022, 4:02 pmQuote from Randy Manese on December 31, 2022, 3:15 pmDidn't see the question earlier on Juan Fernandez, but generally agree with Fenn's statement. I watch a lot of minor league games on TV and while I don' t think he is an awful catcher, hd certainly is not any better than the middle of the pack in Padres' catching prospects. Chandler Seagle is acknowledged as the best catcher currently in the system and he is probably followed by recently signed vet Pedro Severino and then Brandon Valenzuela. If the reports on Salas are correct, and the snippets I've seen him throwing are impressive, likely he'll be among those top 3 in defensive ability and far above all of them offensively.
I think it would be generous to rate Fernandez defensively in the Juan Zabala/Jared Alvarez-Lopez/Brett Sullivan group of catchers but he's certainly behind guys like Homza, Vilar and Linares. Campusano would likely fall in this latter group for defensive purposes.
Nola's last two seasons at catcher probably has him near the bottom of defensive ability in the majors if you are looking primarily at throwing runners out, however, he is good at blocking badly thrown balls and apparently has the confidence of all our pitchers to call a good game. Certainly an area for improvement over the next couple of years.
Nola's average pop-time of 2.01 seconds ranked between 60-64 among MLB catchers last year. That's pretty bad. However, I see several big names with worse arms on this list. I also see that Jorge freakin' Alfaro had the 3rd best pop-time in MLB last year. I don't even know what to make of that.
Austin Barnes has one of the worst arms among catchers it seems. Tatis should love that.
Alfaro has always been terrific pop time wise.. he is however a very poor receiver and framer .. He is also the fastest or 2nd fastest C in baseball depending who you ask (JTR the other).. Alfaro had it all..athletcics..power speed ..just never put it all together..especially on the Defensive side where he seems to lose focus or just ignore fundamentals which lead to poor blocking and catching...
#2229 · January 3, 2023, 10:01 am
Stumbled across an article from last November that the San Antonio franchise had been sold to a very experienced and well funded ownership group.
What was interesting that may effect player development is that apparently the current facility does not meet MLB standards and the new group has pledged to remedy and upgrade.
Potentially in the effort they could address the issues at the Wolff that make it a challenge for hitters (and a benefit for pitchers) and allow for better balanced development/evaluation of all prospects.
#2230 · January 7, 2023, 12:16 am
John Coniff's Top 30 is typically more conservative than other contributors on the Mad Friar's staff, rarely including position players below Low A and almost never including RP despite how well they showed in the previous year.
Besides those he listed as position players, these 12 may have a chance in other lists: Albert Fabian (of/1b); Nerwilian Cedeno (2b-ss); Carlos Luis (1b); Nathan Martorella (1b); Griffin Doersching (1b); Yendry Rojas (ss); Rosman Verdugo (inf); Jakob Marsee (of); Eddy Beltre (of); Oliver Carrillo (of/1b); Estuar Suero (of); and Oswaldo Linares (c). Pitchers, mainly RP, who might get a mention are these 12: Alan Mundo (RP); Aldo Leija (SP); Justin Lopez (RP); Jhosep Chirinos (SP); Alek Jacob (RP); Braian Salazar (SP); Jose Geraldo (RP); Felipe/Cosgrove (RP's already on 40 man); Ryan Och (RP); Edwuin Bencomo (RP); and old friend Anderson Espinoza (SP). As I've often mentioned, pitching prospects are the most volatile when it comes to making predictions of future success; injuries happen but also does finding that right grip, release point, arm angle, etc. that can make an ordinary pitcher extraordinary (at least for awhile!).
The Padres farm system is not as bare as some people make it out to be but these others listed are prospects who seem very far away and need to sustain growth and consistency to become relevant in the eyes of industry scouts.
NOTE: This ranking is pre-Ethan Salas, who could jump all the way to #2 without having played an inning of professional ball.