Quote from Randy Manese on April 7, 2023, 10:39 am

It was a perfect storm that worked against Victor Lizarraga in today's game against Western Michigan.  Umpire squeezing some of his pitches, poor outfield play, lack of command at times and cold weather with a bright sunny sky all conspired to make this a very forgettable outing for Lizarraga.  It's hard to judge his performance in this environment, but it seems he still has to work on his command - a lot of pitches were low and outside - to keep batters from sitting on his change-up.  I expect he'll do better as the weather warms up and he matures a little more as a pitcher; he's still only 19 years old and will be throughout the 2023 season.

Quote from MrPadre19 on April 7, 2023, 8:57 pm

https://twitter.com/UIndyAthletics/status/1644478430132719616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1644478430132719616%7Ctwgr%5Ebf7684126a4c67c297749fd1fe08b94ab6b9e7bb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlb.com%2Fnews%2Fbrady-ware-throws-no-hitter-hits-for-cycle-in-same-game

I don’t care what league you’re in…this is impressive.

Throwing a no-hitter and hitting for the cycle in the same game?!

😳

Quote from Randy Manese on April 8, 2023, 1:27 pm

For Ft. Wayne, Mazur pitched very efficiently needing only 35 pitches to get through 3 innings.  He was barreled a couple of times but nice OF play by Mears and Marsee kept the ball in the park and scoreless.  Cienfuegos got through 3 scoreless innings but did not have very good command; not a high velocity pitcher so he has to hit his marks.  Bad bullpen work by Holiday and and Lincoln turned a 1 run lead into a 3 run loss.  Merrill still not hitting the ball with much impact; expect he'll do better in Ft. Wayne.

After watching all three games, doesn't seem to be a lot of top flight hitters on this team, so they might struggle to score runs.  Team has some power potential but hasn't shown it yet.  Looks like going to have to depend on strong SP to win games this year and hope the potentially decent bullpen, anchored by Mundo, will keep them in games.

Quote from MrPadre19 on April 10, 2023, 9:38 am

The Trash Pandas....Angels AA team,threw a no hitter and lost

7-6

SEVEN to SIX!

Quote from Randy Manese on April 13, 2023, 12:08 pm

MLB.com says the Fort Wayne TinCaps are the "most stacked" of the Padres farm teams.  I think the pitching will come around as well as some of the top hitters on this team, but they do have some guys who shouldn't be there.  Cole Cummings has no place on this roster and is the oldest of the position players.  Martorella and Luis play his only position and are also LH hitters.  Look for Cummings to be released soon.   In over his head right now is Nerwilian Cedeno - he needs to go back down to Lake Elsinore and pair with Rosman Verdugo; he did fairly well there last year but this year seems more undisciplined at the plate.  Seems like he needs better pitch recognition as he is chasing a lot of balls out of the zone.  The last position player that seems an obvious move is Colton Bender.  The oldest catcher on this roster, he can be replaced by Vilar, who is tearing up the California League.  Vilar's eventual promotion will open up the door for Salas, who will share catching duties with Linares.

There are a number of Lake Elsinore guys who could come up but need more time to establish themselves - that would include Fabian, Pauley, Zavala and possibly Robertson.  I'd keep all these guys down there until at least mid-season.  Replacing the two other slots at Ft. Wayne roster should be Ripken Reyes coming down from San Antonio, who will be old for the league and repeating it, however, he gives Merrill a good double play partner and has good on base skills which is lacking on this Ft. Wayne team.  The other replacement will be to fill the utility infielder role and that should go to Wyatt Hoffman, who really has no other role anywhere in the system.  This gives Charlis Aquino a little more development time at Lake Elsinore to see if he is worth carrying on a roster next year.  Lake Elsinore also has some good looking bullpen arms and several of these might find there way to High A sooner than the position players.  This team will be much better as soon as the right pieces are in place.

 

Quote from Henry Silvestre on April 13, 2023, 12:58 pm

Ethan Salas #100 in MLB top 100...

He also hit a massive HR off of Castillo yesterday... so he can hit MLB pitching...@ 16yrs old

Quote from MrPadre19 on April 13, 2023, 1:44 pm

Randy have you seen anything with Merrill?

He's 1 for 19 to start the season.

Obviously nothing to worry about but was wondering if his current issue seems obvious to those watching?

 

Quote from Henry Silvestre on April 13, 2023, 9:52 pm

Tatis 3 HRs today at EP

Quote from Henry Silvestre on April 13, 2023, 10:15 pm

5-for-6, 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI

Tatis final line..