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#2411 · April 13, 2023, 10:36 pm
Merrill today was much better than he was in previous 5 games. In previous games, not getting much exit velocity on his bat to ball; it seemed he wasn't using his lower body enough in his swing. Otherwise, his stance looked good, pitch recognition was good and his timing to the ball was fine. He was just hitting a lot of ground balls to the right side of the infield. The fact that he hadn't struck out much in his previous games indicated to me that it was just a mechanical adjustment and that he would work on it and make the change because that's the kind of guy he is. Going forward, I'm expecting a lot more line drives, using the gaps in left and right center, as well as harder hit balls that make their way through the infield.
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#2412 · April 15, 2023, 12:49 am
Storm getting surprising production out of 18 year old Rosman Verdugo. With an over 35% K rate in the ACL, thought he'd have trouble making the adjustment but has managed to keep K rate under 30%. However, has only 1 walk in 6 games, so I hope that part of his game picks up (he was 13% in the ACL last year) otherwise the league will catch up with him and that K rate will go up. Is playing a decent shortstop, but not sure he has the range to stay in that position as he moves up the minor league chain. He's also played 2b for the Storm and that might be his eventual position. Could also be a 3b candidate since he has good strength and decent exit velocity for someone so young; right now Pauley is playing so well at 3b that he probably won't play there unless Pauley moves up to Ft. Wayne.
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#2413 · April 15, 2023, 1:06 am
Bad day/night for several Padres SP in the minors (and the majors!). Espinoza looked like a batting practice pitcher and luckily they took him out after one forgettable inning; velocity way down and not getting any swings and misses. Snider had some tough luck in the beginning but his command deserted him after the 1st inning and he got hit pretty hard when not walking batters. Ft. Wayne got a decent performance out of Lizarraga but he left too many balls up over the plate in the hitting zone and there were some loud long outs. His defense kept him in the game and he did throw better breaking stuff when he got the batter not to go after his first pitch - they were jumping on that first pitch FB for hits. Jagger Haynes was only allowed to pitch one inning and did okay, just giving up one hit with no walks or K's. The surprising Storm bullpen was lights out unlike the other Padres' bullpens today.
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#2414 · April 15, 2023, 8:19 am
From the site's El Paso coverage.
After laboring through the first inning, Espinoza was ejected following the umpires’ check for a foreign substance. It appeared the issue focused on an area on Espinoza’s wrist where he’d gone with the rosin bag several times as he struggled to escape the inning.
The 25-years-old was hit with a mandatory 10-game suspension after an ejection in 2021 for a foreign substance. He will most likely face similar discipline after league review this year.
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#2415 · April 15, 2023, 10:01 am
I missed the ejection - flipping between games and Espinoza looked very bad. Still think he should go down to San Antonio if he has anything left in the tank so we'll get a better idea of his abilities.
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#2416 · April 19, 2023, 12:35 pm
3 weeks into the minor league season and after watching every EP, SA and Ft. Wayne game on MiLB and the few broadcasted games of LE, the word I would use is inconsistency. Talent is definitely in the lower minors, pitchers more so than hitters, but all players are struggling to get their season going. Talent will ultimately win out, but good days even out the bad days at this early stage of the season. I look forward to Ft. Wayne getting much better as the season goes forward and Lake Elsinore coming down to earth a bit but still being a strong team. Both these teams have holes offensively but potentially very good pitching.
One thing I will say is that the hitting talent in San Antonio is the worst of all our minor league teams. When you're batting Chandler Seagle in the 5th or 6th spot in the line-up, you know you are hurting for quality hitters. Hollis is off to a slow start but can hit; Howell K's far too much and much like Mears is unable to use his other skills because he can't find a way to get on base. Ornelas seems to be doing better but maybe because everyone else in the line-up is so challenged. I'll be watching a couple of games in person next week so I do hope I see more then than what I've seen so far. At least they have some interesting bats in El Paso even without the magical Tatis Jr. in the line-up - it was a show for the ages! Plus I can't wait to hit those dining spots that the Madfriars' staff has recommended!
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#2417 · April 22, 2023, 1:20 pm
Heart of the Lake Elsinore batting order is doing very well so far - Robertson, Pauley and Vilar. I can see all three moving to Ft. Wayne in a few weeks after the Ft. Wayne hitters sort themselves out as who will be retained/promoted and who will get cut/demoted. It will be an easy change in position players at San Antonio as few deserve to be playing at this level even though they've won the last couple of games. Ona, Aviles, Bell, de la Cruz, Johnson, Castellanos - pick almost anyone on this roster since they are all replaceable. I would guess Ft. Wayne promotes Luis, Castanon and Valenzuela even though none of these guys are really tearing up the Midwest League at the moment, however, they play the positions that Robertson, Pauley and Vilar can easily fill.
I'm looking at Montesino, Murillo and Salas as possible replacements if/when the current Lake Elsinore trio cited above are moved up.
#2418 · April 22, 2023, 2:10 pm
Assuming the position players in extended ST are healthy I could see some moves around Jun 1-15. That should give the hitters about 150-200 AB and a better look at performance at home v road and against good team v bad teams.
When does the ACL start their season? Unless the Padres are bring a lot of DSL types for the ACL roster … not sure they have enough position players (except catchers). That MIGHT limit who they promote (unless injuries force the issue).
#2419 · April 22, 2023, 2:19 pm
I have the ACL season starting on 28 June but the DSL season begins around 6 June. There are a lot of players currently either on the DSL team or signed in January. Since the MLB draft was moved to mid-July, won't get much help from draft picks until around August, so the moves need to be internal. I can see several DSL players on last years roster making the ACL, particularly position players; they also had a few decent pitchers but there currently are already 15 pitchers on the ACL unofficial roster.
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#2420 · April 23, 2023, 7:34 pm
12th rd Austin Krob.. 10.1 IP 15 SO 1.69 ERA 1.22 Whip.. another post 10 rd find by AJP so far