Quote from fenn68 on July 22, 2023, 4:05 am

I know Samuel Zavala is high on most Padres’ prospect lists but with the mega hype on Merrill, Salas, Snelling, Lesko his upside is getting a bit lost in most narratives.

Zavala has played this season in LE at 18 (just turned 19 last week) … young for low A. After a slow start in April … put up very good numbers in May-June (OPS .800+) and has continued to improve with a very impressive July: 308/465/673 (1.138).

Strikes out a bit too much but given his age … a lot of time to improve in that respect. Looks like a legit OF prospect that has secured his high rating on the Padres top prospect lists and may inch towards MLB Top 100,

Quote from Randy Manese on July 22, 2023, 10:19 am

It was not just a slow start, it was a horrible start.  Once he toned down that exaggerated leg kick he stopped swinging at pitches out of the strike zone and starting drawing more walks (I believe he leads the Cal League in walks!).  Dug himself a big hole, BA-wise with his early struggles, which is why he's only around .270.  Predict that his SA and BA will continue to rise as the end of the season approaches.  Currently, his walk rate is at a career high 18.8% and his K rate is (to me) an acceptable 26.7% given he's improved all of his stats since offensive producers Merrill and Fabian were promoted.

Has a wiry strong body and gets great leverage with his swing; I can see him develop more power as he fills out a little more.  I'd judge his speed to be slightly above average as far as SB are concerned but once underway shows good acceleration on the base paths and the same kind of ability to track down balls in CF; maybe just needs more technique as far as SB's are concerned.  Dillon Head may be the Padres future CF but Zavala is the currently the best we have among our OF prospects and should shine at High A next year once he adapts to the cold weather.  Because of the latter, I'd almost like to see him skip High A and be assigned to San Antonio given his good eye at the plate.  I can see him in the  MLB Top 100 by the end of this year if he continues to be one of the leaders by example on the LE team and, as you said, he just turned 19!

Quote from sportwarrior on July 22, 2023, 2:15 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on July 22, 2023, 10:19 am

It was not just a slow start, it was a horrible start.  Once he toned down that exaggerated leg kick he stopped swinging at pitches out of the strike zone and starting drawing more walks (I believe he leads the Cal League in walks!).  Dug himself a big hole, BA-wise with his early struggles, which is why he's only around .270.  Predict that his SA and BA will continue to rise as the end of the season approaches.  Currently, his walk rate is at a career high 18.8% and his K rate is (to me) an acceptable 26.7% given he's improved all of his stats since offensive producers Merrill and Fabian were promoted.

Has a wiry strong body and gets great leverage with his swing; I can see him develop more power as he fills out a little more.  I'd judge his speed to be slightly above average as far as SB are concerned but once underway shows good acceleration on the base paths and the same kind of ability to track down balls in CF; maybe just needs more technique as far as SB's are concerned.  Dillon Head may be the Padres future CF but Zavala is the currently the best we have among our OF prospects and should shine at High A next year once he adapts to the cold weather.  Because of the latter, I'd almost like to see him skip High A and be assigned to San Antonio given his good eye at the plate.  I can see him in the  MLB Top 100 by the end of this year if he continues to be one of the leaders by example on the LE team and, as you said, he just turned 19!

I mean, for what it's worth, Zavala was listed as one of 19 "Honorable Mentions" for Keith Law's midseason Top 60. That conceivably puts him in the Top 80 already.

Quote from Randy Manese on July 22, 2023, 5:00 pm

Not quite sure where to make this comment, but supposedly the Padres have locked in on Leodalis De Vries, a SS from the Dominican, as their big money guy next January.  DeVries is about 6:01, 165 and a switch hitter, with a decent glove at SS although maybe lacking in pure foot speed. Most baseball sources have him listed as the #2 international prospect next year with an extremely good hitting tool and above average pop for a SS.  He would immediately be ranked just behind Merrill at the position and ahead of guys like Rosman Verdugo and Yendry Rojas.  De Vries will turn 18 about a month and a half after he signs, so he'll be one of the "older" international signees but should need less development time.  I can see Merrill eventually moving to 3b and De Vries holding SS if he's as good as people think he is.

One thing about looking ahead to next year, Padres open the season in Korea and they have been tied to KBO star Jung Hoo Lee.  If the Padres successfully extend Kim (who is a workout buddy with Lee) then I can see Lee opening up the season in the Padres OF next year.  After a terrible start, where the LH hitting Lee tried to become more of a power hitter, he's back to being himself and that's pretty good!  Another name from the WBC to recall is RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.  He's small in stature but has a big arm (5:10, 169).  He's said to be a very good friend and admirer of Darvish.  Both Lee and Yamamoto will turn 25 in August and are expected to be eligible for free agency.  Both these guys would look super in a Padres' uniform in 2024.

Quote from fenn68 on July 22, 2023, 7:18 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on July 22, 2023, 5:00 pm

Not quite sure where to make this comment, but supposedly the Padres have locked in on Leodalis De Vries, a SS from the Dominican, as their big money guy next January.  DeVries is about 6:01, 165 and a switch hitter, with a decent glove at SS although maybe lacking in pure foot speed. Most baseball sources have him listed as the #2 international prospect next year with an extremely good hitting tool and above average pop for a SS.  He would immediately be ranked just behind Merrill at the position and ahead of guys like Rosman Verdugo and Yendry Rojas.  De Vries will turn 18 about a month and a half after he signs, so he'll be one of the "older" international signees but should need less development time.  I can see Merrill eventually moving to 3b and De Vries holding SS if he's as good as people think he is.

One thing about looking ahead to next year, Padres open the season in Korea and they have been tied to KBO star Jung Hoo Lee.  If the Padres successfully extend Kim (who is a workout buddy with Lee) then I can see Lee opening up the season in the Padres OF next year.  After a terrible start, where the LH hitting Lee tried to become more of a power hitter, he's back to being himself and that's pretty good!  Another name from the WBC to recall is RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.  He's small in stature but has a big arm (5:10, 169).  He's said to be a very good friend and admirer of Darvish.  Both Lee and Yamamoto will turn 25 in August and are expected to be eligible for free agency.  Both these guys would look super in a Padres' uniform in 2024.

If they are near their projection both would be great signs to fill 2024 needs (Lee a 9th bat and Yamamoto a SP) but beyond the additional business value of being a greater focus in the Pacific Rim for the Padres (marketing, et al). Might be worth going the extra dollar.

Not sure the price tags … Lee should be the lesser of the two and could start as a rotational DH/OF since he can handle all three OF positions. Yamamoto … by some projections … will be expensive.

If the Padres plan to spend on FA (big) … they should be in the mix.

Quote from Randy Manese on July 23, 2023, 5:41 pm

With all their 2023 draft choices signed as well as several free agents, look for judgment day in the minors likely coming up this week.   Would guess pitchers and catchers (Padres have at least 31 of them throughout the system even excluding Romeo Sanabria and Juan Fernandez) are where cuts would likely come but there are a lot of hangers-on throughout the system whose release would not be surprising.  Also, Padres probably want to promote some of their lower level players who are doing well in the Arizona Complex League and see if their stats translate to the next level (might even move up a couple from the Dominican Summer League but that would further complicate the numbers).  This might have a modest ripple effect on some of the other minor league teams as most of the top prospects have already been advanced.

Look for some additional players to be placed on the 60 day IL, but also guys like Wyatt Hoffman, Alison Quintero, Jake Perez, Spence Coffman, Colton Bender, Chase Valentine and Josttin Diaz in the lower minors and 1-2 at AA and AAA are likely to get released.  They will be joined by a slew of pitchers who haven't performed as expected or have not been able to come back successfully from surgery/injury.

I do think the Padres minor league system is slightly underrated and like how some of the non-top rated prospects have developed.  I like what they are doing with Castanon and Pauley, playing them both at 3b and 2b, as well as Martorella occasionally making an appearance in the OF.  Two of the most surprising bats have been Lucas Dunn and Devin Ortiz, while I like the under the radar development of Tyler Robertson, Jacob Marsee and Rosman Verdugo.  In the stateside rookie league got to like Romeo Sanabria and Estuar Suero, even though his stats don't reflect how far he has come, followed closely by Lamar King, Juan Murillo and Alain Camou.

Quote from Randy Manese on July 23, 2023, 5:50 pm

Bergert pitched much better than his stats reflect today, throwing in the mid-90's with a very good slider.  Concerned after his first start, but this was his second appearance of the series against Frisco but they did not hit him hard (unlike his first appearance) and it was some bad defensive plays are really what caused him to come out of the game while still on the losing end.  Seems like if he could develop a better change-up he could be even more effective and possibly a bottom of the rotation starter or long relief guy in majors.

Quote from Randy Manese on July 25, 2023, 4:16 pm

Through the 1st 3 inning, Robby Snelling looking very good.  Whitecaps jumping on 1st pitch because they know Snelling is always around the plate and wants to get ahead of the count.  Only 28 pitches so far and only 2 hit hard balls, one backing Dunn to the RF fence.  In my opinion, he's moved up to either the 1st or 2nd SP prospect for the Padres given his stuff and poise on the mound - and he's only 19!

Quote from fenn68 on July 25, 2023, 4:26 pm

Padres have already moved up 2023 draft picks McClaughry and Beshears to LE ... both college guys who must have kept in shape between their season and now.

Valentine sent back to ACL and Murphy promoted to FW. No position player offset, if any, has been announced.