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#2701 · August 21, 2023, 10:43 pm
As we head toward the end the minor league seasons, it seems the Padres may have finally turned the corner on player development, particularly, in developing starting pitching depth. Earlier I cited the great job Eshelman has done in Lake Elsinore, but pitching was equally strong in Ft. Wayne and they seemed to squeeze every ounce of talent from that San Antonio staff. So even though there were injuries throughout the system that shortened the season for guys like Isiah Lowe, Jagger Haynes, Aldo Leija, Manuel Castro and others, they were able to show flashes of talent indicating they could be breakout performers next year; even Lizarraga will be much better after fighting two stints on the IL list for illnesses that sapped his strength and certainly hurt his development and growth even at age 19. Likewise, good job with mid to lower drafted position players like Castanon, Martorella, Marsee and Pauley.
With the expected signing of De Vries in January and other position prospects still coming up from the ACL and Dominican Summer League, expect another strong showing in 2024 the lower levels as these younger prospects feed the Low and High A teams.
I totally agree that San Antonio should be the jumping off point for many of these young players to the majors, especially pitchers, vice El Paso. The PCL exaggerates pitcher deficiencies and probably causes hitters to change their approach too much to take advantage of the elevation in several of the PCL cities; the Texas League does have Amarillo, but the rest of the league as well as San Antonio itself gives one a better perspective of how the prospect might do in the big leagues than El Paso.
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#2702 · August 22, 2023, 4:40 am
I saw on Twitter that Craig Stammen was spotted in the dugout in Fort Wayne. It sounds like he may have joined the organization in some developmental capacity.
#2703 · August 22, 2023, 6:35 am
Quote from Jeremy Hill on August 22, 2023, 4:40 amI saw on Twitter that Craig Stammen was spotted in the dugout in Fort Wayne. It sounds like he may have joined the organization in some developmental capacity.
Not surprised … a quality person who will be an asset to the Padres organization in any capacity.
#2704 · August 22, 2023, 7:01 am
A couple of more moves reported:
To LE: Nett (P); Karpathios (OF); J. Sanabria (INF ... he is the other Sanabria); H.Martinez (P) all from ACL
To FW: Kopack (listed as 3B) from ACL and Farmer released / Mears to IL
At SA: Quintero (C) sent to ACL
Guessing that should do it except for a couple of minor adjustments to balance rosters and maybe deal with some IL returns.
#2705 · August 22, 2023, 8:47 pm
Ethan Salas with the walk off double in the 10th for his first AA hit. I watched the whole game. There were a couple wild pitches that I think he'll learn to stop as he develops. It was nice to see that it didn't hurt him at the plate. Martorella had a big game too. He drove in the tying run in the 10th and finished 3-5 with 3 RBIs. He also hit into a double play that brought in a run. Marsee had a bloop single, walked and stole a base. He also lost a ball in the lights with 2 outs which let a runner score from first. Pauley picked up his first AA knock as well. All things considered it was a pretty decent debut for the new AA crew.
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#2706 · August 23, 2023, 1:42 pm
Snelling and Henry Baez debut for their new teams tonight, so I'll be closely watching on MiLB network to see how it turns out for them. Both in the high 80's in IP, so it will be interesting as to how long they stay out there. Moving forward to the end of the season, if the pitch counts are low per inning and the innings are not too stressful, might see them both approach 100 IP since they both have good mechanics and their deliveries are relatively simple and efficient. Correction, it is Baez' second start with Ft. Wayne - hope he improves over 1st start.
Update: Both Snelling and Baez had trouble finding the plate today. Snelling, in particular, looked like he's slowed down considerably and that has thrown his rhythm and command off; umpire squeezed him on a few pitches but missed badly at times. Baez didn't have the zip on his breaking stuff and batters were getting a lot of wood on the ball even though it didn't result in that many hits. Both showed persistence and resilience but didn't show the kind of pitch ability than they had earlier in the season.
One of the top prospects that has not gotten as much notice as he deserves is Samuel Zavala. He just turned 19 on 7/15 and you really have to appreciate how far he's come since the beginning of the season, when it took a 4 for 5 day at the plate to get out of April with a batting average over .200. One thing I like about Zavala is his ability to drive in runs; he has a RBI% (RBI per AB) of over 20% in all 3 years he has played; he's comfortable at the #2 hole but could hit anywhere in the middle of the line-up. This year he has a good RISP at .304 BA/955 OPS and an incredible late and close line of .361 BA/1017 OPS! I've watched many a Lake Elsinore game and like his calmness at the plate and not forcing the action. He's gotten much better at not chasing pitches out of the zone although he sometimes takes some strikes that he should be hunting for base hits. Zavala's K rate is at 26% but is manageable with 19% walk rate and his dependability to rise to the occasion.
Zavala is wiry strong, almost skinny, and he doesn't seem to have the frame to add much more weight. Still he does impact the ball well and should continue to show average power at the higher levels, maybe topping out at 20-25 HRs. Defensively, he plays a solid OF, tracking the ball well while showing a good arm; given others in the system that are faster than him and even better at defense, he will likely end up as a corner outfielder. Baserunning has improved, which probably came with getting healthier and better coaching. All in all, think Zavala still has growth potential and while he may not be a star, he can be a solid contributor for the Padres in another 2 years; he'll also be a target by many clubs for trades so enjoy him while you can!
#2707 · August 24, 2023, 5:35 am
This was from a Baseball America chat the other day. It's the first I've heard of any maturity issues, but I've seen the thought that he struggles with velocity up in the zone repeated a lot. I still like him. He seems to have all the tools to be a very good player. If he answers some of the questions about his hit tool he should shoot up the rankings.
Thoughts on Sammy Zavala as a top 100 candidate? Started the year a little slow but seems to have come on strong.
Zavala has certainly made a stronger case for himself as the year has progressed. Having seen a ton of him this year, I still have some questions about how he’ll handle better pitchers that can actually locate their stuff (he has a lot of difficulty making contact against fastballs in the upper part of the zone) and his maturity has always been behind where you’d like it to be, even in the context of other teenagers his age. That said, his ability to get better over the course of the year and make adjustments is promising. For me, if he proves he can make the adjustment to get to located fastballs in the upper part of the zone against better pitching, he’ll then have the type of career outlook where you can say he’s one of the Top 100 Prospects in the game.
#2708 · August 24, 2023, 4:43 pm
It is true he doesn't hit the high strike well and, in fact, seems to avoid swinging at the high strike if possible. I think most LH hitters are more comfortable with pitches that are down and in and Zavala is no exception. He's gotten better at going opposite field and toward center, but he still is pull heavy. What I hope he doesn't do is lose his aggressiveness at the plate and hunt walks as opposed to pitches to hit - that has been the downfall of a number of prospects as well as a big reason Trent Grisham is not as successful as he was when he first came up. Hopefully, we'll see him do well at Ft. Wayne the remainder of the year and add a little more strength over the winter to get a little more impact when he barrels the ball. All the top hitters in the Padres system are left-handed and all have slightly different approaches to hitting. It will be interesting to see which ones are the most successful as they move up against more advanced pitching.
#2709 · August 24, 2023, 6:53 pm
I have to say having watched the last few Missions games Korry Howell looks awful at the plate. His slash line would suggest it's not just a recent thing either. I had some hope for him coming into the season. He's got to be one of the biggest disappointments of the season prospect wise.
#2710 · August 25, 2023, 9:24 am
The Dominican Summer League is in its quarterfinal playoffs. Padres Gold team lost the 1st game of a 2 out of 3 and playing today and tomorrow if they win. One guy the Padres should look at is Oliver Carrillo, who led the league in OPS, runs, walks and OBP. He also was 3rd in HR and RBI and 5th in SA - there are about 1000 position players in the 50 team DSL. He had 66 walks to 45 strikeouts, i.e., 29.3% to 20%, although he only had a .303 average, which still was within the top 50 eligible players.
Carrillo is a little old for the league at 21 but deserves a chance to show what he can do in the ACL next year; this is his second year in the DSL after a token appearance in the Mexican League a year before that. A RH hitter, we have few in the minor league system with this kind of profile. Plays the corners and 1b, but lack of speed may mean he is only a DH prospect down the road if he can carry over his skills stateside.
Update: Wrote the Padres Gold off when they were down 9-0, but they came back to win 15 -12! Another day in the DSL just like El Paso!