Quote from Randy Manese on April 11, 2024, 6:53 pm

Mazur pitching another beautiful game - 6 innings completed with only 52 pitches thrown!  75% of pitches thrown for strikes with no walks and no runs allowed.  ERA down to 0.82 and WHIP down to 0.55.  He gave up only 2 hits the last time but one was a HR in HR park Amarillo with the gusting wind blowing out.

Quote from fenn68 on April 12, 2024, 1:48 pm

Well Pauley hit the PCL without hesitation.

9 PA … 2 BB … 3 hits … 2 HR (one grand slam) … 6 RBI

Clearly the part-time work with the Padres did little to hurt his bat.

Now is this the result of Pauley being the hitter we want him to be? The PCL is a hitter’s paradise? Just dumb luck in his first two games? All of the above?

He is playing 3B … so Padres continue to work him there in case Machado does not make a rapid return as the every day 3B (expecting Pauley will surpass Wade / Rosario if that comes to pass).

Quote from Randy Manese on April 12, 2024, 3:53 pm

At present, there's more power in Pauley's swing than Merrill's but Pauley has 2 1/2  years of physical growth and more exposure to higher end pitching than Merrill.  Merrill may have the higher HR ceiling, however, but I still think that Pauley could surprise with 15+ HR if he has enough playing time.  What the Padres want out of Pauley on the offensive side is to keep his historical percentages about the same for both walks and K's although they expect a Lowe number for the former and a higher for the latter.  They also want him to maintain good discipline at the plate and not chase outside the zone plus have a good 2-strike approach.  Pauley won't have to hit a ton of HRs while in EP (but he will) just do the expected.

On the defensive side, they have to determine if they can keep him primarily at 3b or whether he has to be more of a utility guy and move around to 1b, LF or be more of a DH.  His range seems adequate and his hands are good, however, sometimes he doesn't get in good position to field the ball and doesn't set his feet, resulting in poor throws.  He already has one fielding error at 3rd and they didn't give him an error when the ball went under his glove (because he didn't get his butt down far enough) in what might have been a DP to get out of an inning.  I think if he can show he can consistently make the routine play at 3b, the long term objective this year may be to rotate him and Manny in and out of the line-up at 3rd base/dh to let the healing process continue on Manny's elbow during the season.  Pauley can also rotate with Campy at the dh, give Croney a blow at 1b, and also fill in for Profar in LF - he just needs regular AB's to stay sharp.  Wouldn't worry too much about Eguy not getting playing time - Pauley's a much better hitter than Eguy and being LH helps the heavily RH hitting everyday lineup.   Pauley will need a little more time to adjust to the outfield but he's a good enough athlete to be at least as good as Profar or Pham in LF.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 12, 2024, 4:23 pm

Well, some pitchers start like they are on fire and other don't make it out of the first inning; unfortunately for Jagger Haynes, he couldn't get an out walking 4 and giving up 2 hits before pulled - only out happened because visiting ran themselves into an out.  Maybe the next time!

Quote from fenn68 on April 12, 2024, 4:45 pm

Barring some unexpected turn of events … have to expect Manny to regain 3B full time at some point … so Pauley probably is only viewed as a short term fill with a bat more productive than Wade (who may in turn be the super utility LHH).

After that his bat likely carries him to the DH role (better than the other current options) and an emergency 1B/2B.

What we should watch out for is over the winter is the Padres start giving Pauley some real work in LF … not much offensive depth for LF … add that to his non-DH value … or on the oft chance Profar does not re-sign with the Padres after 2024.

Pauley bat will define his role more than his fielding.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 13, 2024, 9:14 am

Interesting article in Baseball America on what's happening in the International front, particularly, in the Dominican.  Also in that article a 2027 Padres prospect/potential signee was mentioned - Cesar Altagracia - another shortstop (of course!).  He's a 6:02, LH hitter and there were highlights of him slamming two triples in the gaps and a double down the line with a solid squared up swing.  Looks lanky now but realized that he's barely 13 years old and could fill out some more, which might impact his speed.  A name to keep on the back burners a little less than 3 years from now.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 13, 2024, 9:20 am

Snelling had it going and the one run given up came from a bloop opposite field double down the right field line which was then followed up by a legitimate hard hit single.  Filling up the zone, just like last year, but it seemed like he threw less fastballs and was concentrating on his breaking stuff.  Very efficient and effective - just like Mazur the day before.  Today, hopefully Bergert will do the same but that offense is way out of rhythm.  Less walks, more swing and miss at the breaking pitches, chasing balls way out of the zone all lead to low scoring games so far for SA.

I like the grit of the Ft. Wayne team; they get down but keep coming back.  As the season progresses, this could be a solid team with a much better than .500 record.  However, they'll need their SP staff to step forward and their hitters to follow Salas' lead.

Quote from fenn68 on April 13, 2024, 6:28 pm

Any word on Lizarraga? He is listed as active on the SA roster but has yet to get into a game .. think the only one.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 13, 2024, 7:47 pm

Lizarraga starts tomorrow's game per the San Antonio announcers.  We'll see how he does at this level after a so so year at Ft. Wayne. May not have been fully healthy last year and hopefully has gained a tick or two on his FB to re-establish himself as someone of promise.