Quote from fenn68 on March 6, 2023, 2:06 am

Side on Lopez … Padres took him with the 21st pick. 9 RP were selected ahead of him and 6 teams just passed. The others had full rosters. So, as a starting point, Lopez was not considered a prime target in Rule 5.

Guessing nothing has made him more desirable to inspire a team to claim him on waivers and clog up one of their 13 ML roster pitching slots … so it may boil down to TB and whether they want the guy they left exposed to Rule 5 back for $50K. (Also don’t assume the Padres will go out of their way to trade for him if he does not show well in ST … they do have a large number of arms battling for slots in AAA/AA.

Quote from BoosterSD on March 6, 2023, 2:08 pm

I know its just ST, and a lot of our starters are no longer in camp due to the WBC. But todays game against LAD was very unimpressive. A lot of swinging early in the count, two errors, and still very unimpressed with Campusano.

Catching could be part of the upgrades needed by SD this year during the season. Not sure if we can survive an injury to Nola this season. Martinez did not look very sharp today either.

Quote from 3fingersplit on March 6, 2023, 4:00 pm

Campusano again fails to impress me…his mechanics are terrible from blocking pitches in the dirt to knowing how to funnel a pitch into the strike zone. I read a scouting report on him and the person that wrote it graded him out as a plus defender with great pitch framing ability and blocking skills…if that guy was a scout for my team he would be working for somebody else.

His time with the Padres is tenuous at best in my opinion and his continued failure at the basics makes it hard on pitchers to throw all of their pitches and forget about a breaking ball down with two strikes…what should be a strike out will turn into a runner on first base and ultimately four outs in a inning…as you can tell I am not a fan and can only hope I live long enough to see Salas behind the plate sooner than later …a late season call up in 2023 just for giggles…AAA next year in 2024 and on the 26 man in 2025…like I said one can only hope and he is probably already better than Campusano defensively.

Quote from Randy Manese on March 6, 2023, 10:33 pm

Surprise in ST so far has to be Rangel Ravelo.  Showing good stroke and plenty of patience at the plate.  Ironic that the Dodgers released him in 2021 after he was hitting over .400 at AAA Oklahoma City.  He could be a late career surprise after starting the season in El Paso.

Quote from Randy Manese on March 6, 2023, 11:44 pm

Alfaro's caught stealing percentage last year was 16.1%, while Nola was at 12.5% and 18.6% in 2021; they combined for the worst combo in the majors.  Campusano was at 36.4% at El Paso last year and has not been below 20% since his 1st year in the Arizona Rookie League.  Similarly, his PB rate has been relatively low over the course of his time with the Padres minor league teams.

I know there is a lot more to catching than just throwing out runners, but the bar for Padres catchers compared to last year is not that high.  He is not going to be Realmuto but he certainly is not Gary Sanchez.  In the many games I watched of him on TV at El Paso over the past 2 years, I thought he was at least league average.  The Padres have better minor league catchers in the system - Chandler Seagle and Brandon Valenzuela are two of them - but neither has the hitting potential of Campusano.  If Nola gets seriously injured and Campusano flounders I'm sure Preller will make the call to get someone Melvin likes, but as far as being the #2 catcher behind a healthy Nola, it seems like what we need to find out right now if he can handle that role or a more expanded role in the near future.

Ethan Salas, however, is the REAL DEAL - might be one of the youngest catchers ever to come up to the big leagues but don't think he'll beat out Jim Pagliaroni's MLB debut at 17 years and 248 days.

Quote from fenn68 on March 7, 2023, 2:09 am

I would guess if there is a longer term injury to one of the catchers … Padres add Severino who has the ML experience and some understanding of the pitchers / organization philosophy. If a short IL stint the may just go with Sullivan and avoid the roster move but Sullivan is not really a longer term option.

Reports have Seagle as an elite defensive catcher who cannot hit … at all. However, with the current Padre line-up the offense should not be a problem so they COULD opt for a defensive first catcher if he could hit at least .190 in the ML. Not likely but if the other options don’t cut it ,,, maybe if Seagle shows any bet in the minors.

As for Campusano, most of the stuff I have heard suggest his physical play behind the dash is not the concern (maybe not great but bad with a plus arm and good framing skills). The focus for some is concern about his concentration and his ability to call games / handle pitchers. No idea how significant an issue that is, given the Padres can call the pitches from the bench and now the pitchers can call their pitches with the new remote device.

At this point, pretty much sticking with the Padres willingness to go with Campusano until we actually see his performance during a longer ML run. As I said, this offense (team) can cover a lot of warts at the catching slot.

Quote from BoosterSD on March 7, 2023, 4:07 pm

SD lost today, but a good time at the game with Mr. P. and his son anyway.

Good to finally meet ya Mr. P.

 

Quote from MrPadre19 on March 7, 2023, 4:16 pm

What a great day for this old time Padre fan.

Spent the morning on the back fields watching the youngsters then watching the game with an old friend I just met (Booster).

Juan Soto was taking AB’s in a simulated  game (was surprised he was still there) and got to see him up close and personal.He was asking a Coach what to expect from Cosgrove when he was on the mound,LH sidearm, then proceeded to fly out on a lazy fly ball to LF and  complain (and laugh) the whole way back to the dugout about it.

My biggest take away from the day was this…..Jackson Merrill is just built different.

Everything about this 19 yr old screams super star.

Can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow!

 

Quote from Henry Silvestre on March 7, 2023, 7:30 pm

I thought Honeywell signed a split deal Minor league and MLB.. if he doesn't make the 26 doesn't he just start in the minors? On his milb contract? I know if he is on our 40 all season we gain 5 more yrs of control but does he have to be on the 26? I would guess NO cause he signed a MILB deal.. now if he comes up then obviously he can't be optioned down

 

At least that's how I see it...