Down on the Farm: April 24 – Tatis Busts Out with Two Home Runs

El Paso Chihuahuas Off

San Antonio Missions (10-9) Lost 5-2

As has been the case for the majority of the season to date, most of the Missions’ offense in this one came from Austin Allen and Josh Naylor. I probably should clarify that point, as four of the Missions’ six hits came from those two. However, both of the Missions’ runs came from an unlikely source: shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. The Missions fell down 2-0 in the second inning, but Tatis single-handedly brought them back with solo home runs in the sixth and ninth innings. However, left-hander Jose Castillo gave up three runs in extra innings to lose the game for the Missions. Logan Allen pitched a solid six innings while Jason Jester threw two scoreless innings in relief.

Lake Elsinore Storm (9-11) Won 3-1

The Lake Elsinore Storm pushed across the first run of the game on an RBI single by Marcus Greene Jr. in the top of the second. Eguy Rosario added another run on an RBI double in the top of the fourth. A balk plated the only run of the game for the Giants in the bottom of the fourth. The Storm added another run on a sac fly by Luis Torrens in the seventh to put the game at 3-1. The Storm added two ninth inning runs to solidify the game. Reggie Lawson, Austin Smith, Blake Rogers, and Gerardo Reyes combined for only six hits and two earned runs in nine innings and sealed the win for the Storm.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-12) Lost 5-0

Similarly to the rest of their early season, the TinCaps once again failed to produce much of anything on offense on Tuesday. The TinCaps managed only four hits and zero runs this time, with only Esteury Ruiz (2-4), Luis Campusano (1-4), and Gabriel Arias (1-4) getting hits while Jeisson Rosario, Carlos Belen, and Tre Carter all managed walks. Aaron Leasher wasn’t terrible on the mound, but he did give up five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out six. Evan Miller and Jordan Guerrero combined for four and two-thirds scoreless innings in relief.

Prospects of Note

Fernando Tatis Jr. – SS, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

So, as just about everybody knows by now, Fernando Tatis Jr. has gotten off to a very slow start in Double-A this year. Through his first 17 games this year, Tatis slashed .183/.192/.296 with a 15 wRC+ and 24:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Obviously those numbers aren’t great to see, but a 19-year-old playing in Double-A is bound to struggle at some point. After batting at the top of the lineup for a majority of the year, Tatis was moved to the leadoff spot on Tuesday night and it seemed to pay dividends. Not only did Tatis club two home runs on Tuesday night, his second and third of the season, but he also did not strike out. What this all means is that Tatis will be fine. He is still one of the best prospects in baseball and will continue to be a player to watch as the season progresses.

Austin Allen – C, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB

Has there been a more impressive hitter in the Padres’ organization of the non-Josh Naylor variety than Austin Allen? Austin Allen had yet another multi-hit performance, as well as another extra base hit. Allen is now up to a .369/.423/.754 slash line on the year with seven doubles, six home runs, and nine multi-hit games. Allen has also struck out just 10 times while walking five times. If Allen continues to destroy Double-A pitching, he could be on the fast track to a Triple-A call-up some time this season.

Logan Allen – LHP, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

It’s easy for a Padres pitching prospect to get lost in the shuffle with the sheer depth of talent up and down the system. However, Allen seems to be a guy who is regularly overlooked in favor of the guys above him and the ones below him. At least partly due to his somewhat boring consistency, Allen has not garnered the attention he deserved. After posting a 2.95 ERA over 125 combined innings between Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore last year, Allen has posted a 4.15 ERA in 21 and two-thirds innings so far in Double-A. The big knock on Allen so far has been his slightly high walk rate, but he has been able to strike out enough batters to even it out a bit. Nearing the age of 21, Allen could be on track for a big league debut in the next few years if all goes well.

Luis Torrens – C, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI

After pretty much losing a year of development in the big leagues last year, Luis Torrens has a very important developmental year in 2018. So far, all has gone well, as Torrens has slashed .302/.351/.509 this year while showing solid defense behind the year. Torrens has also managed six extra-base hits, including two home runs.

Reggie Lawson – RHP, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Speaking of minor league pitchers being overlooked, Reggie Lawson was left off the MLB Pipeline Padres top-30 prospect list entirely going into the season. However, with the promotion of Franchy Cordero, Lawson slid back into the bottom of the top-30. So far in four outings, Lawson has been very impressive, giving up only three earned runs in his first 20 innings while striking out 24 batters to just three walks. Lawson still has a ways to go, but he’s made some significant strides to begin the season.

Esteury Ruiz – 2B, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
2-4, 2 K

Patrick Brewer

Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.