Down on the Farm: August 16- Tirso Ornelas’ Big Night

Kyle Lloyd– RHP, Triple-A, El Paso Chihuahuas
6.2 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

It’s been a bit of a rough go for Kyle Lloyd since returning to Triple-A following his major league debut at the end of July. Prior to Wednesday’s solid outing, Lloyd had three consecutive poor outings, giving up 13 earned runs in just 11 innings. However, Wednesday was a solid bounce back for Lloyd, as he struck out seven batters and got himself into the seventh inning. Lloyd still has the potential to be a backend big league starter, but there’s some work to do to get to that place.

Ty France– 3B, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI

At this point, Ty France is probably on the fringe when it comes to being a real “prospect”, but the potential is certainly there for France to carve himself a big league role in the future. He’s been an above average hitter at every level he’s played at, including a 104 wRC+ in Double-A so far, although there is some concern about him finding a long-term position. He plays third currently, but it’s unclear whether he can ever hit enough to be a regular there. If he doesn’t hit enough, he lacks the versatility to be a useful bench piece at the next level.

Jacob Nix– RHP, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

In talking to Eric Longenhagen on the East Village Times Podcast earlier today, Jacob Nix came up in the conversation, as he is ranked sixth by Longenhagen in the Padres top 10. However, the most interesting part of that discussion was that Longenhagen mentioned that Nix had the best pure stuff of any pitcher in the San Antonio rotation. This is obviously pretty high praise given Nix shares that rotation with the likes of Cal Quantrill, Eric Lauer, Joey Lucchesi, and Enyel De Los Santos. However, Nix has yet to turn those pure pitching tools into results, although he has shown flashes of brilliance in both Lake Elsinore and San Antonio.

Edwin Moreno– DH, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
2-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

The Storm were down late, as they were on Sunday, and once again made a big late inning comeback, this time led by Edwin Moreno, who hit a big three-run home run to put the Storm up for good. At this point, Moreno isn’t really a prospect, but perhaps he could hit enough to be a useful bench-type bat in the future. However, he’s 24 and playing in High-A, so he’s running out of time to really impress before he gets further lost in the shuffle.

Reggie Lawson– RHP, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

The big letdown for Lawson so far this season has been his command, as he has struggled to place his pitches where he wants them. With that being said, Lawson has shown plenty of bright spots, as both his fastball and curveball have flashed as potential plus pitches, while his changeup has shown some promise as well. Even so, Lawson still has a lot of work to do to get on the level of the many other pitchers ahead of him in the Padres’ prospect rankings.

Esteury Ruiz– 2B, AZL Padres
2-3, 2 2B, 1 R

After getting off to a slow start in the Padres organization, second baseman Esteury Ruiz has been on fire over the last few weeks. Since August 1, Ruiz has slashed .375/.457/.650 with a 190 wRC+. Not only is Ruiz showing great bat to ball skills, but he is also demonstrating a good amount of extra base power, with two doubles, three triples, and one home run since August began. He’s a long way away from the big leagues, but if he can continue to develop his power while maintaining strong overall offensive skills, he could be a very valuable big leaguer one day.

Luis Patino– RHP, AZL Padres
4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 7 K

Luis Patino has been really impressive since joining the AZL Padres this season. Still just 17 years old, Patino has had an impressive string of starts, as he has given up just two earned runs over his last five outings. Over the last 21 and two-thirds innings in those five outings, Patino has 23 hitters while walking just six batters. Even though he’s pitching in the AZL, Patino is still just 17 years old and pitching against hitters that are older than him more often than not. There’s still a long way to go before Patino is really on anyone’s prospect radar, but he’s made good strides in a short amount of time.

Tirso Ornelas- OF, AZL Padres 2
4-4, 1 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R

Tirso Ornelas has gotten off to one of the slower starts of the any of the Padres group on teenage international signees. Prior to tonight’s game, Ornelas was slashing just .250/.391/.331 over his first 136 professional at bats. The on base percentage has been encouraging, as Ornelas has been able to maintain a walk rate near 19 percent, but he has yet to see great offensive results and has yet to hit a single home run. However, Ornelas broke out in a big way out on Wednesday night, not only hitting a triple, but also adding two long balls. Ornelas has the potential to be just as good as any of the Padres’ other recent international signees, but the 17-year-old may take some time to get there. Hopefully this is the start of a hot streak for the kid.

Henry Henry– RHP, AZL Padres 2
6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

It was a bit interesting to see the Padres move Henry Henry back down to the Rookie League after a solid start to his season in Tri-City. Following a few shakier outings from Henry in his last two outings, the Padres decided to do what they did with Osvaldo Hernandez when he was demoted to the AZL from Tri-City. That worked well for Hernandez, and the Padres are hoping for a similar result with Henry. Given that Henry is still just 18, it’s fair to move him down to the AZL to work out the kinks. He’s still very young and has plenty of time to develop into a more refined long-term pitcher.

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.