Down on the Farm: August 23- Lucchesi and Lawson Dazzle
Franmil Reyes– RF, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
2-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI
For those who don’t know, right fielder Franmil Reyes is a massive six-foot five inches and 240 pounds. With that kind of size, it’s not surprising that he lacks much speed or defensive value, but he has made up for some of his shortcomings with his bat. His lack of tools outside of his power hurts his prospect stock, but Reyes still manages to continually impress with his light tower power. With his home run on Wednesday night, Reyes is now in second place among all Texas League hitters.
Joey Lucchesi– LHP, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
I have said it before and I will say it again; despite being in a rotation filled with legit prospects, Joey Lucchesi continues to be the most aggressive of the bunch every time he takes the mound. Lucchesi did it again on Wednesday, throwing eight strong innings and giving up just two earned runs. Lucchesi has now thrown just shy of 60 innings with the Missions and has clearly been the best of the bunch since being promoted alongside Eric Lauer, Cal Quantrill, and Jacob Nix. It remains to be seen if Lucchesi has the potential ceiling of those other guys, but he has continued to impress as the season has worn on and has a real case to be the Padres pitcher of the year.
Austin Allen– C, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
It’s hard to give Austin Allen too hard a time for not maintaining the torrid pace he was on last month, but he’s still been solid at the plate despite cooling off noticeably. It really doesn’t matter how much Allen hits at this point, because there are still so many questions about whether he can receive well enough behind the plate to be an everyday catcher. Many scouts seem to think he may end up off the position, which would mean he has to hit even more to sustain significant playing time at the next level. However, he’s still just in High-A ball so he has plenty of time to continue to work on his catching craft.
Jesse Scholtens– RHP, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
If there were tiers of Padres pitching prospects, right-hander Jesse Scholtens would probably end up in the third or fourth tier at this point. But given how much pitching talent is in the system, as I have mentioned ad nauseam in this piece, Scholtens is still a decent enough pitching prospect in his own right. He’s struggled a bit since moving from Fort Wayne to Lake Elsinore, but has been somewhat consistent in giving up no more than three runs in almost every start over the last two months. He’s had his games with pretty notable blow ups, but he’s still been solid enough a majority of the time.
Hudson Potts– 3B, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
3-8, 1 2B, 1 HR
Speaking of players who are red-hot, third baseman Hudson Potts continued his tear in a doubleheader on Wednesday. Fresh off winning Midwest League player of the week, Potts collected two more extra base hits, including yet another home run. Since July 1, Potts is sporting a 136 wRC. Since August 1, he’s been even better, with a 217 wRC+ and six home runs in 78 August at bats. With his great second half, Potts has finally pulled himself over a 100 wRC+ on the season. Despite the slow start, Potts is finally turning some heads with his huge second half performance.
Jorge Ona– RF, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
3-7, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Jorge Ona has been relatively consistent throughout the season, although he has cooled off in recent weeks. With that being said, Ona has consistently hovered around a 115-130 wRC+ all season. The biggest concern with Ona as the season has worn on is his lack of in-game power, but he showed what he is capable of with a home run in each game of the TinCaps’ doubleheader on Wednesday.
Reggie Lawson– RHP, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
For every bad start Reggie Lawson has, he bounces back and has a positive start, although he’s now strung together three positive starts in a row. Lawson’s numbers for the year don’t look too great, but that is more of a product of his struggles than anything else. Overall, Lawson has made a lot of positive progress as the season has gone on and he seems to finally be unlocking some more of his potential with every start. Given how much pitching talent the Padres have, Lawson appears to be pretty far down the pecking order. Even so, he has some great stuff himself and shouldn’t go overlooked moving forward.
Justin Lopez– 2B, Short Season, Tri-City Dust Devils
2-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Luis Patino– RHP, Rookie League, AZL Padres
5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
With how much pitching depth the Padres have in their farm system, it has been easy for some guys to get lost in the shuffle, as I have written when it comes to Joey Lucchesi and Reggie Lawson, among others. Another guy that has been impressive as of late is right-hander Luis Patino, who has given up just two earned runs in 21 and two-thirds innings pitched since July 12. More importantly, Patino has struck out 23 batters to just six walks and is showing some impressive composure on the mound. Rookie League performances should be taken with a grain of salt, but Patino is yet another intriguing arm to add to the collection of them in the Padres’ system.
Mason House- OF, Rookie League, AZL Padres 2
3-4, 1 3B, 3 RBI
So far, it looks like the Padres made the right choice when they drafted outfielder Mason House in the third round of this year’s MLB Draft. Through his first 126 at bats, House sits at a 133 wRC+ with two home runs. The strikeouts have been a bit of a concern, as he has struck out in nearly 40 percent of his at bats, but he has still been probably the most consistent hitter on the AZL Padres 2. At just 18 years old, House is showing a lot of long-term potential that fans should really be keeping an eye on.
Cole Bellinger- RHP, Rookie League, AZL Padres 2
1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
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.