Down on the Farm: May 23

Franchy Cordero– OF, Triple-A, El Paso Chihuahuas
3-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Have I mentioned that I like Franchy Cordero a lot? To some, he profiles as just a fourth outfielder type of player, but the potential for more is still there. The Padres obviously have a lot of outfield depth in the major leagues, with the group of Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe, Travis Jankowski, and Alex Dickerson. With that being said, Cordero is still a guy who could break into that mix at some point. In a way, he is actually a similar player to Jankowski, although he lacks the electric speed of Jankowski, but makes up for that loss with more power than Jank. The biggest issue with Cordero, as it is with Jankowski, is the ability to hit enough at the next level to be anything more than a utility-type fourth outfielder. With a .345 wOBA and 106 wRC+ to start off his season, Cordero may just be proving that he can hit.

Kyle Lloyd– RHP, Double-A, San Antonio Missions
6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K

I have written about Jerry Keel several times over the last few weeks as a pitcher who is going a bit overlooked because of how much good pitching the Padres have at the lower levels. Another guy going overlooked in a similar manner is right-hander Kyle Lloyd of the San Antonio Missions. Over the last few weeks, Lloyd has really picked it up, highlighted by his no-hitter last week. Lloyd followed that start with some struggles in his last start, but he once again put on a stellar outing on Tuesday night, getting 12 of 19 batters out by strikeout. Lloyd gave up a few hits and a run, but overall he showed a strong string of dominance. Lloyd still appears to be a fringy future big leaguer, but more outings like this could further move the needle in the right direction.

Javier Guerra– SS, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
2-5, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 0 K

Oh Javier Guerra, how I want you to be good. Since being traded to the Padres, Guerra has a full season of High-A under his belt, in which he slashed just .202/.264/.325 over 391 at bats, and another partial season in which he’s slashed only .185/.240/.274 to this point in the season. However, Guerra has shown at least some life over the last week or two. Sure he’s only hitting .222 over the last ten days, but that’s still an improvement. Tuesday represented perhaps his most productive offensive performance of the season, as the young shortstop not only drove in four runs, but also did not strike out a single time. Let’s hope for more positive development for Guerra going forward.

Pedro Avila– RHP, High-A, Lake Elsinore Storm
7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

We all know the Lake Elsinore Storm rotation is loaded. The likes of Cal Quantrill, Eric Lauer, and Joey Lucchesi have dominated headlines and grabbed plenty of attention. However, this has caused Pedro Avila to go slightly overlooked. Overall, he’s been a lot better than his numbers would demonstrate, as a few bad outings have skewed his season numbers. On Tuesday night, Avila had his best outing of the season, as he threw seven shutout innings and struck out eight hitters. The Padres have taken it easy on Avila to this point, as the right-hander has only pitched every six or seven days to this point. After this latest outing in which Avila went deeper in the game than he ever has professionally, the organization may start to take the proverbial training wheels off.

Logan Allen– LHP, Low-A, Fort Wayne TinCaps
6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Logan Allen pitched on Tuesday night and had yet another great outing. Why is Logan Allen still at Low-A? Many thought Allen should have started as a member of the loaded Storm rotation, but now he has more than proven he deserves a promotion very soon. With the potential promotions of Lauer and Lucchesi looming, Allen should be in Lake Elsinore before we know it. Allen has given up just five earned runs over his last six starts, which spanned 32 innings with 40 strikeouts during that time. Yup, he’s been that good.

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.