Padres Organization Players of the Week: May 6-12

Here is a look at this past week’s best players throughout the Padres organization.

Farm Batter: Luis Urias (AAA)

Urias continues to play angry after his demotion from the major leagues in April. He was sent back down to Triple-A after batting .083 with a 37.9 percent strikeout rate through 11 games in the Majors. Since his demotion, Urias is batting .360 with nine home runs, 18 RBI, six doubles, a 1.322 OPS and 207 wRC+. This week, he had three separate three-hit games. In fact, all nine of his hits this week came in those three games.

🚨 Luis Urias HR 🚨
The #Padres No. 3 prospect hit his eighth homer (ties his career high) for @epchihuahuas and is hitting .345 over 20 games.

Here's how all @Padres prospects are performing tonight: https://t.co/qhxUsympCE pic.twitter.com/swrgqw6E2q

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 11, 2019

Six of his nine hits were extra bases, as he collected three doubles along with his three home runs. In El Paso’s 7-4 win on Saturday, he went 3-for-4, homering twice with a double and four RBI. With the continued struggles of Ian Kinsler and the lack of production San Diego is getting out of the second base spot (Padres are 27th in OPS for second basemen), Urias’ name may be called soon, this time, perhaps, for good.

Farm Pitcher: Aaron Leasher (A+)

Leasher is a bit of an unknown in the Padres system, which is chock-full of guys like MacKenzie Gore, Luis Patiño and Ryan Weathers. He won’t be for long if he continues to pitch games like the one he did this week. In the Lake Elsinore Storm’s 4-0 win over Visalia on Thursday, Leasher tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out six.

Aaron Leasher throwing strikes last night #EVT @aaronleasher @Storm_Baseball pic.twitter.com/ihBL0O7Z5V

— East Village Times (@EVT_News) May 10, 2019

Leasher was a sixth-round pick by the Padres in the 2017 draft out of Morehead State. This is just his second full professional season as he pitched 24 games between Single-A Fort Wayne and High-A Lake Elsinore last season, with a 3.49 ERA collectively. Leasher has a good slider and a changeup that could turn into a weapon. His goal is to cut down on the walk rate, and a start of six strikeouts with just one walk will help build confidence. He could add to the long list of solid lefties the Padres have lined up in the system if he continues to improve.

MLB Batter: Hunter Renfroe 

MLB Pitcher: Chris Paddack

Paddack was a man on a mission Monday night against the Mets. Pete Alonso was not the only victim, although Paddack called him out individually after Alonso edged out Paddack to win N.L. Rookie of the Month. Alonso went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, looking helpless at the plate against Paddack.

Chris Paddack vs. Pete Alonso being a thing in early May is exactly the sort of thing that’s great for baseball. Two stars in the making going head-to-head with at-bats that feel big. Paddack wins Round 1. He’s got phenomenal stuff and moxie to match. Love watching him pitch.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 7, 2019

Paddack mowed down the entire Mets lineup to the tune of 11 strikeouts in almost eight shutout innings, dominating the matchup with the reigning Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. He has been one of the most impressive pitchers in all of baseball so far this season. He is second in the National League only to Max Scherzer in FIP at 2.30 and seventh in pitcher WAR (1.4). Despite losing out to Alonso for April’s Rookie of the Month honor, he is still very much in the thick of things for Rookie of the Year.

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.