Padres Minors: Down on the Farm- July 1st
Prospect of the Day: Austin Hedges, C, Triple-A El Paso: 2-3, 2 HR, 6 RBI
I don’t think there is much else to be said about Austin Hedges at this point. Hedges now has nine home runs over the last eleven games. I wrote about him at length earlier in the week. He needs to be in the big leagues. Like yesterday.
Other Noteworthy Performances:
Hunter Renfroe, RF, Triple-A El Paso: 3-5, 1 RBI, 2 R
Austin Hedges has been getting most of the attention in Triple-A over the last few weeks, but Hunter Renfroe has been almost as good. Hitting .390 with three home runs over his last ten games, Renfroe is continuing to show the kind of hitter he could potentially be at the next level. Given Matt Kemp being entrenched in right field in San Diego, it’s difficult to envision a scenario where Renfroe gets a big league call up this year. With that being said, it’s hard to not see Renfroe as a big leaguer in 2017.
Carlos Pimentel, RHP, Triple-A El Paso: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
The 6.00 ERA isn’t necessarily pretty, but Pimentel has had more good starts than bad over the last month or so. There’s still quite a bit of work to do before he can be viewed as a viable big league starter, but at worst Pimentel wouldn’t be a bad middle reliever at the next level.
Michael Gettys, OF, High-A Lake Elsinore: 2-3, 1 RBI
The same thing that was said about Hunter Renfroe could also be said about Michael Gettys. Gettys is now hitting .412 since earning the call up to High-A and he continues to show enormous potential if he can continue to produce at the plate. A plus defender and runner in center field, Gettys could be a solid regular in the future if he continues putting bat on ball consistently going forward. Definitely some reassuring signs so far in High-A.
Jacob Nix, RHP, Low-A Fort Wayne: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Along with Austin Smith, Nix has been a bit up and down since being drafted by the Padres in 2015. Nix has clearly been the better pitcher so far this season, but both pitchers have been pitching well as of late. Nix still has some trouble with command, and some mechanical adjustments need to be made, but if the secondary pitches come around like they did last night, he could be a solid big league starter one day.
Nate Easley, 2B, Short Season Tri-City: 3-4, 1 R, 1 SB
The Padres 23rd round pick in this year’s draft, Easley has gotten off to a solid start to his professional career batting leadoff in Tri-City. Easley is small, at only 5’10’’, 170 pounds but he has shown consistency with both the bat and glove in his short time in the Padres organization.
Jesse Scholtens, RHP, Short Season Tri-City: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Another recent Padres draftee, Scholtens has been solid so far with Tri-City, giving up only one earned run over his first seven and a third innings thrown. Perhaps most known for his perfect game at Wright State, Scholtens mostly operates with a fastball/slider combination. There’s obviously a need for a third pitch to further develop, but the results are good to this point.
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.