Padres Minors: Down on the Farm- Weekend Recap August 5th-7th

Friday

Austin Hedges, C, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas 3-4, 3 RBI
Another night, another strong performance from Austin Hedges. While the catcher has cooled off significantly as of late, he is still showing he is very capable of providing offense to go along with his strong defense. With Derek Norris still in San Diego it seems unlikely Hedges will get big league time this year. However, a Norris trade this offseason seems very likely, leaving Hedges as the catcher of the Padres future. He certainly more than deserves that distinction.

Kyle Lloyd, RHP, Double-A San Antonio Missions 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K
A 29th round pick of the Padres back in 2013, Kyle Lloyd has had a bit of a rough go of it so far in his professional career. After posting an ERA just below 5.00 in over 137 innings with the Storm last season, Lloyd has been quite a bit better this year with the Missions, posting a 3.73 ERA in just over 100 innings. Lloyd has once again done a good job at limiting walks, but at 25 years old, it may be getting too late to call Lloyd a real prospect at this point.

Jesse Scholtens, RHP, High-A Lake Elsinore Storm 4.2 IP, 4 H 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
Believe it or not, so far the Padres fastest moving 2016 draft pick is right hander Jesse Scholtens, who excelled in his debut with the Lake Elsinore Storm on Friday. Scholtens looked relatively good in 19 innings with the Dust Devils before being promoted to Low-A and pitching in only three innings with the Tincaps before heading up to High-A with the Storm. There were some bumps in the road for Scholtens in his High-A debut, but all in all he looked very effective.

Austin Allen, C, Low-A Fort Wayne Tincaps 4-7, 2 RBI, 1 K
Along with his Triple-A counterpart Austin Hedges, Austin Allen has also been having a fantastic season on the Padres farm. Allen’s average is now at .322 for the season and he now has a 20 game hitting streak currently. Allen has done more than enough to show he can hit enough to be a major league catcher someday. Improving his defense is still the number one concern, and number one priority going forward.

Eric Lauer, LHP, SS Tri-City Dust Devils 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Despite Jesse Scholtens quicker rise, no Padres 2016 draft pick has been as impressive as lefty Eric Lauer. So far Lauer has had three scoreless outings for the Dust Devils, pitching three scoreless innings in each outing and giving up only 5 hits and two walks in total, all while striking out over a batter per inning. Lauer was described on draft day as perhaps the most polished of any pitcher in the draft, and he appears to be showcasing why that is.

Logan Allen, LHP, AZL Padres 1 IP, 2 K
Some big news here as Logan Allen threw a scoreless inning in the AZL in his first appearance since June 8th.

Saturday

Manuel Margot, CF, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas 3-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI
While Austin Hedges has cooled off, outfielder Manuel Margot has seemingly picked up where Hedges left off. After several multi-hit performances this week, Margot’s average is now up to .313, including a .406/.412/.750 slash in his last 10 days and a .384/.418/.616 slash line in his last 30 days. It seems likely at this point that Margot will get a cup of coffee at the big league level this September before gaining the starting center field job in 2017.

Jose Torres, LHP, Double-A San Antonio Missions 3 IP, 1 H, 4 K
Drew Pomeranz may be the most notable name acquired in the Yonder Alonso trade last winter, but Jose Torres is now the player to watch from that deal. Torres had yet another scoreless outing for the Missions on Saturday, his ninth such outing of the last ten, which brought his ERA down to a microscopic 1.23 on the year. After struggling a bit with the Storm to start off the season, Torres has excelled with the Missions at the Double-A level. Given his strong showing, he could be fast tracked to be a contributing member of the Padres bullpen as soon as 2017.

Javier Guerra, SS, High-A Lake Elsinore Storm 3-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
In what has been an increasingly frustrating season for top prospect Javier Guerra, nights like these go a long way to rebuild the young shortstop’s confidence. Although doubts have started to creep in, Guerra is still in the plans as the Padres long-term shortstop of the future.

Marcus Greene Jr., C, Low-A Fort Wayne Tincaps 2-4, 1 K
A quiet day of action in Fort Wayne, but catcher Marcus Greene Jr. continues to excel at the plate for the Tincaps.

Joey Lucchesi, LHP, SS Tri-City Dust Devils 4 IP, 2 H, 7 K
With Jesse Scholtens and Eric Lauer impressing so far this season, Joey Lucchesi has gone somewhat overlooked, although the lefty could be the most impressive of all three. In 25 innings with the Dust Devils since being drafted, Lucchesi has given up only five earned runs and has struck out 31 batters. It’s clear Lucchesi is making the most of his opportunity, and the fourth round draft pick could really start to open some more eyes if he finishes the year strong.

Sunday

Nick Torres, RF, Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
Since being called up to Triple-A full time last week, Nick Torres has been on fire, hitting .372 in that time. With Hunter Renfroe potentially missing some time after being hit by a pitch on Saturday night, Torres will get an even bigger chance to prove himself.

Brad Wieck, LHP, Double-A San Antonio Missions 2 IP, 2 BB, 4 K
Another day, another fantastic outing from Brad Wieck.

Michael Gettys, CF, High-A Lake Elsinore Storm 1-4, 1 R, 3 K
This is the kind of player Michael Gettys is. There will always be loads of talent there with all the tools to succeed, however the swing and miss will always be a part of Gettys game as well. Gettys has done a great job of cutting down the strikeouts this season, but it will likely always at least be some cause for concern long-term.

Jean Cosme, RHP, Low-A Fort Wayne Tincaps 5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
I have written about Cosme a few times in the past for the Padres down on the farm recap, and today is no different. Not much was expected when the Padres received Cosme in return for Odrisamer Despaigne, but so far this year Cosme has greatly outperformed Despaigne. His long-term prospects are still a little hazy, but the potential is certainly now there more than ever.

Jordan Guerrero, RHP, SS Tri-City Dust Devils 5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K
The Padres sixth round draft pick from 2015, Guerrero has had a really up and down season so far this year. It seems like he will have a string of a few good starts before having a bad start. After having a bad start his last time out in July, Guerrero impressed with five shutout innings on Sunday night.

Reggie Lawson, RHP, AZL Padres 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER
While his second appearance didn’t go quite as well as his first appearance, Reggie Lawson still looked strong for the AZL Padres.

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.