Padres To Promote Cal Quantrill to Make Major League Debut
Credit: 1090
Many around the baseball world expected Cal Quantrill to make his Major League debut at the start of the season but, due to his struggles at Spring Training, he was sent down to Triple-A El Paso to fine tune his approach and make his debut near midseason.
It turns out that his debut will be coming much earlier than expected.
The Padres announced today that Quantrill would be brought up to the majors to make his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves. So far, no corresponding move has been made but, since the former first-round pick is not on the 40-man roster, somebody will have to be designated for assignment.
The 4.68 ERA that Quantrill has posted in five starts in El Paso should be taken with a grain of salt, as he allowed six earned runs and eight in total in his first start while only lasting three innings. Since then, Quantrill owns a 2.86 ERA with a strikeout per inning. His last turn in the rotation came on April 26 and saw him toss 4.2 innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts, so he will be making his start on Wednesday with full rest.
For now, the Padres will be employing a temporary six-man rotation to give a break to some of the young arms in both the rotation and the bullpen. 23-year-old Chris Paddack, today’s starter, has already tossed 27 innings in five starts, including seven in his last outing while bullpen convert Matt Strahm, Wednesday’s original starter, will be getting pushed back a day after logging 26.2 innings in five starts. Keep in mind, Strahm pitched eight innings against Cincinnati on April 19th and six innings against Washington in his last outing, so San Diego is extra cautious with him by giving him extra days of rest. Nick Margevicius is another young pitcher the Padres want to give extra rest due to the 30.2 innings he has already pitched in just six starts.
Cal Quantrill, the Padres’ No. 12 prospect and 2016 first-rounder, will make his big league debut on Wednesday night. Sounds like a temporary 6-man rotation as the Friars look to ease the burden on their young arms. https://t.co/7g07pnWNMU
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) April 30, 2019
The bullpen has most recently been stretched to the limit after back-to-back extra-inning games against Washington, so the hope is for Quantrill to carry the load and save some of the arms. He is not likely to get the Pedro Avila treatment and get sent down after one start, so look for him to stick with the team for some time, especially when the team is in the middle of a 13-game road trip.
It is still not known who will be sent down, but the most likely scenario is for a reliever to be sent down as the six-man rotation means that a seven-man bullpen will be utilized. Expect a move to be made sometime later in the day.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.
Padre management knew when Headley was done. Likewise with Weaver. When will they realize that Kinsler is done. Preller needs to own up to his mistakes.