Contrary To Popular Opinion, Padres Have Prospects In Pipeline

The San Diego Padres made a major addition from their farm system as catcher Ethan Salas shot up the ranks and joined the team, which automatically raises the “who’s up next question. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com took a run at answering that question and a couple of others in an illuminating piece that definitely rates a closer look. 

On the radar

Tucker Musgrove, RHP. The upper levels are where the Padres struggle right now, as Cassavell stated that Tucker Musgrove is the only top ten prospect who could make an impact next year. He struck out 68 hitters in 34-1/3 innings, and if Musgrove can solve his walk isssues, he could be the next electric arm to join the already impressive Padres bullpen. 

Ryan Wideman, OF. Wideman has been widely lauded for his tools, and at this point his problem is making contact. His slash line in his first professional season was .314/.389/.504 with Single-A Lake Elsinore, although he struggled at High-A Fort Wayne. That’s typical, but Wideman also brings speed to the table, as he stole 65 bases while playing well in center field. 

Winyer Chourio, RHP. Chourio also had issues making the jump from Single-A to High-A, but he did pitch to a 3.31 ERA at Lake Elsinore while striking out 74 hitters in 51-2/3 innings. He may turn out to be a bullpen arm, but so far the stuff plays for the Venezuelan prospect. 

Breakout players

Elliot Lascelles, SS. Lascelles is a scrappy hustle player who came from out of nowhere to his .321 with an .835 OPS for Lake Elsinore, and the Canadian native has been praised for his approach at the plate and his ability to make contact. 

Lan-Hong Su, RHP. The Padres signed Su out of Taiwan, and he struggled initially at Lake Elsinore, but his ERA of 3.22 while striking out 40 of the 91 hitters he faced has the Padres excited for his future. 

The big question

As Cassavell noted, no prospect is safe in the Padres system with GM A.J. Preller about to be roaming the GM meetings in November looking for possibilities, but the writer also noted that Preller had chances to deal Musgrove and No. 2 prospect Kruz Schoolcraft this summer. 

There’s “a method to his madness,” per Cassavell, and given this tidbit about the Padres’ two pitching prospects it will be interesting to see what Preller does or doesn’t do given the direct involvement of the new ownership group this time around.