The San Diego Padres badly need Randy Vasquez to step up, and Vasquez has been working with Yu Darvish to get there.
The San Diego Padres have been struggling with an assortment of pitching issues, which means right-hander Randy Vasquez has been bumped up to third starter for the moment. This doesn’t sound like good news, but Vasquez has been doing a lot of work on his approach and his pitching arsenal, and manager Craig Stammen is well aware of the tools Vasquez has.
“[I remember] doing a deep dive on his pitch mix, and what type of pitcher he is and what type of pitcher he could be,” Stammen said in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “When we got him, we felt like he was pretty raw and had room for improvement. … Randy’s put in the work. And the hard work has paid off for him.”
It paid off for the Padres, too, as Vasquez delivered the kind of above-and-beyond performance the team needed after dropping back-to-back games against the Detroit Tigers to start the season. He threw six innings of two-hit ball, which gave Stammen his first win as a manager.
Vasquez has been steadily improving, and he’s still just 27. His ERA dropped from 4.87 in 2024 to 3.84 last year, and he’s slowly overcoming his tendency to nibble and get himself into tough situations, as Cassavell described his issues. The writer added that it’s due to Vasquez adding an especially noteworthy pitching mentor in Yu Darvish.
This might sound like an odd pairing, but it seems to be working. Vasquez sought out Darvish, who was willing, and the two began talking or texting after nearly all of Vasquez’s bullpens or workouts, according to Cassavell.
One goal here is was for Vasquez to change his body to add velocity, but there are other goals on the table in this pitching makeover process.
“I feel like I trust my pitches a lot more, based on the routine that I’ve had throughout the offseason,” Vásquez said through interpreter Pedro Gutierrez. “I’m getting a better feel for my pitches and just trusting that the results [will come].”
The timing for all this couldn’t be better for the Padres. Vasquez hit 98 mph against Detroit last night, with his four-seamer averaging 95 to go with a sinker average of 9.5. He also used his cutter, curve, changeup and sweeper to keep Tiger hitters off balance.
“One of the best games Randy’s probably pitched for the Padres,” Stammen said. “He attacked the zone really well, used his fastball, used his breaking stuff, had it all under control today.”
Vasquez also struck out eight, which is a new development given that he’s mostly pitched to contact in the past. He gets ground balls, too, and another prominent San Diego starter weighed in on his potential.
“Randy’s got the highest ceiling,” said Michael King as he recalled a conversation with pitching coach Ruben Niebla. “I was like, ‘If you can develop him and get him consistent, he’s going to be a big league starter.”