Padres Prospect Forum, 27 OCT - 02 NOV

Hello, Padres fans, and welcome back to another week of Padres Prospect discussion. While the reported hiring of Jayce Tingler as the next Padres manager naturally dominated conversation last week, we shouldn’t lose sight of the folks putting in work from Arizona Mexico and around the Caribbean. Let’s take a look, shall we?

• Arizona Fall League: The AFL wrapped up with their Championship game on Saturday between Salt River and Surprise, with Salt River taking the win. For the Padres, C Logan Driscoll did well in limited time, batting .316 in 6 games, and RHP Reggie Lawson gave up only 1 ER and 2 BB while K-ing 14 in 11 IP. Top Prospects INF Owen Miller and INF Hudson Potts struggled, batting .176 and .191 respectively during their time in the desert. We’ll see if any of the AFL players join another of the Winter Leagues.
• Mexican Pacific League: OF Rodrigo Orozco, acquired from Toronto mid-season, joined the MPL. Orozco, a switch-hitting LF-CF with a slight frame, provides mostly depth for the Padres based on on-base skills and a good recognition of the strike zone, though he’ll need to post high batting averages if he hopes to ever make it to the MLB level.
• Dominican Winter League: Josh Naylor cooled off somewhat down in the DR. Still, he’s slashing .341/.386/.415 with 5 RBIs and 3 SBs in 12 games for now expected Padres manager, Jayce Tingler. Since the Dominican Winter League represents the pinnacle of competitive pro baseball in the DR, it may give insights into how Tingler will approach managing in the MLB, and how he likes his teams to play.

That’s the big news from the Winter Leagues. As mentioned above, I’ll add players to each league, as I find them. Go Padres!