Padres Press Clips Wednesday, December 19, 2018 Article Source Author Pg. Padres roster review: Eric Hosmer SD Union Tribune Sanders 2 Padres roster review: Austin Hedges SD Union Tribune Sanders 4 #PadresOnDeck: RHPs Thwaits, Knehr, Mosser Are “Live Arms” from 2018 FriarWire Center 6 Draft Machado's best landing spots, from top to bottom MLB.com Leitch 8 1 Padres roster review: Eric Hosmer Jeff Sanders Sizing up the Padres’ 40-man roster, from A to Z, heading into the 2019 season: ERIC HOSMER • Position(s): First base • 2019 Opening Day age: 29 • Bats/throws: L / L • Height/weight: 6-foot-4 / 225 pounds • Acquired: Free agent in February 2018 • Contract status: Will make $20 million in each of the next four seasons; will make $13 million in each of the three season after 2022 if he does not opt out of his contract. • Key stats: .253 avg., .322 OBP, .398 SLG, 18 HRs, 69 RBIs, 72 runs, 7 steals, 62 walks, 142 strikeouts (157 games, 613 at-bats) STAT TO NOTE • Minus-1.2 – Hosmer’s average launch angle, in degrees, in 2018, last among all 332 hitters who put at least 150 balls in play. Hosmer had previously logged average angles of 5.4 degrees (2015), 3.6 (2016) and 3.8 (2017) in the Statcast Era. The majors’ average angle is 10.9 degrees. TRENDING • Down – Pitchers and catchers had already reported and the first full team workout was nearing when word leaked that Hosmer was on the verge of signing a franchise-record eight-year, $144 million deal. A World Champion with another small market team in Kansas City, Hosmer had homered 50 times over his previous two seasons and logged a career-best 4.1 WAR in 2018, according to fangraphs.com, but a mid-season slump ensured a disappointing start to his first year in San Diego. His .253 batting average was his lowest since hitting .232 in 2012. Hosmer also struck out in a career-worst 21 percent of his plate appearances, including 25.9 percent of his plate appearances while hitting .186 in July. A career-worst 60.4 percent of his batted balls were grounders, giving him plenty of homework to do in his first offseason since signing his free agent deal. A clear schedule, the Padres believe, could help as much as his work to increase his average launch angle. Said Padres manager Andy Greenearlier this month at the winter meetings: “I don't think you're seeing a massive overhaul program. He's definitely working to do some things that he's passionate about doing more consistently this year. He's most excited … about having a normal offseason. Last season was anything but that, where he's getting paraded around in the free agency game, and waiting to land in a place, 2 and basically landed with us the first day of Spring Training last year. So he's definitely excited about just normal offseason with no distractions.” 2019 OUTLOOK • At least Hosmer has nowhere to go but up. The Padres have lauded his approach and demeanor in the clubhouse and dugout, particularly in a down year, and his impact in creating culture in San Diego, but the highest-paid Padre will need to produce in the middle of the lineup if the organization is going to inch toward relevance in 2019 and beyond. PADRES POWER RANKINGS (Currently 40 players on the 40-man roster) 1. Eric Hosmer 2. Austin Hedges 3. Franchy Cordero 4. Jose Castillo 5. Anderson Espinoza 6. Robbie Erlin 7. Miguel Diaz 8. Greg Garcia 9. Austin Allen 10. Pedro Avila 11. Ty France 12. Javy Guerra --- Removed from the roster • Carlos Asuaje (claimed by the Rangers) 3 Padres roster review: Austin Hedges Jeff Sanders Sizing up the Padres’ 40-man roster, from A to Z, heading into the 2019 season: AUSTIN HEDGES • Position(s): Catcher • 2019 Opening Day age: 26 • Bats/throws: R / R • Height/weight: 6-foot-1 / 206 pounds • Acquired: 2nd round in 2011 (JSerra Catholic HS, Calif.) • Contract status: Earned $553,100 in 2018; arbitration-eligible in 2019 (Super 2) • Key stats: .231 avg., .282 OBP, .429 SLG, 14 HRs, 37 RBIs, 29 runs, 3 steals, 21 walks, 90 strikeouts (91 games, 303 at-bats) STAT TO NOTE • 11.8 — Hedges’ adjusted fielding runs above average as calculated by Baseball Prospectus, fifth best among all catchers. The components of the metric include 13.0 framing runs (4th), 0.1 blocking runs (58th) and minus-0.4 throwing runs (113th). TRENDING • Up — A .214 hitter his first full year in the majors, Hedges’ stock appeared on the rise when he homered in his first four spring training games. But the glove-first catcher finished his Cactus League slate with a .162 average, had a .528 OPS by the end of April and found himself on the DL with a sore elbow due to overwork in the batting cage. He missed nearly two months of the season but returned with a vengeance, posting a .905 OPS in 19 games in July and respectable .765 and .712 marks — for a catcher, that is — in August and September. The hottest stretch seemed to coincide with the Padres trading for top catching prospect Francisco Mejia, although there is some belief that Hedges’ bat is simply beginning to catch up to his considerable defensive gifts (see above). “Couldn’t be more pleased with what Austin did the second half of the season, from everything we’ve ever wanted to see from him,” Padres manager Andy Green said last week at the winter meetings. “It started to become second nature to him. And sometimes it takes a while for a guy to get it. … Austin is coming into (the year) in my mind with a lot of momentum from what he did in the second half for us last year.” 4 2019 OUTLOOK • That said, the Padres have a conundrum: Who’s the long-term answer at catcher, Hedges or Mejia? One was once considered one of the top catching prospects in the game. One is the current top catching prospect in the game. One’s glove is ahead of his bat. One’s bat is ahead of his glove. One has already endured the struggles often associated with young catchers at the plate. One is just getting his feet wet in the majors. One was inherited by General Manager A.J. Preller. One was acquired for the organization’s most-coveted trade piece (Brad Hand). Both, naturally, will be part of trade discussions this offseason as the Padres decide which catcher to go all-in on (there’s even talk about acquiring the Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto to further crowd the picture in San Diego, although Mejia’s versatility could mean that both catchers are on the 25-man roster when opening day arrives.PADRES POWER RANKINGS (Currently 40 players on the 40-man roster) 1. Austin Hedges 2. Franchy Cordero 3. Jose Castillo 4. Anderson Espinoza 5. Robbie Erlin 6. Miguel Diaz 7. Greg Garcia 8. Austin Allen 9. Pedro Avila 10. Ty France 11. Javy Guerra --- Removed from the roster • Carlos Asuaje (claimed by the Rangers) 5 #PadresOnDeck: RHPs Thwaits, Knehr, Mosser Are “Live Arms” from 2018 Draft FriarWire Dec 19 By Bill Center Pitchers Nick Thwaits, Reiss Knehr and Gabe Mosser have several things in common beyond being right-handed. All three were taken in the lower rounds of last June’s Draft. And all three averaged well over a strikeout per inning in their first summers of professional baseball. A look at three 2018 Draft picks who have ceilings far above the rounds in which they were drafted: — Nick Thwaits was the Padres’ pick in the 15th round of the 2018 Draft. The 19-year-old was drafted out of Fort Recovery High in Yorkshire, Ohio. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Thwaits spent his first professional summer in the Arizona Rookie League. He posted a 2.42 earned run average with a 1.12 WHIP and a .189 opponents batting average for the Arizona-1 Padres in eight games (five starts). In 26 innings, Thwaits allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 18 hits and 11 walks with 35 strikeouts. That is a rate of 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. — Reiss Knehr was drafted in the 20th round by the Padres out of Fordham University. The 6- foot-2, 205-pound 22-year-old is a native of Glen Head, N.Y., Knehr started his first professional season as Thwaits’ teammate in Arizona, but he was promoted to Single-A Fort Wayne for three appearances late in the summer. 6 Overall, Knehr was 3–1 with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP and a .200 opponents’ batting average in 20 appearances (one start) between Arizona and Fort Wayne. He allowed 16 runs (13 earned) on 26 hits and 15 walks with 45 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Knehr had a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. — Gabe Mosser, 22, was the Padres’ 27th-round pick last June out of Pennsylvania’s Shippensburg State University. The 6-foot-4, 179-pound Mosser is a native of Allentown, Pa. Mosser started his first professional season with the Short-Season Single-A Tri-City Dust Devils and ended it at Fort Wayne, where he allowed one unearned run on eight hits and a walk with 18 strikeouts in 12 innings over three appearances.