Padres Press Clips Friday, March 8, 2019

Article Source Author Pg. Padres prospect knows a few things about motivation – thanks The Athletic Lin 2 In part to his friend John Cena

Padres hit five homers in victory over Rangers SD Union Tribune Acee 13

Padres bullpen experiencing change, growing pains SD Union Tribune Acee 15

Padres roster review: Aaron Loup SD Union Tribune Sanders 19

Padres look to improve rotation from within MLB.com Cassavell 23

The latest news on Fernando Tatis Jr. MLB.com Staff 26

Padres prospect Mejia continues to hit, work on his defense Associated Press Staff 28

Today in Peoria 3/7 FriarWire Lafferty 30

Andy’s Address, 3/7 FriarWire Center 32

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Padres prospect Logan Allen knows a few things about motivation — thanks in part to his friend John Cena Dennis Lin, The Athletic On a Friday night last January, three childhood friends, now entering their 40s, sat down in an upscale Tampa restaurant. One had flown in that morning from Texas. Another had caught a red-eye from California. The group’s third member, the owner of a local gym, was hosting a spontaneous weekend. It already had been a busy day. An airport pickup. Breakfast. An invigorating workout with a world-class trainer. A detour to shower, hit some golf balls and change for dinner. Around 7 p.m., the trio walked through the doors of an Ocean Prime steakhouse. By the time they vacated the premises, it was approaching 3:30 a.m. The marathon quality of their patronage spawned an inside joke: A running text chain includes mentions of #3checks, a reference to the number of times they thought they were closing out. More than a year later, another hashtag remains in circulation. That same January evening, inside the same establishment, the #OneDollarBet emerged from a chance meeting with a Padres pitching prospect and a conversation that stretched into the early hours of the morning. The amount was trivial, the stakes life-changing. The memory is so indelible that the gym owner agrees to take a phone call on short notice. Never mind that he is shooting a movie in Canada. Speaking from Vancouver, John Cena launches into an account of how he came to make a friendly wager with Logan Allen. The opening question prompts an eight-minute response from one of the most famous people in North America. “If it can be a nice fuel in the back of the fire of Logan’s head to be like, ‘You know what? Eff that John Cena. I’m going to make him pay me that buck and I’m going to stuff it down his effing throat’ — that, to me, is just great,” Cena says. “He is the type of guy who, at the end of the night, when you’re shaking hands, you walk away and say, ‘Man, I really hope 2 that kid makes it.’ Because he’s a bright, wonderful young man with a great head on his shoulders who has a genuine gift, realizes he has a gift, and you want to see nothing but good things happen for somebody like that. Those who witnessed the #OneDollarBet still laugh at the randomness of it all: Three companions went to dinner to catch up and reminisce. Later, as the hours flew by, they sat enthralled by a new friend half their age. “It was just one of those weird things in life where the stars align,” Colin Young says. The origin of this story can be traced to the 1980s and a quaint town north of Boston. Young was a kindergartener in West Newbury, Mass., when he met Cena and Rob Vetere, who lived next door to each other a short bike ride away. The three of them became inseparable, attending classes together, playing and football together, rooting for the together. From Little League through high school, Young starred on the mound as Vetere crouched behind the plate. Once, Vetere remembers, Young sweated through a 103-degree fever to deliver a complete game and a state title. The left-hander went on to play at Fordham University before the Colorado Rockies selected him in the ninth round of the 1999 draft. Cena, meanwhile, displayed an aptitude for weightlifting, eventually dropping baseball for football. Like Young, he tackled his endeavors with uncommon zeal. At Springfield College, he molded himself into a Division III All-American center. After school, he worked his way from an unknown to the pantheon of professional wrestling. Along the way, Cena learned to play the piano and how to hold entire press conferences in Mandarin. “Those two guys,” Vetere says of Young and Cena, “have got a drive that I’ve never seen in other people.” Vetere wound up on the other side of the country, enrolling at Arizona State and bartending in the area. The move proved fortuitous, allowing Vetere to host his friends on multiple occasions. Young logged two stints as a prospect in the . Cena debuted in the ring with

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Ultimate Professional Wrestling, which took him to such places as Mesa, Ariz. But as they continued pursuing separate careers — Cena as a burgeoning star in what became World Wrestling Entertainment; Young as a professional and, later, a family man; Vetere as a manager in the food and beverage industry — they started to see less of each other. It wasn’t until two years ago that they truly reconnected as a group. The texts started to flow again. They widened into a constant stream, built around what Young and Vetere say is Cena’s genuine ethos. “We motivate each other, or we can bounce ideas off each other,” Young says. “We can just reach out to each other and be that support for one another.” “I hear from them every day,” Vetere says. “Sometimes you wake up to 30 missed messages.” So, when Cena invited his friends to Tampa for a guys’ weekend, Young and Vetere did not hesitate to book flights. A few hours after they landed, they were at Hard Nocks South, a private training facility. They shrugged off the jet lag as Cena’s personal trainer, Rob MacIntyre, tested their pain tolerance. “Some meathead stuff,” laughs Vetere, who credits a program scripted by MacIntyre and Cena for helping him overcome back problems. By the end of the weekend, Young had set personal records in the squat and deadlift. “It’s the motivation aspect of who John is,” says Young, who retired from baseball more than a decade ago. “He always had super hyperfocus on accomplishing goals and setting goals. In that sense, he hasn’t changed at all. “Honestly, I would say he’s pretty much the same guy I knew back then, just on a grander scale.” That night at Ocean Prime, between bites of steak and sips of red wine, Young noticed something unfolding at an adjacent table. He saw what appeared to be two minor-league baseball players sitting with what appeared to be two baseball agents. The agents appeared to be selling something. Alarm bells went off inside Young’s head.

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Without officially tasting the majors, the former pitcher had acquired extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the sport. He compiled strong numbers on his way to A. He met his wife at a ballpark in Frisco, Texas. (The cute blonde’s father, it turned out, was four-time All- Star Jack Clark.) Young landed on Colorado’s 40-man roster, only for a sports hernia and groin surgery to reduce him to a spectator for a season at Coors Field. When the Rockies tried to demote him to Single A, he requested his release. He ended up signing with the Red Sox organization, but his dream of playing in Fenway Park never came to fruition. More injuries pushed him to independent ball and, in 2007, retirement. He and his young family settled down just minutes from the Frisco ballpark. Today, Young is a biotech consultant, an insurance agent and a youth sports coach. A father of three, he visits Disneyland roughly twice a year. Vetere, now the general manager of Volcano Rabbit, a restaurant in downtown San Diego, often drives up to join in these excursions. “They’ve welcomed me in,” says “Uncle Rob,” who sheds his fear of heights for Space Mountain rides with the kids. Leaning on personal experience, Young also counsels young athletes and their families about the complex world of collegiate and professional sports. He once strove to reach the highest level himself. Health was not the only obstacle. Agents, often harboring ulterior motives, presented another. Now, his radar was going off. “Having sons, I went into dad mode,” Young says. Young alerted Cena of his suspicions: At the next table over, two agents seemed to be courting, and possibly taking advantage of, two young baseball players. “Really? You think that?” Cena asked, his interest piqued. “I’ve been in that situation, I know what it feels like, I know what it looks like. I think that’s what’s going on,” Young replied. “OK,” Cena said. “We’re going to find out.” Springing into action, Cena silently paid for the supposed baseball players’ bill. Then he strode over to their table and politely asked if, after dinner, they would come sit with him and his friends. Starstruck, the 5 young men agreed. The older of the two later recalled that Cena passed by a second time and “he’s like, ‘Hey, just wanted to make sure you’re still going to come over.’” Soon, Allen and Ryne Stanek, a pitcher for the , were introducing themselves to Cena, Young and Vetere. Young immediately recognized both names, including Allen, a former Red Sox prospect of considerable repute. The baseball players revealed they indeed had been dining with a pair of agents. Young’s intuition was correct. (Only recently did Cena and his friends learn the agents were MVP Sports Group’s Dan Lozano and Matt Hannaford. Stanek had been seeking new representation. Allen, already with MVP, suggested his offseason training partner interview the agency. Stanek hired MVP shortly thereafter.) With that settled, Cena dug deeper. “John likes to get to know you,” Young says, “and what makes you tick.” They learned that Stanek was coming off his first season in the majors. That, two years earlier, Allen had been traded to San Diego in a deal for ace . That he was still some distance from his own big-league debut. That, at 20, he was determined to close the gap. Then Allen began to talk about his older brother and the chief source of his motivation. On the phone, Cena’s voice wavers for a second. He has four brothers himself, including one who survived Stage 4 brain cancer. “I can relate to a lot of the things he was saying,” Cena says. “It made all of us tear up at dinner, and you can tell in moments like that, in conversations like that, that this person’s a good person. “For someone to become that vulnerable at a dinner table, essentially with strangers, also says something about the young man. Vulnerability is a true strength, but it’s not a strength that a lot of people have.” At age 2, Philip Allen developed a condition that affected the capillaries in his brain. He slipped into a coma. He resurfaced 15 months later. According to his mother, Dale, doctors predicted he would not survive two years out of the hospital. They were wrong. But Philip, now 31, has not led a normal life since he was a toddler. He has what can best be described as a severe case of cerebral palsy. He 6 cannot talk or walk. He requires the use of a wheelchair, a tracheostomy tube and, at night, a ventilator. The Allens have 24-hour nursing care in their home in Asheville, N.C., and Philip is cortically blind. “He sees out of his periphery, black and white and shadows,” Dale says. Logan arrived when Philip was 10, Bryson Allen four years after that. The two younger brothers came to embrace the fact their own lives would never be normal. Dale shares something else. When Logan was young, he climbed onto Philip’s lap and sat there, sharing his older brother’s wheelchair. More often than not, Philip had kept his eyes closed. Now, they widened. He learned his sibling’s voice, smiling and kicking his feet in recognition. “As good as it was for Logan and Bryson learning compassion and standing up on the side of right for kids that were bullied, for Philip, I could say he was sort of like a shell, like an empty shell,” Dale says. “And when I had Logan, he sort of broke out of that shell. “Having the boys, it stimulated Philip.” The reverse effect is similarly profound. After his sophomore year of high school, Logan left home in North Carolina to attend IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. FaceTime sessions with Philip became a daily highlight. Sometimes, during the evening, Dale stands in the doorway of Philip’s bedroom with her iPhone so Logan can watch his brother as he rests. The logic for sending Logan to a boarding school was twofold, Dale says. IMG, a destination for elite scholastic athletes, offered special training and visibility. The Allens also worried their middle son had grown too attached to his older brother, perhaps because of a frightening episode. At a young age, Logan walked in on his parents attempting to resuscitate Philip, who’d gone into respiratory arrest. Logan dialed 911. Then he called Darren Holmes, a family friend who lives less than two miles away. It was Holmes, a former major-leaguer and Logan’s travel-ball coach, who recommended he pursue a career as a pitcher. Moving to Florida enabled him to do so with fewer distractions, though he still thought often of home. Early one Saturday, IMG baseball director Dan Simonds

7 phoned Dale. “You’re not going to believe what your son’s doing right now,” Simonds said. Logan, it turned out, was the rare student-athlete who volunteered on weekend mornings, helping handicapped children play baseball at a nearby affiliate of the National Miracle League Association. “My kid’s probably one of the most compassionate, understanding, go- for-the-underdog kind of kids,” Dale says. As a senior, Logan earned IMG’s awards for outstanding pitching, character and community service. His drive, he says, is largely owed to Philip. “He doesn’t have the ability to play any sort of sport and barely can even move, really,” Logan says. “The fact that he enjoys listening to games (on the radio), it makes him happy — it makes me want to play even better. Because a lot of people don’t get the chance to do that.” Logan and Bryson grew up glued to the television on certain nights, captivated by the theatrics of professional wrestling. Even Philip, sitting nearby in his wheelchair, seemed to enjoy the volume of a WWE production. Years ago, Dale rewarded her younger sons for Student of the Month awards with ringside seats to a live show. Upon arrival, their father called home. “He said, ‘Do you realize there are half-dressed women running around?’” Dale recalls. “I’m like, ‘No way, get them out of there!’” Dale’s concerns would abate. Her sons were fixated on their favorite wrestler, so close they could almost touch him. On a Friday night last January, Logan found himself transported back in time. Sitting at the next table over was John Cena, his childhood idol. Allen texted his mother, who didn’t believe it. He supplied proof, sneaking a photo from where he sat, but otherwise attempted to act normally. “I’m trying not to look over, and I see tons of people walk over and get pictures with him,” Allen says. “And, even mid-dinner, he would get up every single time to take a picture with anybody. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty incredible.’”

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Suddenly, Cena was standing beside their table, tapping Allen on the shoulder. Lozano and Hannaford delivered the rest of their pitch to Stanek. Allen, of course, did not need to be sold. Both struggled to concentrate. “Like, this is John Cena,” Stanek says. “He’s, like, a legit celebrity.” Then, they were sitting with him. Their nerves melted away as Cena fired off questions about their backgrounds and careers. “It was like, ‘This guy actually cares, and he’s not just a TV persona.’ He’s just an unbelievable human being,” Allen says. “It was definitely a surreal moment.” Soon, both sides were opening up, Allen in particular. Hours flew off the clock. “We really got to know Logan and what he stands for, his value system, why he plays the game, what are the most important things in his life,” Cena says. “I could tell even within an hour of meeting this young man that he has his head on straight and is a really good judge of character. And I admire that, because I only wish I had those traits at my age. And I began to think, ‘Wow, this is someone I want to help.’” By then, Cena had deduced that Allen’s big-league dream was more than a faint possibility. The Red Sox drafted the left-hander out of IMG in 2015, giving him $725,000 to forgo college. His transition between organizations had been relatively seamless; in his first full season after being traded, he finished with an impressive ERA and averaged better than a per inning. Cena kept listening. Sometime deep into the night, he made his wager. “I’m going to bet against you,” he told Allen. He cited the percentages, which, objectively, are formidable for the overwhelming majority of minor-leaguers. He referenced his own career and the numerous times he had been discounted. Before he rocketed to fame, he cleaned toilets and lived out of a car. “John’s a self-made guy. There’s no doubt about it,” Young says. “No one’s ever handed him anything.” Cena delineated the terms of the #OneDollarBet: If Allen indeed failed to reach the major leagues, he would owe Cena a signed dollar bill 9 acknowledging his wisdom. If Allen proved him wrong, the reverse would apply. “Essentially, the wager’s amount was so small it was irrelevant,” Cena says. “I just kind of wanted to give Logan the perspective of, there is always a force in the universe that is going to say, ‘You have a large hill to climb in front of you, and I don’t believe you can do it.’ And sometimes that little small piece of energy is enough to get you over that hill.” More than a year later, Allen, 21, is in his first big-league camp with the Padres, a team desperate for quality starting pitching. Last season, they watched him spearhead a combined no-hitter, win the Texas League Pitcher of the Year award and notch a 1.63 ERA after an August promotion to A. It might not be long before Allen gets to call home and tell Philip his brother is a big-league pitcher. “He’s going to do great things, man,” Stanek says. Three 41-year-olds from West Newbury have followed all of this, too. That night at Ocean Prime, Allen smiled gamely and shook Cena’s hand. “I’m going to do it,” he said then.“You’ll see.” The #OneDollarBet was born. Phone numbers were exchanged. “We have a very competitively friendly banter back and forth,” Cena says. “Hell, it’s inspirational to me. If I’m feeling down, it helps me work harder.” In the text chain, Allen’s progress is a regular topic of conversation. “You wouldn’t believe how often we talk about it and just how we’re rooting for him,” Young says. If Cena loses the wager, he intends to settle it at Petco Park, before one of Allen’s first games as a big-leaguer. The plan, Cena says, is for Young to fly in as well, so the left-hander can toss a ceremonial first pitch to Vetere, his old batterymate. “That kind of says it all about John, that ‘I’ll do it if Rob and Colin are there,’” says Vetere, who expects to attend more than a few Padres games this year. “He doesn’t have to do that.”

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Then, right there on the field, with thousands bearing witness, Cena will shake Allen’s hand and fork over a signed dollar bill, gladly admitting defeat. “It’ll be the greatest dollar that I ever spent,” Cena says. He adds: “And then, hopefully, it will be the start of a wonderful experience, ride and career for a young man who — I hate the word ‘deserve’ and I’ll never use it — but who has earned it.” Allen intends to collect as early as the end of this month. Shortly before he arrived at the Padres’ spring-training complex, Cena sent him a text wishing him luck. Now, is just three weeks away. The rotation race remains wide-open. “Not that I wasn’t motivated before, but it was cool to have someone who was at the top of his career and literally, I think, one of the most famous people in the country motivating someone at a different level,” says Allen, whose lasting memory of that evening was Cena’s interest in Philip. (“He went out of his way to check on my brother who he’d never met and only heard a story about, and that to me was one of the coolest things ever.”) Cena’s friends did not anticipate their Ocean Prime visit would attract this much attention, but looking back, they are far from surprised. “That’s what John does,” Young says. “He makes you believe in yourself and feel good about others, and he pushes you to do great things. That’s why he’s such a great person.” Unprompted, Young raises another example. Over the winter in Texas, he coached a sixth-grade basketball team with two autistic children on the roster, including a boy named Howard Li. Howard’s family had emigrated from China within the past year. Making friends was a challenge, and Howard had never played basketball before. Then he received a message of encouragement. The next time Young saw Howard’s mother, there were tears in her eyes. “You don’t know how much that meant and what that did for Howard,” she said.

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Halfway through the season, Howard scored his first basket. “I went crazy. Everyone in the stands went crazy,” Young says. Another message followed, bearing congratulations. Cena hopes more of the same will soon be required. On the phone, he speaks at length about his unlikely friendship with a Padres minor- leaguer. That title may end up being tweaked. Should that happen, what might it mean for the allegiance of a kid from West Newbury? Cena grew up rooting for the Red Sox for more reasons than proximity; a grandfather, Tony Lupien, wore their uniform for parts of three seasons. “I think being a fan of a team is about the connection you have with the individuals on that team, or personal experiences,” Cena says. “I remember having my heart broke watching the Red Sox lose the World Series in ’86 with my grandfather, and that’s a really special connection that I have with that man and with that team. “What I will say is I have a special connection with Logan. That means that I may not essentially ‘dump’ the Red Sox, but I may also adopt the Padres. That’s what sports are all about. It’s about people coming together and connecting over these wonderful moments because we care. And Logan is somebody who made me care.”

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Padres hit five homers in victory over Rangers

KEVIN ACEE, SDUT

Score: Padres 11, Rangers 8

Batter’s box: It was against a pitcher who has thrown five innings above Double-A, but the Padres scored four runs on two doubles sandwiched between two home runs before Jordan Romano got an out in the fifth inning. The four successive hits we by the top four batters in the order, which could be the top four batters in the order on opening day. … Ian Kinsler led off with a home , Eric Hosmerand doubled, and followed with a that almost cleared the large tent beyond left field, perhaps 440 feet from home plate. … Reyes is 7-for-18 with three doubles and a home run after beginning the spring 0-for-5. … Hosmer has four hits in his past nine at-bats and has doubled in consecutive games. The player who had the second-highest groundball rate in the majors last year has put half his past eight balls in play in the air. … Francisco Mejia homered for the second straight game. He leads the team with a .474 batting average (9-for-19). … Top-30 prospects Austin Allen and Hudson Potts also homered. Potts’ homer cleared the 50-foot batters’ eye in center field…

Valhalla High alum Greg Garcia, who seems on a pace that will lock up a utility infielder spot, singled and was hit by a pitch. His .526 on-base percentage in 19 plate appearances leads the team.

Balls and strikes: With a double and home run by the first two batters he faced, left-hander Nick Margevicius allowed as many hits and more runs than he did in his first two starts. The 22-year-old, who has one start above Single-A, ended up allowing three runs on four hits in the first inning. His usual precision was not there in the three innings he worked (one shy of his hoped-for distance). Margevicius struck out three, walked two and did not allow a hit after the first. … Hard-throwing right-

13 hander was especially effective with his in working a perfect inning. He has struck out two batters in each of his three scoreless innings this spring.

Extra bases: Machado fielded his first ground ball of the spring, handling an odd hop in front of him and throwing a strike across the diamond for the second out of the third inning. … Kinsler and Hosmer both stole second base in the first inning. The team’s 24 steals lead the majors this spring. … The Padres are atop the Cactus League standings with an 8-4 record.

On Deck: will make his third start. The 23-year-old right-hander, the Padres’ second-ranked pitching prospect, has struck out seven and allowed five hits in 4 2/3 innings.

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Padres bullpen experiencing change, growing pains

Kevin Acee, SDUT

The Padres are an improved team this season. Of this, there can be little doubt.

But the part of their team that coming into camp was considered the strongest component is suddenly full of questions.

Anchored at the back end by the same reliable arms, kneaded daily by the same sages and still possessing plenty of promise, sure.

But in flux, nonetheless.

The bullpen has taken some hits.

Power left-hander Jose Castillo going down with a flexor strain that will cause him to miss at least the first month of the season might be easier to take if another young lefty, Brad Wieck, weren’t starting the season late due to his recovery from testicular cancer.

And the Padres are really going to need tall hard-throwing right-hander Trey Wingenter to continue to refine his ability to hit different parts of the strike zone while , one of the not-so-tall hard-throwing right-handers, works to rediscover the zone at all and the other not-so-tall righty, Miguel Diaz, works back from a knee scope.

Good thing the two veterans at the back end, and Kirby Yates, are still there. It certainly helps, too, that the Padres since camp started added two more veterans, left-handed specialist Aaron Loup and right-hander Adam Warren. And if left-hander Robbie Erlin is headed back to the bullpen, where he posted a 2.05 ERA last season, he provides rare coverage in short and long stints.

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“We’re going to be OK in the bullpen because we have depth,” bullpen coach Doug Bochtler said Thursday. “… It takes a lot of pitchers to make it through a big-league season. And whoever takes the mound, it’s going to be with the expectation of putting up a zero.”

There is history that says Bochtler isn’t just blustering.

Through whatever comes his way, pitching coach Darren Balsley for 15 seasons — with Bochtler as his bullpen coach the past three — has prodded Padres relievers to remarkably consistent effectiveness.

Since the start of 2004, the Padres bullpen has the majors’ lowest ERA (3.56), lowest rate of walks and hits per inning pitches (1.27), fourth-lowest batting average against (.239) and has allowed the ninth-fewest inherited runners to score (29.9 percent).

Last season, through a first half in which it was one of the softest-throwing groups in the majors and a second half in which it featured some of the hardest throwers, the Padres had one of the game’s best bullpens.

At the end, they were sixth in ERA (3.51), third in WHIP (1.19), sixth in BAA (.230), fourth in per nine (10.2), second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.48) and second in the percentage of inherited runners that scored (25.9).

They did that while having 17 pitchers throw at least 10 innings in relief. Only the Mariners(18) used more. Even with the 34-year-old Stammen and 31-year-old Yates, the average age of those 17 relievers was 27.9, which tied for third youngest in the majors behind Pittsburgh (26.3) and Cincinnati (26.9)

The constitution of the bullpen remained consistent even as its makeup could be divided almost precisely in two — with the July 19 trade of relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber to Cleveland in exchange for Francisco Mejia.

Hand was an All-Star, and Cimber had become an innings-eater while posting a 3.17 ERA. At the time they were traded, the Padres’ bullpen ranked ninth in ERA, sixth in WHIP, 13thin BAA, seventh in K/9, third in K/BB and second in percentage of inherited runners that scored.

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In the 63 games that followed the trade, with Stock brought back permanently and then Wingenter and Wieck, and with Castillo thrown into several late-and-close situations, the bullpen improved its ranking in every category except inherited runners scored.

Beyond what the past possibly portends, the present is not devoid of positives.

Wingenter, one of the young relievers who came up last summer and transformed the bullpen’s aesthetics, threw a third scoreless inning Thursday. The 6-foot-7 righty averages better than 97 mph on his , but his throwing an effective slider for strikes is what has made his spring feel like a success so far.

With Castillo sidelined at least until May, it is hoped Wingenter can record the high- leverage outs Castillo was being counted on to get.

Right-hander , who was not the same after going on the disabled list with a lat strain at the end of May, has his velocity back up and has surrendered one hit and struck out five while walking none in 3 2/3 innings this spring.

The Padres will have to wait for two other young pitchers who had surgery in the past two months.

Wieck, who allowed three hits and a run and struck out 10 while not walking anyone in seven innings after being called up in September, is progressing faster than expected from cancer surgery in mid-January and could be throwing to live hitters by the weekend. At best, his season debut would seemingly come in mid-April.

Diaz, who throws some dizzying pitches and struck out 30 in 18 2/3 innings last season, had meniscus surgery Feb. 20 and just started playing catch. Late April is the target for his being game ready.

Meanwhile, the Padres need Stock to start throwing the strikes that made him such a wonder the second half of last season. The 28-year-old rookie threw more innings the final 2½ months of the season than any other major league pitcher whose fastball averaged 97.5 mph or higher. The ability to bring in someone throwing that hard at

17 any point in a game and possibly have him go two or three innings is a unique weapon on which the Padres would love to be able to lean.

Stock, who will make his fourth spring appearance Friday, gave up two hits in one inning on Feb. 27, walked three and allowed two hits in two-thirds of an inning two days later and Tuesday walked three more in a two-run inning.

“Yeah, we need to get Stock going better,” Green said. “He’s going to get on the mound quite a bit in the next week — give him an opportunity to throw his way through it. The stuff is there. The command hasn’t been there. … He’s such an aggression guy, such an attack-oriented guy, that he’s not going to necessarily be able to tweak things mechanically. He’s going to find his feel. It’s in our best interest to let him find his feel in the next week.”

The Padres have another promising arm in right-hander Gerardo Reyes, who during a perfect inning Thursday was throwing at 98 mph along with a slider that got a swing and miss and a weak ground out.

Reyes is likely to follow a path similar to what Castillo, Stock and Wingenter traveled last year with a midseason call-up.

“That’s probably the part of a club that evolves the quickest,” Green said. “You see different iterations of it throughout the course of seasons. If you start with seven or eight, you’re going to use 15 or 20 before it’s all said and done. It’s hard to just look at how one guy is throwing or that one guy is hurt. It takes lot of guys to build a quality bullpen.”

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Padres roster review: Aaron Loup

Jeff Sanders, SDUT

Sizing up the Padres’ 40-man roster, from A to Z, heading into the 2019 season:

AARON LOUP

• Position(s): Left-handed reliever • 2019 Opening Day age: 31 • Bats/throws: L / L • Height/weight: 5-foot-11 / 210 pounds • Acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2019 • Contract status: Will make $1.2 million; The Padres have a $200,000 buyout of the $2 million club option for 2020. • Key stats: 0-0, 4.54 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 14 walks, 1.56 WHIP, .296 opponent average (59 games, 39 2/3 innings)

STAT TO NOTE

• 4.6 – The average launch angle of opponents’ batted balls off Loup, 39th in the majors among pitchers with at least 400 batted balls from 2012 through 2018. As a result, Loup has a 54.3 percent groundball rate as a major leaguer, 15th among relievers with at least 300 innings over that span.

TRENDING

• Down – A ninth-round pick in 2009, Loup had spent the entirety of his career as lefty specialist with the Blue Jays until he was traded to the Phillies last July for a minor league pitcher. The change of scenery was interrupted by a stint on

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the because of a forearm strain. Between the lines, Loup’s ERA jumped from 3.75 in 57 2/3 innings in 2017 to 4.54 last year. Loup – who pairs a low-90s sinker with a change-up, cutter and curve out of a sidearm slot – was at his best in 2013, when he posted a 2.47 ERA in 69 1/3 innings in the Blue Jays’ pen. He’s averaged 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings thus far in his major league career and is especially effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .232/.301/.317 batting line in his major league career.

2019 OUTLOOK

• As versatile as the Padres’ bullpen was in 2018, the one thing Padres manager didn’t have was a traditional lefty specialist. Enter Loup, who is more likely to enter for one-out at-bats than any of the incumbent left-handers in the bullpen.

PADRES POWER RANKINGS (Currently 40 players on the 40-man roster; the list below reflects only the players reviewed thus far in the series)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Francisco Mejia 7. Franchy Cordero 8. 9. Chris Paddack 10. Luis Urias 11. Franmil Reyes 12. Ian Kinsler 13.

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14. 15. Kirby Yates 16. Craig Stammen 17. 18. Robert Stock 19. Adam Warren 20. Travis Jankowski 21. Trey Wingenter 22. Robbie Erlin 23. Aaron Loup 24. Miguel Diaz 25. Jacob Nix 26. Phil Maton 27.Brad Wieck 28. Greg Garcia 29. Austin Allen 30. Pedro Avila 31. Edward Olivares 32. Gerardo Reyes 33. Luis Perdomo 34. Bryan Mitchell 35. Jose Pirela 36. Brett Kennedy 37. 38. Javy Guerra 39. Luis Torrens

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60-day injured list

• Jose Castillo • • Garrett Richards 21

--

Removed from the roster

• (claimed by the Rangers)

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Padres look to improve rotation from within . 3rd, 2019

AJ Cassavell, MLB.com

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Padres signed Manny Machado last month. They expect meaningful offensive contributions from three of the 26 best prospects in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Wil Myers is healthy again, and Eric Hosmer could be due for a bounce-back.

For the first time in more than a decade, there's optimism that the San Diego offense could be legitimately good.

Which brings us to the next question -- the one that’s asked every time the offense’s merits are brought up: What about the rotation?

On the whole last year, it was not good. The Padres' 5.09 ERA by their starting pitchers was the worst in the , and general manager A.J. Preller hasn't made a meaningful addition to the current group. Even with a number of free agents still available, he seems unlikely to do so.

By outside expectations -- both man-made and computer generated -- the starting five projects as a major weakness. The Padres hear those criticisms. They understand those criticisms. And they want you to know you're going to be wrong.

"We know there's nothing proven here," said catcher Austin Hedges. "There's no reason for anyone outside here to say, 'Oh, yeah, they're going to go out and dominate.’ We haven't proven that yet. Our pitchers understand that. But they also know how much we believe in them. ... We'll definitely surprise some people."

\7th, 2019 Hedges isn't alone in that belief. It permeates from the rotation to the coaching staff all the way up to the front office. The Padres didn't address their biggest weakness externally, because they felt they could do so internally.

That means top prospects like Chris Paddack and Logan Allen -- who have combined for zero big league innings among them -- have been given a legitimate chance to make the rotation. They’ve made the most of it thus far, combining for a 2.16 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning.

"The guys in the clubhouse that are veterans -- they feel that," said manager Andy Green. "They don't care if a guy has pitched in Double-A, Triple-A, Single-A or five years in the big leagues. They just want to feel that when that guy toes the rubber, they're going to win a baseball game. Some of these young guys are giving that impression." 23

Of the 12 starters competing for jobs, nine are 25 or younger. The average age is 24.3. The Padres are quick to say that the stuff and makeup of their rotation candidates plays well above their ages.

"Once you're on the field, it doesn't matter how young you are," said Robbie Erlin, once a 23- year-old who broke camp with the club and suddenly the 28-year-old elder statesman and longest-tenured Padre. "It doesn't matter, the age difference between a hitter and a pitcher. If you're hitting your spots and making pitches, anyone can get outs."

. 5th, 2019 The Padres are no stranger to moving their pitchers quickly to the big leagues. Last year, Joey Lucchesiand Eric Lauer were promoted during the season's first four weeks. They were the first pitchers to reach the big leagues from the 2016 Draft class.

"These guys are all getting looked at through that lens," Green said. "If they prove they're the best option right now, [Preller] has proven time and time again that he doesn't shy away from utilizing those guys."

After Lauer and Lucchesi, there are three places available in the rotation. How young are the Padres willing to go? That remains to be seen. Paddack will be on an innings limit this year. Allen has been excellent at every level, but he's only 21.

Still, they aren't exactly trying to supplant rotation staples. Here are the 12 remaining candidates and their career starts:

Luis Perdomo: 59

Robbie Erlin: 37

Joey Lucchesi: 26

Eric Lauer: 23

Bryan Mitchell: 20

Jacob Nix: 9

Matt Strahm: 8

Brett Kennedy: 6

Chris Paddack, Logan Allen, Nick Margevicius, : 0.

The Padres’ 12 rotation candidates have combined for 188 starts, with more than half coming from Perdomo and Erlin, who could end up in the bullpen. That's fewer than 53 active pitchers, including noteworthy free agents like Gio Gonzalez and Bartolo Colon and five more than Dallas Keuchel.

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It's telling that Preller hasn't been all that aggressive in pursuing those arms. He's always liable to surprise, but, internally, the Padres are planning to pull together a rotation from in-house options only.

"You can see it," Erlin said. "The young guys are hungry to get better. We all are. And we're hungry to prove something to the league and our division."

Ready or not, the young Padres starters are going to get their chance.

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The latest news on Fernando Tatis Jr.

MLB.com . 12th, 2018 The Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., MLB's No. 2 overall prospect, got off to a slow start in 2018, hitting just .177 in April, but picked it up in May (.336), June (.330) and July (.295) before a fractured left thumb prematurely ended his season. He returned to action in the Dominican Winter League, where he led Estrellas De Oriente to their first Dominican Winter League championship in over half a century. Here's the latest news about the Padres' top prospect:

March 6: Tatis triples, goes 2-for-4

Tatis Jr. didn't waste any time showing why he's so highly touted. Leading off the game, the 20- year-old hit an 0-2 pitch to left field and then showed off his 60-grade speed as he coasted around the bases for a triple. Tatis would later add a single and finish 2-for-4 on the evening.

March 2: Machado endorses Tatis

Fernando Tatis Jr. has a new fan rooting for him to break camp with the club -- the Padres' $300 million man. Manny Machado, who is expected to form a dynamic duo on the left side of the infield with Tatis for years to come, sounds excited about the possibility of Tatis starting the season in San Diego.

"Hopefully he breaks camp with us and he's our shortstop," Machado said. "He's a baller. He can play a little bit. But don't put that out there too much. I don't want him to blow up."

Manager Andy Green has said that Tatis "has a chance" to begin the season in the Majors. If the 20-year-old starts the year at Triple-A, fellow top prospect Luis Urias is the favorite to start at shortstop until Tatis arrives.

Tatis Jr. has done his part at camp, slashing .294/.368/.706 with a pair of home runs in the first seven games of Spring Training. Urias has also acquitted himself well, going 5-for-16 (.313/.353.500) with one home run.

Feb. 27: Tatis homers again

Fernando Tatis Jr. is making a statement early in Spring Training. After crushing his first homer of the Cactus League on Tuesday, the Padres' top prospect went deep again Wednesday, this time in dramatic fashion.

Batting with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tatis tied the game with a solo blast to left- center field.

, 2019 "We know he has power," said manager Andy Green. "He's proven it every single year, and he proved it in the Dominican Republic [this winter]. That's a big swing."

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Feb. 26: Tatis hits first Spring Training homer

It only took Fernando Tatis Jr. until his second start to hit his first homer of Spring Training. The 20-year-old prospect hit a line-drive homer onto the left-center-field berm against the Brewers, showing why he's so highly regarded.. 26th, 2019

While it's certainly good to see Tatis get off to a hot start, it's likely he begins the season in the Minors. Not only is service time a consideration, but Tatis' 2018 season was cut short because of injury and he's played just 102 games at the Double-A level.

Feb. 13: Tatis rides championship winter into camp

In his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, Tatis helped lead Estrellas De Oriente to their historic Dominican Winter League championship. Tatis, who homered three times in the postseason, is carrying that momentum into big league camp, where he's vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Jan. 26: Tatis ranks No. 2 on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list

With Tatis Jr. raking his way through the Minor Leagues and winter leagues, the Padres' phenom lands at No. 2 on the list of the Top 100 prospects in baseball. Tatis leads a crop of 10 Padres who are on the Top 100.

Jan. 24: Tatis atop Padres' prospect-heavy NRI list

Tatis Jr. received an invitation to Spring Training, leading the list of 21 Padres non-roster invites. Tatis, who batted .286/.355/.507 at Double-A, looks like the Padres' shortstop of the future.

Jan. 11: Tatis hits walk-off HR, follows with huge bat flip

Tatis Jr. came up clutch in a Dominican Winter League postseason win, launching a walk-off three-run homer for Estrellas Orientales

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Padres prospect Mejia continues to hit, work on his defense

Associated Press, Staff

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Francisco Mejia says he’s focusing on his defense, but his offense hasn’t suffered at all.

Mejia hit a three-run homer off Texas’ Mike Minor on Thursday. The switch-hitting catcher, who connected from the right side, has reached base in all nine of his Cactus League games. He’s batting .474 (9 for 19) with two homers and three doubles.

“It’s a good start. He’s had some really good at-bats, some good swings,” manager Andy Green said Thursday.

Mejia said he’s tried to stay patient at the plate, but his main focus has been behind the plate. He has a strong arm, but blocking pitches and working with the staff are areas where he’s been asked to improve.

“Ever since last season ended, I’ve been working on my defense,” Mejia said through a translator. “I’m focusing on that to make sure I’m getting better.”

Mejia was a top prospect in the Cleveland organization. But the Indians had some uncertainty over his ability to play behind the plate and gave him trials at third base and in the outfield. Cleveland ultimately traded the 23-year-old in a deal for All-Star reliever Brad Hand.

The move gave Mejia a fresh start at catcher.

“I was excited to be able to go back and play the position that I’ve always played,” Mejia said.

For the Padres, Mejia’s presence offers a challenge to incumbent Austin Hedges, a stellar defender who has struggled to hit. Hedges’ offense improved after Mejia was acquired — he hit 10 of his 14 homers following the deal.

Mejia managed to get into a few games for the Padres late in the season, hitting three homers including a walk-off grand slam against the Rangers on Sept. 18.

He could start the season with San Diego or at Triple-A El Paso.

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“Wherever the team decides I’m going to be, I’m going to work on the areas where I need to improve,” Mejia said.

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Today in Peoria: 3/7

Justin Lafferty, FriarWire

The bullpen has been a major focus thus far in Spring Training.

One of the biggest stories among relievers has been the return of Brad Wieck, who had surgery in the offseason to treat testicular cancer. Manager Andy Green talked this morning about Wieck’s role in the bullpen, as well as the plan to get him ready for the regular season.

Wieck threw a bullpen session this morning, along with Cal Quantrill, Bryan Mitchell and Logan Allen.

Jesse Scholtens pitched live batting practice on Field 2.

Catchers met with starting pitchers this morning before going about their stretching and workout routines.

Today’s groupings:

— Austin Hedges, Chris Stewart, Luis Torrens,

— Francisco Mejía, Franchy Cordero, , Edward Olivares

— Austin Allen, Javy Guerra, Aderlin Rodriguez, Hudson Potts, Jason Vosler

— Ian Kinsler, Eric Hosmer, Manny Machado, Greg Garcia

— Wil Myers, Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot, Franmil Reyes

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— Jose Pirela, Luis Urías, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ty France

Today’s game against the Rangers had a BP feel, with the Padres crushing 5 home runs in an 11–8 victory.

Tomorrow, Chris Paddack takes the hill against the Oakland A’s in Mesa at 12:05 p.m. PT.

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Andy’s Address, 3/7 Andy addresses both rotation and bullpen, along with aggressive baserunning in spring

Bill Center, FriarWire

The bulk of Andy Green’s morning media session Thursday involved pitching. Green was asked about outside concerns about the Padres young rotation.

“We don’t have a vast amount of experience,” Green said in his first comments about the starters. “Whatever any external expectation exists about our rotation, I’m not really concerned about. I think there are a number of guys in camp who can pitch and they are showing that every time they toe the rubber. It’s been a fun competition watching a lot of young guys fight for spots that are available. We got some solid showings out of (Joey) Lucchesi and (Eric) Lauer last year. But there’s another level in both of those guys and we’re looking forward to watching them reach that.

“They’re a couple guys who came in with a leg up on other guys in the competition. It’s wide open. We’re going to watch Nick Margevicius throw today with the intent of evaluating him for our rotation. He’s pitched one year in the minor leagues. Lucchesi pitched one year in the minor leagues and he made our Opening Day roster. Lauer wasn’t down long before he was here. These guys are all getting looked at through that lens right now. If they prove they’re the best option for us right now, A.J. (Preller) has proven time and time again that he doesn’t shy away from utilizing those guys and putting them on the roster. We’re excited to have them if they’re our best chance to win.

“You only have what you have to evaluate guys. You look at the stuff, you project the stuff. You watch how they handle tense situations in spring training. It’s fun to watch Margevicius go over to the Cubs spring

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training facility and face close to their A squad and see how he handles that and watch his body language as much as anything else.

“It’s really a good job by our scouts, our player development people that the guys coming up now have a poise about them already. And they have that attack mentality about them. The guys in the clubhouse who are veterans, they feel that. They don’t care if a guy has pitched in Double-A or Single-A or Triple-A or have five years in the big leagues. They want to feel that when a guy toes the rubber, they are going to win a baseball game. Some of these you guys are giving that impression to the veteran guys in the clubhouse and that is a great thing.”

The Padres bullpen has had some injuries and Robert Stock has had problems finding the plate in his last couple of outings, so Green was asked to comment on the status of the relief corps.

“I’ll be able to discuss the bullpen when the season starts,” said the manager. “There’s a lot of guys still vying for innings and competition is going on every day. We need to get Robert Stock going better. He’s going to be on the mound quite a bit in the next week to give him some opportunities to throw and throw his way through it. The stuff is there. The command hasn’t been there. Stock is such an aggression guy, such an attack-oriented guy that you’re not going to necessarily be able to tweak too many things mechanically too fine. It’s feel. It’s probably in our best interest to give him the opportunity to find his feel as often as we can in the coming week.

“Obviously, José Castillo was a big part of what we expected to do with the bullpen. Hopefully, he is back somewhere in the middle of the season. (Miguel) Diaz, we hope, is ready by the end of April, depending on how he bounces back from this. You never know from the drive knee with a pitcher how quickly they come back.

“Brad Wieck is doing well. He is moving along quicker than we expected. He’s scheduled for his fifth side today. Hopefully, he’s moving closer toward throwing live batting practice. That’s encouraging for us what he’s been through. I don’t think we have enough time for him to get 33

geared up enough to make the Opening Day roster, but I don’t think he’s going to be that far behind. That’s another guy who threw the ball really well down the stretch when we put him in some pivotal innings. I gave him some leverage opportunities and he did well for us last year.

“The bullpen is the part of the club that evolves the quickest. When you look at a bullpen, if you start with seven or eight, you are going to use 15 to 20. It’s hard to look at how one guy is throwing right now or if one guy is hurt. It takes a lot of guys to build a quality bullpen.

Green was asked about Kirby Yates’ role.

“Anything is possible right now,” said Green. “With Kirby, it’s going to be the best way to use him. Who is coming up, who is throwing well around him. We have a number of guys who aren’t going to shy away from pitching in the ninth inning. They’ll be fine there. So, if we’re best served with Kirby pitching in the eighth for us, we’ll look at that. I think we’ll probably go into the season expecting Kirby to get the bulk of the ninth innings, but we’ll see how that plays out.

“Craig Stammen has done the ninth inning before. Phil Maton has done the ninth inning before. Those are some guys. We obviously thought very highly of José Castillo, who gave us that left-right power option out of the bullpen to where you could look at a lineup and know you could use Kirby very confidently in the eighth inning because you knew you had José Castillo against some lefties in the ninth. It doesn’t line up quite that cleanly for us right now. We’ll figure it out as it comes.”

The Padres lead the Cactus League in stolen bases and Green was asked about the running game.

“We’re trying to find what our limits are,” Green said about the Padres’ aggressive running game during spring training. “You search for those limits in Spring Training. You’d rather err on the side of aggression than passivity. I don’t think it’s indicative of what we’re going to try to do in

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the regular season unless we feel it’s best served in a particular game to be aggressive.

“We’ll be a little bit more discerning as the season comes. We won’t be running just to find out if this guy can run or not run. We’re learning things about our players right now and they’re learning where their limits are and that’s all we’re particularly caring about.

“We’ve got athletes. I think all you need to do is watch Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the ball to start last night’s game and watch him run to third base in about four seconds. We’ve got some athletes right now. Franchy Cordero can fly around the field. So, we have some interesting skill sets in those guys. They’re showing what they can do throughout spring so far.

“Every game is unique. How you choose to play it is based on that game that day. We have some really interesting guys who can do some things. We want to see them as much as they can do in spring training. Then we’ll figure out the best way to navigate the season.”

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