Padres Press Clips Wednesday, September 19, 2018
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Padres Press Clips Wednesday, September 19, 2018 Article Source Author Page Franmil Reyes shows worth to Padres – or someone SD Union Tribune Acee 2 Giants tax Padres’ pen after Lucchesi’s exit SD Union Tribune Sanders 5 Seldom-used Kazuhisa Makita eager to regain Padres’ trust SD Union Tribune Sanders 8 Second basemen to watch in Padres’ farm system SD Union Tribune Sanders 11 Reyes continues to impress with HR, 3 RBIs MLB.com Cassavell 15 Galvis prefers shortstop but aims for versatility MLB.com Cassavell 17 Rookies to start all games in Padres’ set vs. LA MLB.com Cassavell 19 One outing doesn’t change Mitchell’s status SD Padres Center 21 Shaw’s 2-run single lifts Giants over last-place Padres, 5-4 AP AP 22 This Day in Padres History, 9/19 FriarWire Center 24 8th inning dooms Padres in 5-4 loss to Giants FOX Sports AP 25 1 Franmil Reyes shows worth to Padres — or someone Kevin Acee Franmil Reyes hasn’t made it easy on the Padres. Or maybe he has made it exceedingly easy. It is safe to say the big rookie right fielder is the team’s biggest surprise and one of its biggest conundrums. The 23-year-old Reyes, who wasn’t considered a top prospect and could hardly get on base his first month in the majors, entered Tuesday’s game as the Padres’ season leader in slugging percentage (.516) among those with more than 35 plate appearances and also the leader in batting average (.276) and third in on-base percentage (.332) among those with at least 175 plate appearances. His 15 home runs rank fourth on the team, but his rate of one homer every 14.5 at- bats is best on the team. He had just 235 plate appearances, about half as many as needed to qualify among the major league statistical leaders. But his sample size is large enough to suggest staying power. Reyes has batted .327/.387/.602 since Aug. 5, all of those numbers either No. 1 or No. 2 on the team in that span among players with more than 35 plate appearances. He has at least one hit in all but two of his past 24 games, and his .384 average in that span (since Aug. 21) leads the majors. The average and on-base component would have been unfathomable in late June, at the end of Reyes’ first major-league stint, when he hit .228/.260/.457 in 29 games. In that first stay, he struck out 39 times in 96 plate appearances and walked just four times. 2 While drastic ascension since his most recent call-up in early August is most marked, the improvement began when he joined the team for a couple weeks in the middle of July. In his 139 plate appearances since July 11, he has struck out 30 times and walked 14 times. That’s almost halving his strikeout rate and more than doubling his walk rate. Improving his aptitude, willingness and coachability resulted in better plate discipline and a more manageable swing. Manager Andy Green has several times talked about Reyes as if he is some sort of baseball Rhodes Scholar. Veteran teammates have matched Reyes’ eagerness to learn from them with an eagerness to teach him. “It’s his ability to soak in information, the questions he is asking; he’s just so open about everything,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “He’s telling you what he’s thinking at the plate, why he swings a certain way, why he didn’t swing. He’s so open and so willing to listen and learn and take some criticism at certain times. “That’s one of the biggest things you can see. It’s kind of like a hidden talent. Because of his ability to take in information and put it into practice, he’s a winning player.” That seems like it just might be true But in addition to Hunter Renfroe having a breakout season, there is a sort of albatross that could be the deciding factor that makes Reyes the odd man out in the Padres outfield. He’s 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, and he moves in right field like a lot of it is in his cleats. “There is a limit to what he can do,” Green said. “… It’s a lot of ground to cover. He’s giving great effort. His routes are good, his technique is not bad at all. It’s just a lot of man out there.” Reyes has worked before games as much as anyone on footwork, tracking fly balls and running. The improvement defensively is appreciable. 3 He gets to more balls than in May and June. However, he remains enough of a liability that he has been part of double switches in all but a handful of games in which the Padres are tied or hold a lead sometime after the fifth or sixth inning. “The thing about Franmil is he wants to be great,” said outfield coach Skip Schumaker. “He doesn’t want to get double switched. He knows his bat is why he’s here. … He’s losing an at-bat every night. It’s a testament to him how hard he is working, trying to get better each day.” Said Reyes: “I would love to have more opportunities to do more things — defense and offense. It’s really important because I can find a spot to play, not just put my manager and team thinking, ‘This guy can hit, but he can’t field.’ That’s bad. You’re not a complete player that way.” The likelihood is Reyes and Renfroe will be part of discussions with other teams as the Padres run a dual track this off-season of attempting to alleviate a 40-man roster crunch and improve their major league team and minor league system. Reyes’ greatest value could be with an American League team that can use him as a designated hitter. But there is almost no way to predict what will come of all the trade talks the Padres anticipate being party to, and it is conceivable him and Renfroe could be Padres in 2019. Much like its looming issue at catcher, the team contends that will be OK. “If the bat works the way his does,” Green said, “you’re going to find a spot on the baseball field more consistently.” 4 Giants tax Padres' pen after Lucchesi's exit Jeff Sanders In jumping from Double-A San Antonio to the majors, Joey Lucchesi counts a team- leading 131 strikeouts, eight wins and a rotation-best 3.74 ERA among his rookie highlights. There remains room for improvement if you’re in the mood to nit-pick. There’s also quite a bit to like even when the 25-year-old left-hander doesn’t have his “A” game. Take, for example, Tuesday’s start in a 5-4 loss to the Giants, one charged to the bullpen after Cory Spangenberg and Freddy Galvis wound up a handful of feet shy of late home runs. Lucchesi needed 94 pitches to get through five workman-like innings, gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk and, thanks to Franmil Reyes’ 16th homer, was in line to win until Craig Stammen coughed up two runs in the eighth. He struck out eight batters, one shy of his season-high, and did not yield when the Giants put runners on second and third with no outs in the fifth inning. “You want to have the dominating outings,” Padres manager Andy Green said, “but these outings when he's kind of in-between and not quite right and not quite as good as he can be, he really fights and doesn't concede anything at any point in time. We're pleased with that. We really like that about him.” Lucchesi’s fifth-inning, tight-rope walk started with a strikeout of Evan Longoria. 5 Lucchesi then alertly glove-flipped to the plate to cut a runner down on Nick Hundley’s tapper to the mound and struck out Aramis Garcia to end the fifth, his last inning of work. He allowed two runs on Hunter Pence’s second-inning, 437-foot homer off the back wall of the second deck in left, another on Pence’s fourth-inning double to right and exited with three or fewer runs allowed for the 20th time in 24 starts this year. “I'm just a competitor,” Lucchesi said. “I go out there and try to give my team the best chance to win.” Some attempts – like his three nine-strikeout games – have been better than others. The room for improvement lies in his pitching deeper into games. He’s averaged just over five innings a start and has yet to complete seven innings, but the Padres are plenty pleased with the former fourth-rounder’s first run through a major league season. “We'd love at times if he'd get deeper into games, but the battle is so good with Joey,” Green said. “Even when he's off he gives you a chance to win a baseball games. What he did today is just as impressive as going out there and absolutely dominating.” Lucchesi wound up empty-handed after a rare hiccup from Stammen, tied with Lucchesi for the team lead with eight wins. After Matt Strahm and Jose Castillo combined for two scoreless frames, the veteran Stammen loaded the bases before recording his first out and gave up the tying and go- ahead run when Hunter Renfroe could not quite make a diving catch on Chris Shaw’s blooper to left field.