Padres Press Clips Thursday, September 27, 2018
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Padres Press Clips Thursday, September 27, 2018 Article Source Author Page In possible sign of patchwork to come, Perdomo leads Padres pen SD Union Tribune Acee 2 past Giants Miguel Diaz can command bigger role for Padres in ‘19 SD Union Tribune Acee 5 Left-handers to watch in Padres’ farm system SD Union Tribune Sanders 8 Galvis keeps September tear going with 2 hits MLB.com Cassavell 13 Stammen ready for eventful offseason MLB.com Cassavell 15 Prospects finish instructs at On Deck Classic MLB.com Mayo 17 ‘He’s going to be a star catcher’: A look at when Francisco Mejia The Athletic Lin 19 came on the scene, and his future potential Jankowski homers in Padres’ 3-2 win over Giants AP AP 24 Andy’s Address, 9/26 FriarWire Center 26 This Day in Padres History, 9/27 FriarWire Center 29 #PadresOnDeck: Baez, Patino, Lawson, Munoz, Coleman lead FriarWire Center 30 Right-handed Pitchers at Petco Park Thursday night for Don Welke On Deck Classic 1 In possible sign of patchwork to come, Perdomo leads Padres pen past Giants Kevin Acee The Padres got what they wanted from Luis Perdomo on Wednesday night. A little foreshadowing. The right-hander put up three scoreless innings at the start of a game in which the Padres used six more relievers and beat the Giants 3-2. Far more pertinent than the result of the game is what the Padres seem inclined to ask of Perdomo – and a handful of other pitchers – in 2019. “In the absence of that consistent starting pitching, we’re going to look at inventive ways to overcome that,” manager Andy Green said earlier this week. “We’re going to continue to try to develop guys into front-line starting pitchers. … But we’ll look at ways to make us more competitive if we have to.” It appears they could be headed that direction, at least for a sort of gap year. What they know is they cannot limp through another season like this one, handicapped so often at the beginning of games by a starting rotation that was among the worst in the major leagues. Entering Wednesday, Padres starters had the majors’ third-highest ERA (5.15), third- highest batting average against (.274), second-highest on-base percentage against (.345), second-highest WHIP (1.46) and second-fewest quality starts (46). 2 And while the Padres’ minor league system seems stocked with promise, it isn’t arriving next year. Some of what does arrive – like Chris Paddack – will be on an innings limit. Rookies Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer – whose collective ERA is 4.35 with one start apiece remaining – will enter the spring expected to start. Several others, including highly-touted prospects Logan Allen and Cal Quantrill will be given every opportunity to make the rotation as well. Clayton Richard, Bryan Mitchell, Jacob Nix and Brett Kennedy will be in the mix, as will Matt Strahm and Robbie Erlin. Dinelson Lamet is expected back from return from Tommy John surgery before the All-Star break. That should make for a spirited competition. But it by no means seems to be the makings of a rotation that can battle the Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks 19 times apiece each season. So Green said this before Wednesday’s game: “If he can give us two or three strong innings today, you can start to see a role for that kind of guy going into next year as we’ll look to have as much depth as possible out of our pitching.” Perdomo, who posted a 7.94 ERA in his nine real starts this season, with a demotion to the minors and stay on the disabled list in between, allowed one hit and got through 10 batters in just 43 pitches Wednesday. He threw far more strikes (74 percent) than usual and struck out four. The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Wil Myers’ sacrifice fly drove in Freddy Galvis, who had tripled. Travis Jankowski scored the Padres’ next two runs. In the fifth, he beat out a slow roller and kept to second base on a throwing error, went to third on A.J. Ellis’ ground out and scored on a balk. Two innings later, his solo homer made it 3-0. 3 Brad Wieck followed Perdomo with a scoreless fourth inning. Miguel Diaz pitched a hitless fifth and sixth before Jose Castillo allowed a two-run home to Aramis Garcia in the bottom of seventh. After Castillo surrendered successive singles, Strahm got the final out of the inning. Trey Wingenter got through a scoreless eighth with help from Austin Hedges spot-on throw to get Hunter Pence attempting to steal second. Kirby Yates pitched the ninth for his 12th save of the season and seventh in a row. Diaz is among the leading candidates, along with Erlin and Perdomo and possibly Strahm, to be one of the “swing” pitchers who the Padres hope will help them patch together more victories next season. 4 Miguel Diaz can command bigger role for Padres in '19 Kevin Acee In Miguel Diaz’s numbers are peril and potential — and the clear evidence of why the Padres are invested in letting the young right-hander bridge the gap between the two extremes. With three more strikeouts and one more walk in his 1 2/3 innings of work Saturday night against the Dodgers, Diaz brought his season totals to 29 strikeouts and nine walks in 15 2/3 innings. That’s a rate of 16.9 strikeouts per nine innings, which would lead the majors by almost 4½ strikeouts if Diaz had pitched enough innings to qualify. It is also a 5.2 walks per nine, which would lead the majors as well. “Command, walks,” manager Andy Green said. “That’s been his bugaboo.” Diaz’s mid-to-upper-90s fastball and a plus change-up get the highest rate of swings and misses on the team (38.5 percent). Among those who have thrown at least 300 pitches this season, just five major league pitchers get more swings and misses. But Diaz continues to be plagued by a lack of consistent command. That was true last year in the majors, when he was on the Padres roster after being selected in the Rule 5 draft, and it was the case in the minors this season. He averaged 5.4 walks/nine in 2017 and 4.9 walks/nine between Double-A and Triple-A this season. Diaz was briefly considered for a starting track in spring after making three starts last season. But he was primarily used in relief this season for two-, three- and even four- inning stretches between Double-A, Triple-A and the majors. He is headed to the Arizona Fall League next month to work out of the bullpen. 5 “We’re excited about his future,” Green said. “It’s another name to be in the mix for just about everything going into next year. … We see him as someone who has versatility. He can start, he can pitch out of the pen, he can pitch in a leverage role in due time.” Whatever his role ends up being, there really is just the one thing to fix, albeit one of those easier-said-than-done sort of things. “It’s a matter of limiting my walks,” Diaz said. “It doesn’t really matter if it’s as a starter or a reliever. The most important thing is to be here and do a good job.” It appears Diaz will be in the majors in 2019. It likely will be in a role like Matt Strahm’s was this year – multiple innings in relief appearances and the occasional abbreviated start. The future beyond next year, as it is with so many of the Padres’ young players, is as unpredictable as it is boundless. “Quite honestly, he needs reps,” pitching coach Darren Balsley said. Part of the reason why the Padres are sending Diaz to the Fall League instead of winter ball is that they will have more control over his role while also being able to better monitor the work on his mechanical flaws. Diaz has a 5.17 ERA and an average of 1.53 walks and hits per innings pitched. That’s the peril. The potential lies in the fact that while an ERA can be brought down and walks can mitigated, no matter how much most pitchers improve they can’t strike out two batters an inning. “That’s good for him,” Balsley said. “He knows he has fantastic stuff, strikeout stuff on the big-league level, but his pitch-making ability has to become better. There is solid proof up on the board that shows that.” 6 With two strikes, opponents are batting .122 against Diaz, 51 points below the league average. When he falls behind, opponents are batting .357 against him, 67 points above the league average. The issue there is the fine line between control and command. Diaz is throwing more strikes this season. But when he has to be in the zone, has to go to the hitter, there are too many times he doesn’t put the ball in the right spot and his mistake gets hit. “I’ll be really good if I can improve my command,” Diaz said. “I have lot of confidence in myself. I know what I have. It’s just a matter of getting all that and putting it all together. Little by little I’m getting to know myself a little more.” Catcher Austin Hedges explained it this way: “He needs to learn how to pitch.