Three young Padres who’ve impressed in spring training so far
With four games down in spring training, the Padres have seen a few promising outings from players with big question marks going into the season.
Compared to last year, a majority of this spring’s headlines surrounding the Padres consist of positional battles to watch for. Given that San Diego fields what feels like an incomplete roster, spring training could decide a few roles within the starting lineup and rotation.
With that being said, let’s get into three new or young Padres who’ve impressed the most so far, and have potentially gotten the edge in those battles.
Left fielder Jackson Merrill
Despite being labeled as the No.4 ranked shortstop prospect on MLB.com, it’s become obvious that San Diego plans for Merrill to become a left fielder. He’s already recorded 10 innings at that spot in two games and has shown some serious athleticism, most notably making a diving catch while running to his right on a line drive.
The best part of his game has always been his hitting ability, which he’s put on display so far. In his most recent game on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, he went two for two with a double, two runs batted in and a run scored.
Even after the Padres officially signed Jurickson Profar, they still have just two other outfielders on the 40-man roster (Fernando Tatis Jr and Jose Azocar). Merrill is making a strong case to be the fourth and possibly the Opening Day left fielder.
Left-hander Yuki Matsui
Although Robert Suarez is set to be the Padres closer to open the season, Matsui could be making a strong case to be considered for the job as well.
Despite San Diego losing 14-1 in their Cactus League opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matsui was a bright spot. He came in during the third inning already down 8-0 and delivered an absolute gem. Though he was in for just that inning he struck out all three batters faced with the first two being on whiffs and the second on a foul tip.
He already has a lot of experience being a closer as he recorded 236 saves (per Baseball Reference) during his 10 years playing in the NPB. Standing at just 5’8″ and 165 lbs, he’s not the biggest guy on the mound, but has shown early on he can put batters away.
Right-hander Jairo Iriarte
Much like Merrill, Iriarte may be on the cusp of winning himself a spot on the Opening Day roster. He had his Cactus League debut on Saturday where he did not disappoint.
He faced three batters in his one inning of work, managing to make quick outs of all of them. What was more impressive is that every pitch he threw was registered as a strike (per MLB.com)
As of now, he can find himself in a battle for the fifth starting pitcher role in the Padres rotation. FanGraphs currently predicts Randy Vasquez in the spot but with just 41 days of service time, Iriarte could steal it away if he continues with a strong spring training. Even if he can’t make it as a starter the Padres can never have too many bullpen arms.
