Exploring Depth in the Padres System

It is no secret that the Padres have a deep system. Because of that I want to dig in to something irregular. That being the bottom of my Pre-Season Top 50 list. One of them, Adam Cimber, not only made his big league debut, but has proven to be an integral part of the Padres bullpen. So what is going on with the other guys ranked 45-50?

T.J. Weir takes the sign

45. T.J. Weir, RHP
Weir started the season at Triple-A El Paso. He was pitching to a respectable but unimpressive 4.65 ERA when he was demoted in early June. The PCL is a tough league to pitch in. For reference the team ERA is 4.52. Also, the Padres have recently demoted Colin Rea and Phil Maton which means they needed to make room somehow. Weir wasn’t a direct corresponding roster move, but it’s hard to keep a lot of guys on your Triple-A roster when you have guys down from the bigs who are basically on unofficial rehab. I believe that’s the case for Maton and Rea.

46. Ruddy Giron, SS
Giron is in his 5th professional season and right now he’s playing Rookie Ball in the Arizona League. Technically it is a rehab assignment after a stint on the disabled list, but before the rehab assignment the 21 year old was only hitting .216 for Lake Elsinore. Something needs to change with Giron soon. His prospect status is dropping fast.

47. Adam Cimber, RHP
I’ve talked about Adam Cimber a decent amount already. Since his MLB Debut he’s pitched to a 3.38 ERA and appeared in 33 games. Padres Twitter has even suggested that if Brad Hand gets traded Adam Cimber could be the Padres All-Star representative. I love the sound of that, but we’ll see who gets the nod. Until then you can expect Cimber to continue being an important part of the Padres bullpen.

48. Buddy Reed, OF
Buddy Reed. Wow. Two time player of the week. Player of the month. All-Star. I’ve talked about his season a bit already, but I think the real good things are yet to come with him. You can also check out video of him at Baseball Census.

49. Walker Lockett, RHP
Lockett is another guy who made his big league debut this season. According to the Chihuahuas website he is leading the team in ERA but that is a bit misleading. His ERA is 4.88. For context Robert Stock’s El Paso ERA was 1.93 when he was called up. I see Lockett pitch fairly often and despite the fact that he has a great frame and a determined, focused approach he continually gives up way too many runs. There’s a good chance he’ll figure things out, but unless he does he will have trouble advancing. On the Brightside, Lockett is hitting .294 after 17 Triple-A at-bats. He even has a home run and two doubles.

50. David Bednar, RHP
At 23 it’s not exciting to see Bednar posting an ERA of 4.50 and a WHIP of 1.56 after 36 A+ innings in 2018. It’s possible Bednar could be tinkering with mechanics as he recently went four appearances without giving up a hit immediately followed by five appearances where he gave up 2 or more hits and a total of six earned runs. He tends to strike out a lot of hitters which is a good sign, but he needs to start seeing more success against A+ hitters before he can expect a promotion.

Featured Image Credit: Baseball Census

Eric Killian is an Army Officer who covered the San Diego Padres for Prospects1500 when the site initially launched, but has since moved over to the Houston Astros. He is a longtime baseball fan and collector whose collecting inspired him to learn all he can about up-and-coming players. Follow him on Twitter @USKillian or @BaseBallDayRCs for strictly card collecting content.




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