Padres Prospect Primer Outtakes
By Tyler Maun / MiLB.com
Two years after San Diego stunned the baseball world with an offseason overhaul predicated around acquiring big names at the big league level, the team is back to building the traditional way. Through trades of those Major League assets as well as shrewd moves on the international amateur market, a once-depleted Padres system is back on track. This time last year, San Diego checked in at No. 21 in MiLB.com’s Overall Farm System Rankings. In 2017, the Friars climbed to No. 8.
Earlier this month, Padres director of player development Sam Geaney covered a range of topics for our Prospect Primer and more in a conversation at San Diego’s Spring Training facility in Peoria, Arizona.
On the rapid reshaping of Padres system:
“It’s definitely been fun. For us, a lot of us on the development side, it’s a fairly new group in that a lot of us have kind of come from a variety of different places, whether different organizations, different backgrounds. Obviously from where the system probably was in 2015, it’s given us some time to put the appropriate people in appropriate roles, put our processes in place for them so that once the talent started to arrive, we were ready for it. I think as far as the buildup of the system from what it was that first year, basically I would look at it three different ways. Really, it’s not a development thing. It’s how to [capitalize on] the amateur Draft where we had a lot of picks, our international signings were kind of unprecedented as far as the output, and they’re obviously still working on it. Through the end of June, they’re going to continue to canvass, to leave no stone unturned. And then as well, a professional scouting element, the group that went out, our baseball ops group and our pro scouting department go out and add guys like [Fernando] Tatis, [Josh] Naylor. It’s really all segments of the scouting department that have presented us with this pretty impressive group of players.”
On building his player development staff after being hired following the 2014 season:
“It’s been great. We still have some very good people who’ve been here predating our group with our first year being 2015, but we also look around, and it’s a lot of guys who we’ve hired. Everyone who’s here is, kind of cliche, pulling in the same direction. It is cool. We even hired a guy last year, Johnny Washington, who was our Double-A hitting coach. He did a great job, and now he’s on [Padres manager] Andy [Green]’s staff. Ultimately, staff development goes hand-in-hand with developing the players, and we hope that as our group of players graduates and ascends to the big leagues, hopefully there are staff members that are making that trip with them.”
On right-hander Anderson Espinoza’s maturity:
“It happens with a lot of kids who really pick up the language quickly, which is great. I think it’s a testament to some of the programs we have in place, but of a lot of it does relate specifically to the kid. If you get around him, I wouldn’t want to put a number on the makeup, but it’s a very strong makeup. This kid doesn’t really have any bad days. He’s super fun to be around. He kind of floats seamlessly in the lunch room between the Latin table and the American table. The work ethic is kind of unrivaled from what we’ve seen. And there are going to be challenges. I mean, he’s 19 years old. I think last year was probably the most adversity maybe he’s faced, and he’s going to face more, and it’s going to be good for him. We don’t want any of our guys to arrive to the big league level having never had that.”
On Espinoza commanding his offspeed pitches as a next step:
“It’s always a cliche, the breaking ball doesn’t spin in Arizona in Spring Training, and so for him, finding that feel [is big]. It’s challenging. Obviously he’s still a prospect, so we don’t ever want that to get in the way of continuing to strive to get better. Whether it’s his idol, someone like Felix [Hernandez], it’s how to at a certain point go from prospect to Major Leaguer and then from Major Leaguer to elite. He has a lot of innate characteristics that I think are really going to help him as far as the person and the work ethic and all that stuff.”
More on infielder Julio Urias:
“ I think what we first saw when he was in Fort Wayne as an 18-year-old was a kid who wasn’t super strong and a kid who had a swing and an approach that [took work]. If you asked him, he was like, ‘Someone once told me I could hit .300 if i hit the ball on the right side. I hit .299, so I’m not going to do that.’ That was a nice opening for him because he’s gotten significantly stronger. The swing, he incorporated a leg kick and put himself in a more powerful position. For a guy who I don’t think had ever hit a professional home run, I think he hit seven last year, seven or eight. Seeing him drive the baseball, I think he’s going to have plenty of power.
“He’s still so young. He won’t be 20 until June, and he’s super intelligent, smart. He’s played some shortstop here in big league camp. Obviously he played shortstop in the WBC. He’s going to continue to do both. I think it’s good for us to find ways to challenge him.”
On right-hander Jacob Nix, who made 25 starts in his first full season last year:
“He had a tremendous year. I think he walked 19 guys. He posted right around 100 innings. As far as a pitcher’s build, delivery, it’s one of our favorite deliveries. There are still some minor things every now and then, but it’s three plus pitches. It’s not a question of developing the changeup, it’s usage, and when he has opportunities to incorporate it, it’s plus. You see him one day, and you might actually think the changeup is better than the breaking ball or vice versa, so it’s good when you start getting that varied opinion on which pitch is going to lead for him. He’s got a great fastball, too.”
On Nix’s delivery:
“He’s got a really strong front side. It’s just a very powerful, athletic move. He’s got good direction. He’s got good timing. He repeats it well.”
On trade acquisition Josh Naylor, who had a tumultuous 2016:
“He’s a year out of high school. This is literally his second full season, so ‘change of scenery’ is a little dramatic maybe. He’s awesome. I try not to have favorites, but he’s an unbelievable kid.
“Having a group of coaches that grows with the players and moves with the players, the hope is that where this whole thing is headed, the group of guys that are on these Minor League fields, along with Wil Myers, Austin Hedges, Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe, that is the group that is the first really good Padres team [of this era]. I think being around ‘Nayls,’ he really grasps it as well as any of our young Minor League players. There’s a brotherhood and team aspect. There are definite leadership capabilities there, so hopefully when we’re very good in a couple of years, he’s right there in the middle of it.”
On Rule 5 selection Allen Cordoba:
“This is a guy who’s performed. It seems like it’s been a slightly unconventional timeline or path to where he is right now, but you see him, and he’s very much a physical presence. It’s not like when a guy shows up and you think, ‘This doesn’t look right.’ He definitely checks a lot of the boxes to start.”
