Which players on the 2018 Dust Devils opening roster are top Padres prospects?
Before I dive into previewing the individual top prospects on this year’s Dust Devils opening roster, I figured it would be worthwhile to take a look at which players warrant that distinction.
The Short-Season Single-A level targets players early enough in their development that we’re extremely unlikely to see a member of MLB’s top 100 prospect list on the Dust Devils opening roster, so it’s not as easy as dialing up mlb.com on the ole Web Browser and picking out Dustfully Devilish Padres. We’ve got to do a bit more work.
Thankfully, there is still more Internet to explore. Sites like Prospects 1500 and Minor League Ball have used Internet web pages to share their rankings of the Padres’ top 50+ prospects and top 20+ prospects, respectively. (Both lists are prior to additions and changes following the 2018 draft.)
In Minor League Ball’s rankings, they include all players who are graded above “C” levels, by this definition:
“Grade C prospects are the most common type. These are guys who have something positive going for them, but who may have a question mark or three, or who are just too far away from the majors to get an accurate feel for. A few Grade C guys, especially at the lower levels, do develop into stars. Many end up as role players or bench guys. Some don’t make it at all.”
From the Dust Devils roster announced yesterday, there are a handful of players who make the cut for the Padres top 60 prospects — six, to be exact.
When considering rankings inside the Padres organization, keep in mind that the Padres have been horrible and fairly miserly at the major league level for quite while, so their farm system is deep. Like, really deep. So deep, in fact, that as a Mariners fan, it just plain hurts to look. 🙈
Consider this: the Padres have seven players in the MLB top 100 prospects. The Mariners have exactly one. Seattle’s Kyle Lewis at MLB’s #61 overall would only be good enough to be ranked the 7th best prospect on the Padres. As Minor League Ball put it:
This is an incredibly deep system and several of the “other Grade C+” guys would rank among a Top 20 list in many systems, even Top 10 in some.
It’s safe to say that these players who are making the Padres’ top ~50 prospect lists have pretty strong odds to make the majors at some point.
Let’s meet some of them!
I mean, I’m going to write a paragraph or so on each of them. They’re not literally here. This is a web page, not a meet-and-greet. But I don’t know maybe you can find them on LinkedIn or something if you are really eager to add them to your professional network.
Ladies and Gentlemen, some Dust Devils!
Blake Hunt, Catcher — #30 Padres prospect
Blake Hunt was a high schooler drafted as the #69 overall pick in 2017 and was graded as the best defensive catcher in the draft with a great arm.
Catcher is a giant pain-in-the-ass position—did you know that? Actually, more of a pain in the knees. Oh, and a pain in all of the other unprotected parts where fastballs in the 90s are going to occasionally smack the poor guy while he sits squatted behind the plate for 9 innings. It’s mentally taxing, too. Catchers have to be an encouraging counselors for their pitchers, advocates and diplomats with umpires, defenders of second base from would-be thieves, and game-strategists-on-the-field as they call pitches. And there aren’t relief catchers—yet. Arguably more than any other position, teams will stretch for a player who isn’t a premium hitter but can play the position with skill.
“He throws real well,” said Padres general manager A.J. Preller. “He has the chance to neutralize the running game, another guy with good makeup. From our standpoint, it wasn’t about need or anything like that. In the system, it’s always important to have catching.” (mlb.com)
Beyond his skill at catcher, Blake Hunt is tall (listed at 6'3) and strong with an acceptable bat and the ability to hit for power.
“I’ve got a little bit of a bat,” he told the Herald’s Annie Fowler.
In 2017 Arizona rookie ball, Blake batted .241 with a couple home runs in 30 games. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a full season in and wasn’t able to play his position because of a shoulder injury that forced him to play DH. The Padres are interested to see him develop, so we’ll get to see a lot of him in the coming year.
Mason House, OF — #31 Padres prospect
Another early round 2017 draft pick out of high school, Mason House was the Padres #78 overall pick, taken in the second round.
Mason shows some signs of developing into the hitter the Padres drafted him as, posting a quality slash line of .293/.354/.463 in rookie ball last year. Unfortunately, he struck out a lot (41%—twice the MLB average).
Mason’s considered to have a high ceiling. Still just 19, he’ll have plenty of time in the Padres system to work on improving on those numbers.
#34 Sam Keating, RHP
Sam Keating was another of the Padres early-round draft picks in 2017, chosen #108 overall in the fourth round.
Sam didn’t get a ton of work in 2017, and in just 7 games he posted a pretty painful 6.87 ERA and 2.02 WHIP, getting hit hard. On the positive side, he didn’t walk a ton of batters, which matches draft day descriptions of him as a guy who pounds the strike zone.
#41 Joe Galindo, RHP
Joe Galindo was drafted in 2016 by the Padres in the 13th round. He spent a good chunk of last year with the Dust Devils as well as pitching at the Advanced A and Single-A levels, putting up some outstanding numbers in relief — 1.89 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 13.26 K/9 across all levels last year, with even better numbers during his stint with the Dust Devils.
He completely dominated Northwest League batters, limiting them to a .100 batting average and striking out the majority of batters he faced.
So far this year, he’s been pitching in Single-A level and has struggled a bit in the couple of appearances, but given how he overwhelmed the Dust Devils’ competition last year, it’s fair to expect to see Joe as the team’s closer or at least their most elite lock-down reliever.
#55 Henry Henry, RHP
We don’t have to argue about who has the best name on the team. There’s just no question.
I was listening to Jerry Dipoto’s podcast the other day and he and Aaron Goldsmith were talking about whether a drafting team will take a player with the better name when a pick comes down to a toss-up. I don’t know whether the Padres Dominican Republic scouts first noticed Henry Henry’s skills or his name, but I like to think it must have been the latter.
Like Galindo, Henry Henry is another returning Dust Devil. During his time with the team in 2017, he put up good numbers as a starter: 3.28 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 7.5 K/9.
Also like Galindo, he’s struggled in 2018, dragging an ugly 19.89 ERA in 5 appearances and walking almost as many batters in just 6 innings as he did last year in 57. Hopefully a return to Gesa Stadium is just what the pitcher doctor person ordered.
#57 Cole Bellinger, RHP
If Cole Bellinger’s name sounds familiar, it should. Yes, he’s the younger brother of Cody Bellinger, the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year. But unlike the NL rookie home run record-setting Bellindodger, Cole’s a pitcher.
Say whaaaaat? Yeah. That’s right. A pitcher. Not a first baseman.
“But wait!” I can year you say, “I thought brothers in baseball were supposed to be absolute clones down to the life choices they make!”
No, you’re wrong about that. Sorry to burst your basebubble.
End of article.
