Padres Spring Training Report – Feb. 23, 2015

It was only the 4th day of workouts for pitchers and catchers, and already I’m getting antsy!  Everything went splendidly today…wait…did I really just type that?  I take that back.  Somebody please slap me!  The word “splendid” should not be used in any baseball article (other than in reference to The Splendid Splinter of course), and is hereby banned forever more from this site.  Let me stick to the baseball parlance of which I much more familiar.  Please forgive my French, but today was another frickin’ awesome day here at Padres camp!  Ahhhh that’s better….

Another solid day of early morning catching drills, team stretch, repetitive yet necessary PFP’s (do I need to spell that out anymore, or are we good?), sharp and productive bullpens, pitcher-catcher repertoire meetings, and conditioning all performed under the water filled cloud cover that grayed the skies of Peoria.

So who did I especially enjoy watching in the bullpen workouts today?  Diablo, hoy fue un dia de los latinos!  Translation:  The Latin pitchers were bringing the goods today! Ok, that is admittedly a very loose translation…but you get the point.  So which of our Spanish speaking friends were Cholula hot (did you see what I did there…working in a Petco sponsor, and not even getting paid for it).  Bueno, mis amigos favoritos de hoy son:

• Hailing from Trujillo Venezuela,  this former futboler turned baseballer impressed onlookers today with a steady diet of smoothly delivered yet rapid arriving knockout blows at the knees. Weighing in at 185 lbs., wearing the white pants…Leoneeeeeeel Caaaaampos!
• From the sleepy island town of Boca Chica, off the colonial coastal city of Cartagena Colombia, this lanky right hander continues to show he can do damage with his powerful right delivered with a silky smoothness that defies the physics of his 6’7″ frame. He tilts the scales at a svelte 189 lbs.  Some spell it Tayron, some spell it Tyron…heck he’s not even sure yet how he wants it spelled, but his opponents know that either way for them it spells trouble.  Wearing the blue top with gold and white trim, either Tayroooon or Tyroooon “The Mantis” Guerreeeeeero!
• Representing San Cristobal de La Republica Dominicana, he may have been late getting to the ring this spring but has quickly shown why he was voted this year’s MVP of the Dominican winter league. He delivered a barrage of punishing blows today, every one of which hit it’s intended target with surgeon like precision, and lighting quickness.  Checking in at 220 lbs., and sporting the blue cap that covers what is likely the most out of control coiffure in camp, Marcoooooos Mateeeeeeooooo!

All foolishness aside, Campos has a vicious slider that most agree will be as effective a swing and miss pitch in the big leagues as it has been in his brief minor league career. His challenge has been consistency with his fastball to be able to get to that wipe out breaking ball. Today he was as consistent as I’ve ever seen him at keeping the ball down and hitting the catchers mitt.

Guerrero is just such presence on the mound, and I’m still impressed at how smooth and puissant (I know, look it up) his mechanics are for a guy of his size and velocity.  Today Balsley showed him a small adjustment that could help him be more consistent with his command moving forward. Bals, by the way, is truly a savant when it comes to the little things he picks up in guys. I love watching him work with rookies and veterans alike, and savor every moment we get to talk not just pitching but baseball in general.  He could be a great manager if he ever chose to go that route.  The Pads should thank their lucky stars to have had him in their coaching corps the past 12 seasons.

Mateo truly did show me today why he earned the MVP and Pitcher of the Year awards for the Dominican winter league this year. He has a little bit of deception with a slightly exaggerated closed front side and lower arm slot, but the stuff coming out of his hand needed little trickery as it consistently found its way to the low outside corner with plenty on it (95+ this winter).  Missed time in recent years coming back from TJ, but he looks primed to make a strong bid to be a guy the team can turn to for bullpen help this season.

Honestly I can’t say there is one pitcher in camp that looks out of shape, or who has not thrown well so far. Everyone looks to be in throwing shape and ready to show what they can do.  As I’ve mentioned to several people while watching the bullpens, the caliber of pitcher and athlete that graces these mounds now is so far beyond what the organization had in previous years.  By the way, all four of the locked in starters Shields, Ross, Cashner, and Kennedy have all looked good, and each looked sharper in their second efforts (especially Ross) as they get ready for opening day.

Just to get you caught up on some topics asked of Buddy during the morning briefings:

• 5th starter – Buddy made it clear that the candidates are Morrow, Despaigne, Wisler, and Erlin.  I have no evidence to support this, but my guess would be that the first choice would be Morrow, who when healthy can be as electric as anyone in the league.  If he can step up and regain his 2012 form before injuries derailed his ’13 and ’14 campaigns it would provide the team both the most experienced solution short term, and theoretically better depth and time to season for the other three.
• Opening Day Starter – Are you kidding?  Buddy wouldn’t divulge that this early! But it doesn’t stop people from trying.  Even if he did already know who he wants to anoint (which he probably does this year), I doubt he would share it this early for two reasons.  First, he sets himself up for having to retract his declaration should something happen to his first choice either physically or performance wise. Second, it would take away all the fun of his daily jousting with MLB.com’s Corey Brock (who does a great job in his coverage of the team), and his daily quest to pry the answer out of Buddy through straight inquiry, trickery, flattery, bribery, and any other method moral or otherwise.  It’s one of the joys of the daily presser.
• Leadoff position – Again Buddy has not declared who he thinks would be the best fit for the top of the lineup, but to little surprise he did mention Solarte and Myers as possible candidates. In this case I think he truly doesn’t know yet who will fit into that spot, and it will hopefully be one the questions that is answered this spring through the strong performance of one or more of the viable candidates.
• Speed up the game rules – Buddy is on board with some of the new rules being introduced by MLB to speed up the pace of play.
• Spangenberg – Cory made an impressive debut last season, and he will be looked at as a possible bench player due to his versatility at 3B and 2B.  When asked about any chance he could be looked at to play SS, he explained that he felt that Spangy’s skill set is better suited to either his natural 2B, or 3B, but not SS.

I think that’s enough for tonight. Oh, and why am I antsy after only day 4? Because I’m ready to see the position players in camp!  I don’t think I’m alone. They report tomorrow (Tuesday), and will have their first official full squad workout on Wednesday.  Can’t wait…let’s get it on!!!

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