Spring Training began in 1870, where in the city of New Orleans, the Chicago White Stockings and Cincinnati Red Stockings played baseball camps.
For the Padres they train in Peoria, Ariz. where they have played their spring training games for the past 26 years, this year being the 27th.
From two-year starter Joey Lucchesi to MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 prospect MacKenzie Gore, there will be lots of competition this spring. Here are the players and how they look going into the spring:
Locks: RHPs Chris Paddack, Garrett Richards
Chris Paddack was easily last year’s top starter and will return for his second season in the big leagues, with no inning or pitch count restraints. With 26 games in 2019, Paddack, who turned 24 on Jan. 8, recorded a 3.33 ERA and 0.981 WHIP in 140⅔ innings.
The nine-year veteran Garrett Richards signed with the Padres to a two-year, $15.5M deal last year, although he was out for all but the final two weeks of the season last year. It’s obvious the Padres have Richards in their 2020 plans as they essentially pay him $15.5-million for one season. The 31-year-old right-handed pitcher has a career 3.60 ERA in 173 games (118 starts) over the course of nine seasons with the Angels and Padres (two starts).
On the bubble: RHPs Zach Davies, Dinelson Lamet, Cal Quantrill; LHP Joey Lucchesi
With the offseason acquiree in right-handed pitcher Zach Davies, the rotation battle has gotten better with the spring coming. Last season, Davies had the best year of his career, recording a 3.55 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 159⅔ innings.
Right-handed pitchers Dinelson Lamet and Cal Quantrill and left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi each reached double-digits in starts, although Lucchesi was the only pitcher who began the season on the major league roster. Lucchesi will be entering his age-27 season with a career 4.14 ERA in 56 games.
Longshots: RHPs Pedro Avila, Michel Baez, Ronald Bolanos, Anderson Espinoza, Luis Patino; LHPs MacKenzie Gore, Adrian Morejon
Although right-handers Pedro Avila, Michel Baez, Ronald Bolanos and left-hander Adrian Morejon made their big league debuts last season, the likelihood of them making the rotation to begin the 2020 season are very unlikely.
While mostly appearing as relievers last season, Baez and Morejon combined for 29 games and one win in their rookie seasons. They will both be looked at as starters during spring training.
In addition, top prospects MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino were given invites to spring training with a chance to prove themselves and take the same route former top prospect Chris Paddack did last spring.
Gore spent last season in Advanced Single-A and Double-A where the 2017 first rounder pitched a 1.69 ERA over the course of 20 games. Patino, a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher, also pitched in Advanced Single-A and Double-A where he threw 94⅔ innings for a 2.57 ERA combined.
This season’s rotation race will be a strong one, and should create lots of friendly competition between players who will soon be teammates.