Padres baseball is officially back with the first full squad practice Tuesday. Let’s take a look at a few predictions of what’s to come over the next month during Spring Training as the San Diego Padres get ready for their upcoming season.
Mejia secures everyday catcher role.
While his defense may never be as good as that of Austin Hedges, this spring, Francisco Mejia will show new manager Jayce Tingler that his bat is something that you have to have in your lineup every game.
Mejia lit up pitchers in the second half last year, posting a .305 batting average and an .866 OPS after the all-star break. Expect Mejia to be just as good in Spring Training and completely take over as the everyday starter for the Padres behind the plate, making Hedges start one-third of the time.
MacKenzie Gore impresses.
MacKenzie Gore may be the player that excites Padres fans the most heading into Spring Training, simply because he’s the new young piece that fans and the front office alike hope to be a centerpiece of the future World Series-winning roster.
While he may be too far of a longshot to make the opening day roster, a great showing in Spring Training will definitely make the Padres ponder whether to give Gore a mid-season callup. After posting a 1.69 earned run average with 12.03 strikeouts-per-nine innings in Class A and Double A last season, there’s no doubt that Gore will be great here in Spring Training and earn his way onto the roster come June or July.
Cal Quantrill gets the fifth spot in the rotation.
This one is a little bit of a bold take, as many experts believe that the spot belongs to Joey Lucchesi, but keep your eye out for right-handed pitcher Cal Quantrill.
While he was an on-and-off pitcher last year, we’ve seen those flashes of talent that showed why he was a first-round pick back in 2016.
Quantrill was burned out by the end of last year, but now with five months to rest his arm, we should see Quantrill at his best when he steps on the mound this month. With a great Spring Training, Quantrill can definitely beat out Lucchesi for that last spot in the rotation.