It’s a problem any organization would like to have: a farm system so deep that the biggest challenge is simply timing each player’s progression accordingly.
This is the case for the San Diego Padres.
Before spring training camp broke in Peoria, Ariz., the Padres’ player development staff was saddled with the decisions of who to promote, who to hold at last season’s assignments and how to find playing time for their exceedingly young system.
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Last season, the Fort Wayne TinCaps, San Diego’s Low-A Midwest League affiliate, came within one win of making the postseason. Their roster was one of the youngest in the league with a good portion of the team born between 1998 and, yes, 2000.
This season, after a core of last year’s squad graduated to High-A Lake Elsinore, the TinCaps are once again notoriously young with 10 players on the roster born in either 1999 and 2000.
That youthful roster, led by manager Anthony Contreras (now in his fourth season with the TinCaps) and second-year hitting coach Jon Mathews, was introduced to new pitching coach Matt Williams this season. Before joining the Padres organization, Williams, 36, already had a connection with the staff, specifically with international scouting director Chris Kemp.
“I knew (Chris) from a long time ago,” Williams told The Athletic. “We actually played together in junior college, and then coached together in junior college.”
Stepping into such a deep system, Williams took advantage of scouting the arms he was likely to be assigned while in Peoria.
“Spring training was fun, just watching the amount of good players that we actually had,” Williams said. “I looked, and I was like, ‘Man, we got four 19-year-olds who have been starting for some time.’ So, that’s been a lot of fun. Getting to know those guys, getting to know what makes them tick, that kind of stuff.”
With a number of players drawing attention in Fort Wayne this season, five names in particular have stood out and made an impact in the first half of the season. On June 18, two of those five will represent the Padres in the Midwest League All-Star Game.
Under the leadership of Mathews, Williams and the rest of Contreras’ staff, let’s take a look at how those players have fared.
Xavier Edwards, SS
Age: 19 Height: 5-10 Weight: 175 Bats: S Throws: R
2019 Line: 217 AB, .341/.395/.396, 74 H, 29 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 22 RBI
From watching his first half of the year, it appeared Xavier Edwards could do no wrong. When asked how the shortstop has done, hitting coach Jon Mathews chuckled.
“He’s done everything right,” Mathews said. “He puts the ball in play. Puts the ball in play well. His bat-to-ball skills are good. He manages the strike zone. He’s just done a really nice job for a first full-year (affiliate) pro season so far.”
According to Mathews, Edwards handled the transition from spring training to his first assignment to the Midwest League with little issue.
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“I was just trying to think the other night if he’s gone two games in a row without a hit,” Mathews said. “He doesn’t go into prolonged slumps. He’s got that bunt game, you know, so if he doesn’t feel like his swing’s on point, he can always drop a bunt down for a hit, which is a nice thing to have in your back pocket and he utilizes that well.”
That management of the strike zone has long been a strength for Edwards. In his first season with the Padres organization, he held his strikeout percentage to 11.4 percent with a healthy 14.8 percent walk rate. Not to mention the .449 wOBA and 169 wRC+.
Outside of his control of the barrel, the next phase of Edwards’ development will be in his power development. As of now, the 175-pound switch-hitter has no difficulty making contact. Over 100 games in his young minor-league career, however, Edwards has yet to hit a home run.
Credit: Daren Willman – MLB Research and Development
From Mathews’ perspective, the lack of power, currently at .057 ISO over 55 games, isn’t a concern for the Fort Wayne staff.
“As he gets older and stronger, he’s going to be able to drive the ball better,” Mathews said. “That’s going to force teams to play position against him a little more honestly, as far as having to play a little bit deeper when he starts to drive balls.”
“He has a swing that’s kind of built for hits,” Mathews continued. “Some guys are like that. Not a lot of guys, but he’s one of those. His swing is basically geared for getting base hits, which is a nice thing to have.”
Fifty-five games into the season, Edwards currently leads the TinCaps in runs, hits, OBP, batting average and OPS. He is tied for first in triples and ranks second for Fort Wayne in stolen bases and SLG%.
Ryan Weathers, LHP
Age: 19 Height: 6-1 Weight: 230 Bats: L Throws: L
2019 Line: 36 IP, 3.25 ERA, 32 H, 13 ER, 6 BB, 39 K, 1.06 WHIP
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Since his selection as the Padres’ No. 1 draft pick in 2018, Ryan Weathers has not taken long to get acclimated with the Midwest League.
“I thought he had a good arm, a really good arm,” Williams said. “He has the ability to just throw fastballs away from the arm side and locate it, which is really special at a young age.”
“As far as fastball command, he’s probably got the best I’ve seen at 19 years old, so it’s really special,” Williams added.
That fastball will tip the scales at 95 mph and draws accolades for a deceptive spin rate. Adding an above-average curve and changeup, Weathers commands his entire arsenal with advanced feel. Along with that feel, he hasn’t held back against opposing hitters.
Discussing Weathers’ aggressive style brought a grin to Williams’ face.
“Very aggressive bulldog style,” Williams said. “He’s going to attack you with three pitches. Very, very confident kid. He’s Ryan Weathers. He is who he is and very much a bulldog.”
That confidence may be inherited. Weathers comes from a pitching background; his father David was the Blue Jays’ third-round pick in 1988.
Keeping his walks per nine innings to 1.5 over 36 innings, Weathers also has raised his strikeouts per nine to 9.7, a career-high. The progression is showing Williams that there is little reason to force change on the 19-year-old.
“There’s give and take,” Williams shared. “Just talking with him and finding out what he likes to do, and then kind of what I see and just kind of move from there. I think, overall, the organization has a philosophy for each guy and we just take that and run as far as the team, learning different pitches and stuff like that.”
Tucupita Marcano, SS
Age: 19 Height: 6-0 Weight: 170 Bats: L Throws: R
2019 Line: 185 AB, .292/.348/.373, 54 H, 22 R, 10 2B, 3B, HR, 18 RBI
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Mathews isn’t shy about the enjoyment he gets from working alongside 19-year-old Tucupita Marcano, who is currently navigating through his first season in the Midwest League.
“He’s fun. He absolutely has a blast playing this game,” Mathews said smiling. “He’s fun and he’s energetic. It’s infectious.”
Named for his hometown of Tucupita, Venezuela, Marcano has quickly endeared himself all around the organization.
Often referred to as “Tucu,” Marcano — much like his teammate Edwards — has a swing that’s already developed well beyond his years.
“He’s the same as Xavier in that he has a swing that’s sort of geared for getting base hits,” Mathews said. “He also has the bunt game. He does a little softball slap kind of move on occasion, which is kind of fun to watch. It’s sort of a novelty.
“Other than that, I just love watching him go play because he just has an absolute blast on the baseball field.”
Outside of his upbeat personality, Marcano carries a seriousness when it comes to his work as a Class-A player. It’s a type of dedication that has quickly set him apart, especially for such a young infielder in a challenging league.
“His work ethic is off the charts,” Mathews said. “Very serious about his work. His dad played for a long time and I think taught him that.”
Marcano banged up his hand and landed on the injured list for a brief stretch. He didn’t stop working.
“He went down and tracked (pitches) in the bullpen because he wanted to keep his time in,” Mathews said. “He’s always looking for something to do.”
Prior to his arrival with Class-A Fort Wayne, Marcano held his strikeout percentage below eight percent over three affiliate assignments. Over 45 games with the TinCaps, Marcano “climbed” to a quiet 10.7 percent.
Scouts agree on an advanced hit tool for Marcano. While the power isn’t there, an increase can be expected further down the road as his body fills out.
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When it comes to the responsibility of managing his hitters, Mathews is working out his own form of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“With these guys, (Marcano and Edwards) specifically, I haven’t really had to do too much,” Mathews said. “I brought Tucu out early one day and we worked on some things, and ever since then, he’s been fine. Basically, I would tell them what BP group they’re in and what time the game starts and then, it’s like, ‘Go get ’em, tiger.'”
Agustin Ruiz, OF
Age: 19 Height: 6-2 Weight: 215 Bats: L Throws: R
2019 Line: 194 AB, .227/.308/.320, 44 H, 20 R, 13 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 31 RBI
This isn’t the first go-round in the Midwest League for Agustin Ruiz. Because of that, Mathews knew what he was getting at the start of the 2019 season.
Ruiz — a native of Villahermosa, Tabasco in Mexico — is a product of the Padres’ strong international scouting department and its focus on the Mexican baseball scouting market.
“I had him a little bit at the end of last year,” Mathews said. “(He’s) another young hitter that’s going to have some power from the left side. Not a lot of home run power yet, but he will as he grows. (Ruiz) controls the strike zone pretty well. There’ll be some swing-and-miss in there on occasion, but he’s working on minimizing that.”
In 2018, Ruiz only saw four games with the TinCaps, posting a pair of two-hit games, two runs and two RBI. The swing-and-miss that Mathews spoke of has followed Ruiz through the organization, but not to a degree that’s alarming to the Padres’ staff.
At 19 years old, Ruiz, as with many of the Padres’ minor leaguers, has plenty of time to iron out the plate discipline. The organization is optimistic about what it sees with Ruiz.
After a hot month of April at the plate, Ruiz has cooled a bit. Because of the instincts he displayed early on, there is plenty of belief that his plate discipline will continue as he matures.
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Thanks to the depth of their farm system, the Padres have no reason to rush youngsters like Ruiz. They have plenty of time to polish his development track.
As it stands, Ruiz projects as a plus hitter. In the meantime, the Padres will work to put all the right pieces together.
Joey Cantillo, LHP
Age: 19 Height: 6-4 Weight: 220 Bats: L Throws: L
2019 Line: 44 IP, 2.45 ERA, 28 H, 12 ER, 17 BB, 59 K, 1.02 WHIP
Joey Cantillo, like roughly half the Fort Wayne roster, is just 19 years old. Since getting his first look at Cantillo early in the year, Williams found one aspect that has set the left-hander apart.
“His day-to-day is tremendous for a 19-year-old,” Williams said. “Very prepared. You don’t see a lot of 19-year-olds that organized. Just how detailed his pregame routine is. How organized he can be. It’s pretty impressive.”
With Cantillo making only one appearance with the TinCaps in 2018, a start in which he walked three and allowed four earned runs over 3⅔ innings, the decision to return him to the Midwest League this season made sense. Under Williams’ guidance, the Hawaii native showed confidence in his fastball/changeup combination. Cantillo also shifted his focus to a curveball he’s been working on since spring training.
“I think he got caught up in that a little bit early on in the season,” Williams said. “The numbers kind of got a little skewed, got back to more fastball/changeup and has had a ton of success. I think he’s a strong-minded individual. He’s very confident in what he does also, but he’s more routine-oriented than maybe some other guys. Great kid, very good worker.”
Forty-four innings into his season, Cantillo has posted 12 strikeouts per nine innings with a 2.54 FIP.
The walk rate? It’s settling in. Learning his arsenal has produced a bit of an issue with walks at 3.4 per nine innings. At his age, though, it’s a sign of someone not only learning their body, which in Cantillo’s case is a 6-foot-4 frame, but also growing more confident in the feel he has for each offering.
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After a shaky April, Cantillo was dominant in May, posting a 0.68 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP over 26⅓ innings. Along with his fellow 19-year-old teammates, he is learning to adapt within the strongest farm system in the league.
“I think they’re out here having fun,” Williams said. “Obviously, they’re thinking about one day pitching in the big leagues, but right now, they’re enjoying the moment here in Fort Wayne.”
(Photo of Ryan Weathers: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)