Minor League Baseball Weekly Feature Series Preview: Rancho Cucamonga vs. Lake Elsinore
Lake Elsinore Storm Offense
Much of the San Diego Padres’ incredible prospect depth is in A-ball and lower, and Lake Elsinore is the first “loaded” team in their system, though the real crazy rosters will begin when short-season squads open.
Lake Elsinore has a good balance of hitting and pitching prospects, although the pitching prospects are certainly much more highly regarded.
That said, the offense is nothing to scoff at. Michael Gettys has made the transition to the outfield from third base since coming over in a trade with the Red Sox. Behind the plate is Austin Allen, who posted an impressive .319/.362/.429 line last season at the plate.
The real strength of the Storm is their infield. Josh Naylor is the youngest member of the infield, but he’s got the biggest prospect pedigree as a slugging first baseman.
He’s joined in the infield by Ruddy Giron and Javier Guerra, both of whom could adequately handle shortstop and make a very dynamic middle infield combo on defense. Ty France repeats at the level after posting a very solid 2016 in half a year with the Storm.
Storm Pitching
The real “name” guys for the Storm are certainly in the rotation, though this series will not catch one of them, as Anderson Espinoza opened the year on the disabled list.
Thursday’s starter Cal Quantrill was a top-10 pick in the 2016 draft, and he looked very good in his first start of the season, striking out seven batters over five innings. He’s been a top-100 guy in many offseason lists.
I’m intrigued by Friday’s starter, righty Pedro Avila, who was acquired in the offseason from the Washington Nationals in the trade for Derek Norris. He has excellent command without big stuff, but his command has allowed for very good production to this point in his minor league career.
Saturday will see righty Jean Cosme on the mound for the Storm. Cosme has a fastball, curve, and change profile, but he’s really likely a reliever as the change is significantly behind. I’d wager that he heads to the bullpen when Espinoza returns, though he has good command of the fastball that would allow him to go multiple innings out of the bullpen or as a spot starter.
Eric Lauer is the other top pitching prospect that will miss the series this weekend. Lauer was the second first-round selection for the Padres last season along with Quantrill, and he had a very good year in his debut as well. Lauer was worked fairly hard at Kent State in his draft year, which led to some concern about his future arm health. He’s still got excellent stuff, and I’ll be watching his work closely this year after he opened the year getting tagged for four runs in 3 2/3 innings, but also striking out seven.
Next: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes