San Diego Padres: Looking at Luis Patino’s role in 2021

Questions remain about where the San Diego Padres will use Luis Patino in 2021.

After years of general manager AJ Preller stockpiling the San Diego Padres farm system, Friar faithful are finally seeing the fruits of Preller’s years of labor.

Whether it’s trading away excess prospect talent to fill gaps in the major league roster, or witnessing the rise of heralded young talents like Dinelson Lamet and Fernando Tatis Jr. the San Diego Padres have seen some notable turnover within their minor league system, yet have been able to retain many of their top-ranked prospects, including starting pitching prospect Luis Patino.

After bursting onto the scene with a dominant 2018 campaign in A-ball (6-3, 2.16 ERA, 98 K), Patino continued his climb in 2019 with an even more impressive season in High-A. Armed with an electric, high-powered fastball and a major league-quality slider and changeup, Patino fanned 113 hitters in 87 innings and recording a 2.69 ERA in 18 outings.

Despite logging less than ten innings above High-A, the San Diego Padres pushed Patino up to the major leagues in 2020 where the then 20-year-old saw 11 games of action.

In his limited time in the majors, Patino went 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.85 WHIP, striking out 21, but walking 14 hitters in 17.1 innings. He also saw some action during San Diego’s playoff running, pitching a shutout inning against St. Louis in the NL Wild Card Series and giving up one earned run in 1.2 frames against Los Angeles in the NLDS.

The overall numbers weren’t that impressive, especially that unsightly walk rate, but you can’t fault a rookie making his MLB debut earlier than anticipated and during a weird COVID-dominated season. There’s also the fact that Patino couldn’t legally walk into a bar and grab a drink after an outing at Petco Park, even if bars were open over the summer.

So where does that put Luis Patino in 2021? Should the San Diego Padres continue to use Patino out of the bullpen, or should they prepare to enter next season with their third-ranked prospect in the starting rotation?

Considering the current state of the starting rotation, the Padres may be inclined to prep Patino for a spot in the rotation, but keeping him in the bullpen may be the better option right now.

Patino’s long-term future is as a starter, but if he can continue to settle into the major leagues out of the ‘pen and the Padres can harness his electric repertoire in shorter stints, it may be more beneficial to both parties.

Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates are both free agents now, leaving San Diego in need of a bullpen arm or two to solidify an otherwise solid unit. Plugging Patino in the bullpen adds a high-impact arm to this unit and allows San Diego to shore up their starting rotation with veteran free agent options while arms like Patino, Gore, and Ryan Weathers continue to develop.

At the end of the day, Patino’s performance in spring training will give the San Diego Padres a better idea of what his role in 2021 will be, but as the Padres look to add veteran stability to the starting rotation, giving Luis Patino another season in the bullpen could be a great way to not only improve their bullpen but also set up one of the top young pitching talents for a long, successful career.