The San Diego Padres Top 100 Prospects: #99–Jean Corpas, RHP

Name: Jean Corpas
Position: Pitcher (RH Swingman)
DOB: 3/9/91
2010 Level(s): DSL Padres (Rookie)

Not to be confused with teammate Juan Corpas (MiLB.com made this mistake early in the year, crediting Jean for starting 2/5 of the team’s games), Jean Corpas has put together a nice little year as the ace for the DSL Padres. He isn’t the top pitching prospect on the team (at least, not according to these rankings), a solid 2.98 ERA showing is nothing to sneeze at.

Corpas throws strikes with a fastball that sits around 90 mph, and he also chucks a slider and changeup. The Panamanian righthander has walked just 15 batters in 60 1/3 innings this season.

There are several issues with Corpas at this point, which is why he’s so far down on the list. For one, at age 19, he still hasn’t even played US ball yet, so even if he progresses one level per year, he wouldn’t be hitting Fort Wayne until age 22. Secondly, he’s whiffed just 41 batters in 60 1/3 frames, so he’s not really a strikeout guy even in the lowest of minor leagues. He’s going to need to retain his strikeout rate all the way up the ladder, because if it falls, he’ll be vulnerable to being hit around.

Plenty of DSL wonders flop in stateside ball, so Corpas is going to need to prove himself in America before he really can start moving up this list–and that goes for the majority of the DSL team as a whole. With his lack of present strikeout ability, I have to wonder if he’ll ultimately become a durable reliever at some point. Hopefully, the 2011 season will shed more light on what the Padres really have here, and what direction to take with Corpas in the future.

The Chicken Friars 2010 San Diego Padres Top 100 Prospects List

Introduction
#100 Chris Stewart
#99 Jean Corpas