Ranking the Padres Lefty Starters in the Minors

Having a left-handed starting pitcher is a nice weapon to have in a pitching rotation. This year, the San Diego Padres do not have a lefty slated to be in the opening day starting rotation. In fact, because of the recent trades, the depth of left-handed starters is practically non-existent down on the farm. That being said, there are some arms that could turn into good prospects. You just have to dig deep. And we did. Here are the left-handed starter rankings for the Padres farm system….

10. Max MacNabb, AZL Padres

This a bit of a bias for me. I actually hit against MacNabb several times in high school when he attended La Costa Canyon High School and myself, San Pasqual. I am no major league scout much less hitter, but the dude has some nasty stuff. He has only appeared in 19 games professionally and has posted an unimpressive 5.93 ERA. However, he excelled on one of the best baseball programs in the West in USD, which also produced the Cubs’ young stellar prospect Kris Bryant. Take it from someone who has seen him pitch on two different levels now, he has potential to be filthy. If he isn’t a starter, he could ascend in the system as a nice southpaw weapon out of the bullpen.

milb.com

9. Griffin Russell, Tri-City Dust Devils

The 20 year-old has pitched in 36 professional games and made 8 starts. He has mostly been used out of the bullpen but can start if called upon. He actually has a lower career ERA as a starter than a reliever. He has struggled a lot but seems to be on the incline. Lefties only hit .192 off of him last year. He is from Wichita Falls, TX and was drafted in the 28th round in 2012 by San Diego.

8. Brandon Alger, Lake Elsinore Storm

Alger was drafted the same year as Russell, in round 26. He went to Indiana Tech before getting drafted. He too has spent most of his time in the bullpen but has been a sporadic starter. In 3 seasons, he has made 14 starts. He has a career ERA of 3.99 in 196 innings. Opponents hit .191 off of him last year. He finished 2014 very strong with 13 strikeouts and only 2 earned runs in his last 11 innings pitched.

7. Travis Radke, Tri-City Dust Devils

Radke was drafted last summer out of Portland. He had an impressive showing in his first brief professional season. He started 2 games and appeared in 17 games overall. He posted a 3.12 ERA in 34 2/3 innings. He also had 44 strikeouts. He had a strong finish to the season with a 2.75 ERA in his last 8 games.

milb.com

6. Jeffrey Enloe, Fort Wayne TinCaps

Enloe was drafted in the 37th round in 2013 by San Diego. The 25 year-old from Louisiana played his college ball at Central Arkansas before going pro. He has made 18 career starts in the minor leagues over 2 seasons. He even got up to Double-A San Antonio last season. He spent the majority of 2014 in Fort Wayne. He went 6-6 with a 3.84 ERA in 12 starts for the club. He won’t wow anyone with his strikeout numbers but he does not give up too many long balls. He has only surrendered 8 home runs in 110 innings (that is a home run roughly every 14 innings).

5. Danny Wissmann, Tri-City Dust Devils

The 22 year-old out of Maryland was drafted last summer out of South Carolina-Aiken. He has only appeared in one professional game and it was an inning of relief for Eugene. His college numbers are impressive. He struck out 62 in a little over 43 innings. He is still very raw and has a long way to go before making it up to the big club. He is definitely an arm to keep an eye on.

4. Alex Constanza, Tri-City Dust Devils

Constanza was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011 as a teenager. He will be 20 on Opening Day. He has a good fastball with decent velocity. Since he is so young, the Padres are in no hurry to rush him up the system. He has time to develop and improve. He has played 4 professional seasons and started 21 games. Most of his experience has been in Rookie ball. He only has two starts above rookie ball.

3. Payton Baskette, Fort Wayne TinCaps

Baskette was drafted in the 16th round in 2013 by the Friars. He played his college ball at Grayson County College in Texas. Baskette posted a 3.38 ERA in his final college season. He started his 2014 season in Eugene and finished with a rocky second half in Fort Wayne. He had 17 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings in 4 games for Eugene before moving up. In his last appearance, he had a rough outing. He allowed 6 runs in 4 2/3 innings on 7 hits. He also did strike out 7 that day, which was a season high. He has a lot of work to do before thinking about moving to Double-A ball and beyond.