Padres Dinelson Lamet Pitches Strong in AA San Antonio

The Padres 10th ranked prospect Dinelson Lamet struck out 9 and allowed 1 hit over 6 innings in a 16-0 shutout of AA San Antonio over Midland. The prospect has been on fire of late.

After a good start in A Lake Elsinore, the Padres promoted the prospect and he struggled in his first three starts. This past Saturday he struggled some with his command, but the movement was back and he took a big step forward in confidence.

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The Padres went big on pitching in the recent MLB Amateur draft, as they are heavy on outfielders in their prospect system but a little bare in pitching after trading some top prospects like Matt Wisler and Joe Ross over the last couple of off-seasons.

Missions Manager Phillip Wellmanwas impressed by what he saw Saturday from Lamet: “Tonight was one of his better starts. Indicated by the five walks, he scattered his fastball a little too much. His command improved as the game went on. The walks were early in the game and he really settled down. Slider was as nasty tonight as I’ve seen. It was very good tonight.”

The manager noted that he saw much improved command while throwing his fastball compared to his three previous starts in AA after being promoted June 10th. He noted that “it was good to see him command his fastball”.

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Dinelson is the third highest ranked pitcher currently in the Padres Top Prospects list behind Austin Smith and Logan Allen. The top of the Padres list includes AAA outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot who see poised to at least get a cup of coffee in September with the Padres out of the playoff race.

Lamet might need more seasoning than that, but with steady progression he could be ready to compete for a rotation spot by 2018 and hopefully the Padres have a few other pieces ready to join him by then for a championship run.