San Diego Padres Prospects Bring Home MiLB Awards

Major League Baseball’s top farm system is off to a solid start to the 2018 MiLB season. A few San Diego Padres’ minor leaguers brought home awards for their success last week down on the farm.

The AAA El Paso Chihuahuas are off to a blazing start in the Pacific Coast Leauge. The San Diego Padres’ affiliate currently sits at 13-5, first place in the PCL Pacific Southern Division. With top prospects such as Eric Lauer and Luis Urias leading the way, the Chihuahuas are in the midst of a six-game winning streak.

Starting catcher/first baseman Bret Nicholas was named the PCL Player Of The Week after his monster week at the plate. Nicholas went 10-27 (.370) while hitting four home runs, drawing five walks, and striking out just five times.

The Padres traded for Nicholas at the beginning of the year to bring in a veteran backup option at the catcher position. Since joining the Friar’s organization, Nicholas is slashing .386/.455/.807 with six home runs and six doubles.

Nicholas has experienced success at the major league level and could be a better option to backup Padres’ starting catcher Austin Hedges. He has 103 career at-bats, hitting .252 with four home runs, nine doubles, and a .756 OPS. Current backup catcher AJ Ellis has three hits and six strikeouts in 16 at-bats.

Buddy Reed Takes Hom His Own Hardware

Deeper down the organizational ladder, Padres’ outfield prospect Buddy Reed also brought home a Player of the Week award. The California League’s top hitter absolutely raked this past week.

Last Tuesday was, without a doubt, the best performance Reed has put up in his career. The 22-year-old out of the University of Florida went 4-5 with two home runs (one inside-the-park), driving in six runs in the process. Entering Tuesday’s game, Reed had just seven home runs in nearly 600 career minor league at-bats.

The Lake Elsinore outfielder is now hitting .413 on the season with four home runs, six doubles, and five stolen bases. His on-base percentage is only slightly higher than his batting average, .431, however, very few expected this sort of production from Reed.

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Congratulations to both players on their honors and impressive performances this past week!