San Diego Padres Prospect Franmil Reyes is Tearing Up PCL

The San Diego Padres have quite a logjam in their (healthy) major-league outfield. With the recent play of one of their Triple-A grass-roamers, they may need to find a spot for another one.

Franmil Reyes is an intriguing young outfielder in the San Diego Padres’ minor league system. Over his five-plus MiLB seasons, he’s shown his power potential in spades but has also shown some weaknesses at the plate.

Before the 2018 season began, I spoke with Reyes, who admitted that he, like all ballplayers, falls into funks sometimes and that he tends to strike out a little more when he does.

He also acknowledged that he’s fully aware of any missteps or bad habits he may be falling into at the time, due to such a good feel for his body and his swing, and makes every effort he possibly can to rectify any issues promptly.

Strikeouts plagued an otherwise decent first month

Reyes’ first month in Triple-A this year, from April 5 to April 30 (103 plate appearances), the 22-year-old right-hander slashed .247/.340/.472 with five home runs, twenty runs batted in, three doubles, a triple, eleven bases-on-balls and a slightly alarming 23 strikeouts.

He began the season on a nice little tear, going six-for-seventeen over his first five games with a homer and four RBI and only one strikeout.

Then, from April 10 to April 18 Reyes slashed only .200/.333/.267 with nine strikeouts in thirty at-bats. This was clearly a rough patch, and things only got slightly better as the month drew to a close.

Well, if his pedestrian-but-promising April was presumably his “funk”, all Franmil Reyes apparently needed was for the calendar to turn to May.

Franmil Reyes has been en fuego in May

Since May 1, Franmil Reyes has gone 20-for-30 with eight home runs, sixteen runs batted in, five walks, just four strikeouts, and a 2.281 OPS.

Those eight homers all came over a five-game stretch from May 2 to May 6. The 22-year-old Dominican native had three consecutive games with two home runs, and then two more games after that with one tater in each.

His .700 batting average and 2.000 slugging percentage over that time are, personally, one of those most glaringly impressive hot streaks I’ve ever seen a player ever go on in professional baseball.

Next: Padres Need to Choose a Path for Pirela

If the injury bug should strike the San Diego Padres’ outfield again while Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe are both still out, this writer wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Franmil Reyes get the call to make his major league debut.