San Diego Padres: Franmil Reyes makes his debut

San Diego Padres prospect Franmil Reyes has been decimating baseballs in Triple-A El Paso.

Not only does Franmil Reyes currently lead the minors in home runs with 14, but that’s also more than any player in Major League Baseball has hit this season. Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Mookie Betts all currently have 13 on the year. Emerging as one of the hottest prospects down on the farm, Reyes made his San Diego Padres debut last against the Colorado Rockies.

In 36 games in El Paso, Reyes has dazzled. He’s batting .346 with an OPS of 1.180. On Monday night, he made his debut in the Padres lineup batting sixth, just behind his longtime friend Franchy Cordero.

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Despite those spectacular Triple-A numbers, it seems like “first game jitters” may have gotten the best of Reyes in his first night in the show. He went 0-4 on the evening, but it’s worth noting he reached first on a horrendous throwing error by Trevor Story in the 4th inning. A throw, that would cause Cordero to score.

And while he wasn’t charged with a hit or an RBI, maybe it was just Reyes’s towering 6-foot-5, 240-pound presence at the plate, that made Story a little anxious to get that throw off as soon as possible. Regardless, it gave the Padres the 2-1 lead for the time being.

Reyes certainly isn’t lacking in the confidence department. While most rookies aren’t called up and make an immediate impact in their first game, Reyes knows that he has the ability to put on a show in San Diego. Earlier today he was quoted by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com saying:

“I’m a big guy…You guys will see a lot of homers, hopefully.”

Next: Padres Will Have to Find Spots for Franmil Reyes

Although they would end up losing 6-4 to the Rockies, we’re still yet to see what Reyes can really do at the plate. There’s no doubt that once he does adjust, having Cordero and Reyes back-to-back in that Padres lineup can be a deadly combination down the line.