San Diego Padres: Checking Back In On Fort Wayne’s Nick Margevicius

Down in Fort Wayne, Indiana, an under the radar pitching prospect continues to shine for the San Diego Padres.

It’s really hard to pick a favorite San Diego Padres affiliate to watch. When the franchise has the number one ranked farm system in all of Major League Baseball, every team is stacked with talent. However, if you haven’t watched a Fort Wayne TinCaps game, you’re missing out on some of the most exciting baseball in all of MiLB.

At the beginning of the season, I highlighted two players on the Fort Wayne roster that fans should pay special close attention to. One of those players, LHP Nick Margevicius, has lived up to the billing.

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A seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft out of Rider University, Margevicius has logged nine starts for the TinCaps, refusing to allow more than three earned runs in any of those starts.

For the year, he owns a 4-2 record with a 2.65 earned run average and a 1.22 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .261 off of him, just two of those hits finding itself over the fence. Through 51 innings, Margevicius is striking out more than 30% of hitters while walking only 4.2%.

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His early claim to fame has been his ability to limit baserunners, a trend he is continuing very well in full-season ball. He ranks third in the Midwest League in strikeouts (65) and seventh in earned run average (2.65).

Margevicius is only getting stronger as he extends into the season. Over his last three starts, he is 3-0 with a 21/2 K/BB ratio, giving up only five runs.

He turns 22 in just a few days but is quickly establishing himself as a very good arm in a loaded system. The highlight of the 2018 season in Fort Wayne was supposed to be last year’s first-round pick, MacKenzie Gore. Unfortunately, Gore has been sidelined with “Rich Hill syndrome” (blisters). While team wins in the minor leagues mean very little, Margevicius has stepped up to help lead the TinCaps a winning record in their division.

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Once the MLB draft is complete next week, we can expect to see some roster shuffling throughout the minor leagues. Will Nick Margevicius find himself in Lake Elsinore in the coming weeks? If it doesn’t happen after the draft, there’s no doubt he ends the year in High-A where we will get a better idea of his future with the franchise.