San Diego Padres: Trey Wingenter Set For Major League Debut

The San Diego Padres are adding Trey Wingenter to the bullpen mix. This is his first major league call-up.

It has finally started! Before Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs, the San Diego Padres will call-up RHP Trey Wingenter from AAA El Paso. He is expected to make his major league debut at some point in today’s game at Wrigley Field.

First reported by San Diego Union-Tribune’s Keven Acee, Wingenter will be added to the 40-man roster, taking the final open slot available. As of this writing, the Padres have not made the move official, meaning we aren’t sure who will be leaving the 25-man roster, at the moment (will be updated once that information is released by the team).

Wingenter will bring his 6’7″200-pound frame and ability to reach 100 mph to the Padres’ bullpen after a highly successful minor league career. Originally drafted in the 17th round of the 2015 draft out of Auburn University, Wingenter has 44 innings under his belt this season, pitching to a 3.45 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a .185 batting average against him. More than 28% of hitters have fallen victim to a strikeout against Wingenter.

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With a three-quarter delivery, a 6’7″ frame, and a fastball that routinely sits in the upper-90s, Wingenter has been highly effective against right-handed hitters. His main secondary pitch is his sweeping slider that righties struggle to hit.

Since the beginning of June, Wingenter has made 19 appearances, giving up runs in just two of those outings. He hasn’t given up a run since July 12th and has allowed just two hits over his last seven innings pitched.

There is one word of caution with Wingenter, just to be aware of. His command can be a bit wild at times. His walk rate over the last three seasons has increased year-by-year. In El Paso, Wingenter walked nearly five hitters/nine innings (12.8%).

Let the evaluation period begin.

Saturday afternoon, the Padres sent Walker Lockett to the mound, making his second start and third appearance of the season. His last outing was a relief spot, in which he was still on an airplane when the game started. Saturday was his chance to put in a solid, scheduled outing. His final line read: 5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Six of those hits and all five runs came in a second inning that saw Lockett give up two home runs (Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber) in the process. Outside of that disastrous inning, Lockett didn’t look terrible, flashing a hard changeup that produced its share of swings and misses (two whiffs on seven swings, per BrooksBaseball.net).

While the outcome wasn’t what fans wanted, this is what we need to see the rest of this season. Answer the question, can Walker Lockett man the back-end of a major league rotation? Can Trey Wingenter come out of a major league pen and be effective?

Congratulations to Wingenter on his first major league call-up. With the adrenaline flowing as he makes his debut at historic Wrigley Field, will we see him hit 100 mph? Tune in at 11:20 am PT to find out.