San Diego Padres: Reyes, Paddack, Radke Nominated For MiLB Awards

Get out to vote, San Diego Padres fans. It’s time to vote for the 2018 MiLBYS!

Not ready to completely give up the minor league baseball season? Well, there’s good news for fans of MiLB and San Diego Padres prospects as voting for the 2018 MiLBYS is underway over at MiLB.com.

Fans can vote for 13 different awards, including Starting Pitcher of the Year, Breakout Prospect, Best Farm System, Top Home Run, and more. Franmil Reyes, Chris Paddack, Travis Radke, and other San Diego Padres prospects are all nominated for various awards, with the voting window closing on October 24th.

MiLB Starting Pitcher of the Year and Breakout Prospect of the Year

There’s no denying that Chris Paddack would find his name on a Pitcher of the Year list after dominating opposing lineups in Lake Elsinore and San Antonio. Across both levels, Paddack posted a 7-3 record with a 2.10 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and a 45% groundball rate. He struck out 120 hitters and walked just eight across 90 innings. The over-powering Texan will find himself on the 40-man roster this offseason and in competition with a long list of other pitching prospects or a starting rotation spot in San Diego next season.

While his stats make him a favorite to win the Pitcher of the Year Award, Paddack faces tough competition for Breakout Prospects of the Year. He’s up against some high-profile, nationally known names such as Peter Alonso, Cavan Biggio, Jo Adell, and one of the hottest prospects in all of baseball, Wander Franco.

MiLB Relief Pitcher of the Year

Among the nominees for the best bullpen arm of the year is San Diego Padres prospect Travis Radke. The former 25th-round pick out of Portland logged 78.2 innings across four levels of the minors, striking out 91, walking 14, and holding opposing hitters to a .196 batting average. Most notably, Radke surrendered just three long balls, all while pitching for the Fort Wayne TinCaps. In 21.2 innings between El Paso, San Antonio, and Lake Elsinore, Radke did not give up a single home run. The 6’4″ lefty may not be a top prospect but he is a classic example of a bullpen workhorse.

MiLB Top Home Run

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There are only two things that could prevent Franmil Reyes from winning the MiLB Top Home Run Award; Tim Tebow and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The San Diego Padres rookie slugger is known for his moonshot home runs and unbelievable strength and showcased both with the El Paso Chihuahuas for much of the early part of 2018. His eight home runs in five games put him on this year’s nominee list, along with Tim Tebow who homered on Opening Day and Vladimir Guerrero Jr who showed why he’s the top prospect in baseball after launching a home run off a hotel.

MiLB Top Farm System

Lastly, fans can vote for the top farm system in the league. The Houston Astros featured a number of the game’s top prospects and put together big winning seasons across multiple levels of the minors, the Blue Jays and White Sox have enough elite prospects to match up well with the Padres, and the Tampa Bay Rays may have one of the deepest farm systems there is. Then there’s the San Diego Padres.

The El Paso Chihuahuas and San Antonio Missions experienced playoff runs, while the Fort Wayne TinCaps just missed out on a Midwest League playoff spot. San Diego also saw its two best prospects, Fernando Tatis Jr.and MacKenzie Gore, fall victim to the injury bug this year. The depth in this system allowed their teams to continue winning, even without their services. It would be fairly difficult to vote against this farm system.

Padres fans can vote these awards and the rest of the MiLBYS by clicking here.