Arizona Fall League: San Diego Padres Prospects Continue To Shine

With the Arizona Fall League well underway, let’s take a quick look at how every San Diego Padres prospect is performing, thus far.

Now that the Arizona Fall League is a few weeks into its season, let’s check in on how Buddy Reed, Hudson Potts, and the rest of their fellow San Diego Padres teammates have been performing in the elite offseason league. As of Tuesday evening, the Peoria Javelinas sit at 8-4 and in first place in the western division and first place overall.

The early success of the Javelinas isn’t surprising, considering the team is comprised of top prospects from San Diego, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Seattle. Representing the Padres are outfielder Buddy Reed, third baseman Hudson Potts, catcher Austin Allen, and pitchers Miguel Diaz, Travis Radke, Dauris Valdez, and Hansel Rodriguez.

It is difficult to say one prospect needs a more a successful AFL outing than another, but Buddy Reed really needs a productive fall season after his disappointing stint in Double-A. After two sub-par seasons in the minors to begin his career, the former second-round pick exploded onto the scene in Lake Elsinore, even making waves in the MLB Future’s Game at the All-Star break. The hype was quieted after hitting .179 in San Antonio.

Reed is currently fourth on the Peoria roster in hits, going 11-30 to start the season with one double, two walks, five strikeouts, and three stolen bases. He already has three games in which he has collected three hits, playing in just seven total. Against left-handed pitchers, Reed is 4-8 with a walk. The next step for Reed will be to start producing extra-base hits.

As for his teammates, Hudson Potts has nine hits on the season (.237 average) including three doubles and two home runs. He does have 12 strikeouts but is showcasing his developing power. Remember, Potts is still 19 playing against many of the more elite prospects in all of baseball.

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Catcher Austin Allen is off to a little bit of a slower start, hitting .217 with a .296 OBP in his six appearances. He has two doubles, four runs driven in, and a 6/3 K/BB ratio to his name. We already know he can hit the ball. The major focus for Allen in Arizona will be his defense as the Padres face an interesting decision on how to handle him, moving forward.

Miguel Diaz leads the way for the Peoria pitching staff.

Expect to see a lot of Miguel Diaz next spring training. He has been solid through his first three starts in the AFL, currently sitting at 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. In 11 innings of work, Diaz has given up just eight hits and three walks while striking out eight. He is an exciting young pitcher with a dominant ability to strike hitters out. Keep an eye on Diaz come February.

Below are the rest of the numbers put up Padres pitchers this season in the AFL:

• Travis Radke: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 8 K, 5.06 ERA, 2.44 WHIP
• Dauris Valdez: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 3.60 ERA, 1.60 WHIP
• Hansel Rodriguez: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP

You can follow along with the AFL each day by visiting their scoreboard until MLB gets it right and begins to stream these games.