San Diego Padres must make Cal Quantrill a starter

As the San Diego Padres’ starters continue to struggle, the Friars have one possible fix: move Cal Quantrill out of the bullpen and into the rotation.

Pitching is the San Diego Padres‘ biggest weakness, but Cal Quantrill could help fix a broken rotation—if he was given more opportunities as a starting pitcher instead of being bounced around the organization.

Quantrill has started six games for the Padres, going 31 total innings with a 5.23 ERA. In those 31 innings, he’s allowed 18 earned runs on 34 hits, while striking out 27 batters and only giving up a paltry eight walks.

Those numbers may not set the baseball world on fire, but they’re more than admirable for a pitcher who’s been back and forth between San Diego and its minor league affiliates more than once in 2019.

Quantrill, the Padres’ first-round draft pick in 2016, has careened between the two—rendering him unable to have any of the consistency that a young pitcher needs to develop into a star. How much better could his numbers be if he knew when his next start was, and had a chance to settle in one place?

More from Padres News

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

Plus, the timing of his various moves has been questionable at best.

Cal Quantrill earned his first MLB win against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 26 with a strong line—six innings pitched, three runs and two hits surrendered, with nine strikeouts.

How did the San Diego Padres reward that? They promptly optioned him to Triple-A to make room for Luis Perdomo.

Earlier this month, Quantrill was brought back again to start against the Colorado Rockies. This time he gave up six runs on four hits, but his six-inning stint was longer than his compatriots—fellow rookie Nick Margevicius lasted only three innings in his start, and Eric Lauer didn’t make it into the fourth either.

And it’s worth noting that Lauer was the Opening Day starter for the 2019 Padres.

But all Quantrill’s longevity got him was a transfer to the San Diego bullpen—and even there, he’s performed well, pitching two scoreless innings in his last relief appearance at Pittsburgh.

There’s another reason to start Cal Quantrill, too, beyond just the numbers. The Padres currently have an overabundance of left-handed starters. Lauer, Joey Lucchesi, Matt Strahm and new rookie sensation Logan Allen are all left-handers.

Only the recently recalled Chris Paddack is a right-hander, and Paddack is supposedly having his innings limited (though his rest in the minors lasted less than two weeks). So he could easily end up being dropped from the rotation, or at least not being used to his full potential.

Quantrill could easily step in if Paddack has to miss any starts in the rest of the 2019 season. At the worst, he’d provide the San Diego Padres with a second right-handed option in the rotation, which would essentially balance out the current starting corps. There’s no reason for the Padres not to make Cal Quantrill their next starter.

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres’ 2019 season, continue following Friars on Base all season long.