San Diego Padres News: Joey Lucchesi is overthinking

Joey Lucchesi is one of several San Diego Padres who recently dealt with the flu. He returned to the mound on Saturday, and it was rough, to say the least.

Good morning everyone, and Happy Sunday. How’s everyone adjusting to Daylight Savings Time? I caught the end of the San Diego State game yesterday, and I have several questions why that three-point attempt was taken that ultimately set up Utah State’s game-winning three-pointer. But we’ll stick to baseball here. The San Diego Padres suffered their third loss of the spring yesterday, and Joey Lucchesi‘s outing was pretty lousy.

He recorded just two outs in the first innings – throwing 16 of his 32 pitches for balls (or strikes depending on how you view life) – and walked four guys, including with the bases loaded, and that closed the book on his day. It sounds like he’s doing a bit of overthinking, per the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“Everything was just up, wild, scattered,” Lucchesi said. “Honestly, I’ve got to fill up the zone, stop thinking about the wrong stuff and worry about striking out the batter instead of my mechanics.”

The fifth starter battle is one of several that are being monitored closely, and Lucchesi isn’t doing himself any favors. Before Saturday, he had a loose grip on the final spot in the rotation, but after MacKenzie Gore‘s debut and Cal Quantrill‘s reliability, it could be slipping away from him.

Other News

• Franchy Cordero and Ty France both launched their first home runs of the spring. Cordero is vying for a roster spot in the outfield and lived up to his nickname as the “exit velocity king” with a 115 mph exit velocity recorded on his home run.
• Speaking of the flu, Fernando Tatis Jr. returned to live batting practice and sprinting. Look for him to return to the lineup this week.
• Similar to the rotation, the Padres’ mentality on bullpen pitching is that you can never have enough. General Manager AJ Preller alluded to the unpredictability of the bullpen from year to year, which is accurate, and he’s done a terrific job of adding talent in both Drew Pomeranz, Pierce Johnson, and Emilio Pagan to bolster an already solid ‘pen.
• Zach Davies has been excellent thus far in spring, and he provided some insight on how he attacks hitters on a 2-0 count. “My goal, if I’m down 2-0 to a guy or in a hitter’s count, is to make him put it in play, but at the same time, make a quality pitch and make him put it in play with soft contact.”
• Credit our friends at Friar Lounge for their amazing content from spring training. Check out this video of how hands-on Jayce Tingler is with his players. I think it’s safe to say those who were skeptical of the hire at first are completely on board now.