Padres prospect news: Alek Jacob is moving quickly through the system

Rylie Smith

Jul 16, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A detailed view of the uniform patch worn by San Diego Padres right fielder Wil Myers (5) during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres are promoting prospect Alek Jacob through the farm system quickly, and he continues to prove each move was well-deserved.

Jacob was drafted in the 16th round out of Gonzaga University in 2021. He was assigned to Single-A at the end of the season and began this season at High-A. After just four games, he was moved up to Double-A.

After 17 games in Double-A, he was moved up, once again, to Triple-A. Currently he has an ERA of 0.96, batting average against of .184 and WHIP of 0.88 between all levels this season. According to Mad Friars, “Alek Jacob worked a scoreless ninth for his first Triple-A save and lowered his professional ERA to 0.64 in the year since he was drafted.”

He’s following a similar path to MacKenzie Gore, who made his MLB debut this season and is doing extremely well in San Diego.

Alek Jacob is following a similar path to Padres rookie MacKenzie Gore

Gore moved up four times in 2021 in the minors. Last season, he pitched an ERA of 3.93, BAA of .240 and WHIP of 1.47. He pitched just five innings at Triple-A this year before being called up to the majors.

Though Gore had a difficult season in 2021 and Jacob has yet to have one, the two share the similarity of moving up quickly in the farm system within one season.

Jacob moving up quickly is not indicative of him being called up like Gore, however. He’s not among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Padres Prospects, so he’ll likely stay in the minors a bit longer. If he continues to pitch as well as he has been, he’ll undoubtedly have the potential to move up and is a player worth watching in the minors.

Rylie Smith

Rylie's first experience with sports was when she was 3 years old, as a tee-ball player and a dancer. Her life quickly began to revolve around sports, and it quickly became not only a passion as an athlete, but a passion as a spectator. During undergrad, she studied sport communications and became a multi-platform intern for NBC Sports Boston. She is most drawn to NHL and MLB, but is interested in all sports.