Padres forced to fast-track top prospect after injuries to Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove

The San Diego Padres had to pivot following the devastating injury news over the weekend. Their two frontline starters — Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove — both landed on the injured list.

Randy Vasquez was called up over the weekend to act as the emergency starter for Musgrove, who was placed on the IL with elbow inflammation. Though the Friars put Darvish on the IL as well, with his next start not scheduled until Tuesday, San Diego had a few more days to figure out how to supplement the roster.

According to FanSided's Robert Murray, the Padres will hand the keys over to one of their top prospects. The Padres will turn to top pitching prospect Adam Mazur on Tuesday, giving the right-hander his very first start in the big leagues. Mazur ranks fifth in the Padres farm system, according to MLB Pipeline.

Padres fast-track top prospect following injuries to Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove

Mazur has made 10 starts in the minor leagues this season while splitting time between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. Mazur appeared in 24 games between High-A and Double-A last season and owned a 2.81 ERA with 90 punchouts in 96 innings pitched.

This season, Mazur sailed through the competition at Double-A, but hit a rough patch after being promoted to Triple-A. In six starts with the San Antonio Missions, Mazur was 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA. Seeing that he was much too talented to remain at that level, the Friars bumped Mazur up to Triple-A last month. But Mazur is 1-2 since joining the El Paso Chihuahuas with a 7.11 ERA.

Mazur was a second-round pick by the Padres less than two years ago, but after having traded away the likes of Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, San Diego is being forced to fast-track one of their most talented young arms to the big leagues in order to fill the void in the starting rotation.

Thankfully for Mazur, his first action in The Show will come against the hapless Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who are without their best player in Mike Trout. While not the most ideal circumstances, manager Mike Shildt has no choice but to trust his young hurler on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Mazur's longevity in the big leagues this season will likely depend, not only on his performance, but on the health of both Darvish and Musgrove. Darvish is dealing with a groin injury, while Musgrove's elbow injury is much more concerning.

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