Padres prospect's perfect outing eliminates doubt from impending offseason decision

Three San Diego Padres pitching prospects put on a show with Double-A San Antonio Thursday, led by six perfect innings from right-hander Ryan Bergert.

Bergert was unhittable, striking out nine and not allowing a baserunner over six innings of work. Bergert, along with Bradgley Rodriguez and Ryan Och, threw a combined no-hitter in Double-A San Antonio's 8-0 win over visiting Amarillo. It was just Bergert's second quality start of the season, and his nine strikeouts are a season high and tied for a career high.

The Padres took Bergert with the 190th overall selection in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He saw his draft stock fall after undergoing Tommy John surgery that wiped out his junior season at West Virginia, but the Padres were willing to take a risk on the right-hander with high upside and signed him for double his slot value at $500,000.

Padres prospect's perfect outing eliminates doubt from impending offseason decision

Now in his fourth pro season in San Diego's system, Bergert has yet to provide a significant return on the Padres' investment. He has a career ERA of 4.31 over 290 1/3 innings pitched. The No. 26 prospect in the Padres system according to MLB Pipeline, Bergert has especially struggled this season in Double-A. His 5.12 ERA over 70 1/3 innings is up significantly from his 2.73 ERA across High-A and Double-A in 2023.

Bergert could be turning a corner, though, with Thursday's gem putting an exclamation point on the hot streak he's been on of late. In his past 19 innings, Bergert has held a 1.42 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP, which is especially impressive considering that he posted a 7.60 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP in the previous 34 innings before this stretch.

Bergert's performance in the minor leagues leading up to this recent stretch has invited speculation that the Padres might be inclined to expose him in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. However, his perfect outing Thursday could go a long way in silencing any doubts about his future with the organization.

More Padres content from Friars on Base