Marcano is batting .410 this spring and in battle for roster spot.
The Padres with A.J. Preller as general manager have never stopped a prospect from advancing as fast as he could.
See Fernando Tatis Jr., Joey Lucchesi, etc.
But they have never been this good in Preller’s tenure, and with only so many roster spots available it figures that at some point good young players will be slowed in their progress toward the major leagues.
That could be the case with 21-year-old Tucupita Marcano. Or it might not be.
“Marcano is definitely in the fight,” manager Jayce Tingler said Sunday. “We’re still waiting to see where we’re at health-wise and still making a final call or so with the position players and then, obviously, with the bullpen as well. We’ve still got a couple calls to be made.”
Tingler indicated Saturday that center fielder Trent Grisham seemed unlikely to begin the season on the opening-day roster as he works back from a hamstring strain. That would leave an extra bench spot open.
Jurickson Profar is a virtual lock and Jorge Mateo seems to have earned a job, but Marcano could take the spot that for much of the spring would have seemed destined to go to Brian O’Grady. It is possible the Padres ultimately decide to leave Ha-seong Kim off the roster, but every indication from the team is that Kim will be in the majors.
Marcano played second base, shortstop and third at low-A Fort Wayne in 2019 and spent last season at the team’s alternate site. This spring, he has played every position except catcher and first base.
“Versatility, ability to play defense at a lot of different positions,” Tingler said when asked what sets Marcano apart. “The at-bats, the ability to put barrel to ball, the ability to put the ball in play.”
Marcano is batting .410 (16-for-39) with a .489 onbase percentage this spring. That includes a .290 average (9-for-31) against pitchers with major league experience. The Padres have brought Marcano, the team’s third-ranked position prospect, off the bench most of the past two weeks. But in that span, all but one of his 16 plate appearances have come against pitchers with major league experience, and he has batted .312/ .389 in that stretch.
“Everything you’ve seen him do in spring training, everything you’ve seen him do late in spring training, facing a little more competition, his overall play has kept him in the fight,” Tingler said. “I think we’ve known what he’s capable of doing. Maybe it’s been a pleasant surprise to see him play so well. We know he’s got the skill set. I guess the surprise would be being able to do it in spring training at such a young age.”
Not quite yet
MacKenzie Gore, widely considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, was likely already headed to time at the alternate site (and possibly then in the minors) after an inconsistent spring. His allowing four hits, including a three-run homer, in 12⁄3 innings Sunday against the Cleveland Indians likely sealed that decision.
In 111⁄3 innings over five Cactus League games, Gore for periods flashed excellent stuff but allowed seven runs on five hits and eight walks. Save for one outing, the lefthander’s biggest issue was not locating the ball well in the strike zone often enough and throwing too many waste pitches that weren’t close to the zone.
Gore has pitched 212⁄3 innings above Single-A and spent last year at the team’s alternate site. He was slow-played last spring before the pandemic halted camp. So Tingler chose to take the broader view of the 22-yearold’s progression.
“If you’re going to evaluate the whole spring, I just look at where he was last year to where he is now,” Tingler said. “Last year, comes up to pitch, the pandemic hit (but) he wasn’t going to be there the last couple weeks. For him to be here, whatever happens over the next day, for him to be in the final fight the last day or two, he’s made significant steps going forward.”
Hit away
Joe Musgrove had to talk Tingler into letting him swing away Sunday and in is first at-bat lined a double to center field.
The next inning, Musgrove laid down a bunt to the left side which went for a single when the pitcher did not attempt a throw. He scored both times he reached base and finished the spring 3for-5. Musgrove hit .159 (13for-82) between 2018 and ’19 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 29 points better than the overall average for NL pitchers in that span.
“I’m glad he let me go out there, glad I got the feel of swinging the bat and running the bases,” said Musgrove, who had been taking it slow at the plate before Sunday due to a left wrist fracture suffered last season. “Those are things you can’t practice in spring training unless you actually go through it. Hitting the double and then trying to score from second, then sprinting down the line to beat out a bunt, that’s a lot of extra running, a lot of extra energy exerted on your body throughout the course of a start. So it was nice to experience a little bit of that and still go out and have quality pitching.”
Yes, Musgrove did OK on the mound Sunday too, throwing five hitless innings. He struck out six and walked two.