Baseball America Spring Training Prospect Report -- March 14, 2019

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Chris Paddack, RHP, Padres. Paddack had an excellent outing, allowing one run across four innings with six strikeouts. Although he lacks a true breaking ball, Paddack pairs his plus fastball with a changeup that is one of the best in the minors. Paddack has a 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings this spring, but he’s shown enough flashes of dominance (12.2 K/9, 1.4 BB/9) to be a serious contender for a spot in the Padres Opening Day rotation.

Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Blue Jays. Reid-Foley has a four pitch mix, including a plus fastball that can reach up to 97 mph and a plus slider that gets swings and misses. The righthander threw two innings on Wednesday, giving up two runs while striking out four.

Francisco Mejia, C, Padres. Mejia had two hits against the Angels, driving in one run and scoring once as well. He is now hitting .414/.452/.862 this spring.

Nicky Lopez, SS, Royals. Lopez went 1-for-2 with a run scored on Wednesday, raising his slashline to .314/.351/.343. With Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi pencilled in at the two middle infield spots and Chris Owings likely on the roster as a versatile backup, there isn’t a spot for Lopez in Kansas City just yet. But it would be surprising if Lopez doesn’t get big league at-bats at some point in 2019.

Bobby Dalbec, 1B, Red Sox. Boston’s No. 1 prospect had a hit and came around to score in the ninth inning against Minnesota. The 23 year old is hitting .240/.387/.280 thus far, with just one extra base hit in 25 at-bats.

Twins Acquire Chris Paddack, Send Taylor Rogers to Padres

The Minnesota Twins aggressive off-season continued as the club acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagán from San Diego just hours before first pitch on Opening Day. The Padres acquired lefthanded reliever Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker.