Padres Announce San Antonio Missions’ Roster
Credit: MiLB
With the major league season underway, minor league baseball is right around the corner.
The San Antonio Missions kick off their last season as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres on Thursday night against the Arkansas Travelers.
Over the weekend, the Padres announced the opening day roster for the Missions, headlined by six top-30 Padres’ prospects. That list includes returnees Fernando Tatis Jr., right-hander Cal Quantrill, first baseman Josh Naylor, as well as three new arrivals from Lake Elsinore: Austin Allen, Logan Allen, and Michael Gettys.
In terms of pitchers, Colby Blueberg, Jose Castillo, Miguel Diaz, Jason Jester, Jerry Keel, Dillon Overton, Jesse Scholtens, Robert Stock, T.J. Weir, Rowan Wick, and Brad Wieck join Quantrill and Allen. From that list, there are a lot of interesting arms, including a few pitchers with big league experience as well as few guys who had a chance of making the big league club out of spring training.
The trio of Wick, Wieck, and Weir are all guys to watch as potential future big league bullpen pieces, while Stock could be someone to watch after an impressive look in big league spring training. Many eyes will be on Miguel Diaz, who returns to the minor leagues after spending the entire 2017 season in San Diego as per the Rule 5 draft rules. Add in Blueberg and Castillo to the trio of W’s listed above, and the Missions could once again have one of the best bullpens in all of minor league baseball.
Behind the plate, Allen is joined by Webster Rivas, who will be entering his second season with the Padres’ organization after only playing in 62 games in 2017 split between Lake Elsinore and San Antonio. Allen is an interesting catching prospect given his history of hitting success, although his glove certainly lags behind his bat.
Allen and Rivas are joined in the infield by aforementioned top-30 prospects in Naylor and Tatis. Ty France, Kyle Overstreet, River Stevens, and Peter Van Gansen, all of whom are outside the top-30 prospects in the Padres’ system with remote chances of making the big leagues in a meaningful role, will join them.
In the outfield, Michael Gettys finally makes the jump to Double-A after nearly two whole seasons of struggles in High-A. Outfielders Auston Bousfield and Rod Boykin will also be making the jump with Gettys from High-A to Double-A, although Bousfield saw quite a bit of time in San Antonio last year.
That trio will be joined by Forrestt Allday. Allday spent most of his 2017 season in Double-A in the Los Angeles Angels’ system, so he will likely be further depth in a stacked Padres’ farm system.
This team may not be as deep as the Padres’ other minor league teams, but there is plenty of impact at the top to make the Missions worth watching in 2018. The likes of Quantrill, Tatis, and Naylor may not be in San Antonio long, but with the depth of talent in the lower levels, those guys should be quickly replaced as 2018 progresses.
Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.