San Diego Padres’ right handed pitching Luis Patino is reportedly being called up. To get a better sense of who Patino is, click on the link in the tweet from MLB Pipeline below:
The @Padres are calling up 20-year-old right-hander Luis Patiño. Here's the scouting report on MLB's No. 27 overall prospect: https://t.co/dFKQFy2OfO pic.twitter.com/EAQafUECf3
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 4, 2020
The 20-year-old has pitched just 7.2 innings above high A, but he has looked stellar in his time in the minors and shown the ability to shut down elite competition, as seen in the Futures game where he struck out Angels prospect Jo Adell and Twins prospect Royce Lewis. Patino has shown elite stuff, sitting at 93-97 and topping out at 99 on his fastball, while also flashing a plus slider. His stuff helped lead him to strike out 211 batters in 170.1 innings between Low A and High A in 2018 and 2019. Being a young, 20 year old Patino is still developing. His change up is below average, and he walked 58 batters to go along with his 211 Ks. But given that he is one of the youngest players in baseball, there is very little concern that he will not continue to develop and improve. A 2.13 FIP is already impressive, and becomes even more so when you take Patino’s age into account.
With the Padres sitting – as of today – in playoff contention, it will be interesting to watch how the Padres decide to use their young right hander. Make no mistake – this move signals that the Padres view themselves as contenders.
