STORMIN' THE BIGS!
With such a deep farm system that the San Diego Padres have grown, many former Storm players have climbed the ladder from Lake Elsinore and are now making an impact at the Major League level to begin the 2019 season.
Recently, two pitchers from the 2018 Storm roster made their major league debut in fine fashion. After two-plus years in the minors, southpaw Adrian Morejon got a crack at facing major league batters when the Padres made the promotion call to insert him into the starting rotation. Prior to the major league call-up, the Havana, Cuba native spend the early part of the season with the Amarillo Sod Poodles (AA), going 0-4 with a 4.25 ERA in 16 starts and 44 strikeouts in 36 innings. As Morejon currently stands as the No. 7 prospect (according to MLBPipeline.com) in the Padres’ organization, he made his debut on July 21 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. The afternoon went smoothly for a spot start as he lasted 2.1 innings, while allowing just one earned run and three hits, with his first major league strikeout being against fellow starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks. Since his first start, Morejon has pitched in three games highlighted by a shutout inning of relief against the New York Mets on July 25. In total, Morejon is 0-0 with a 6.43 ERA and eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Adrian Morejon - Photo from FriarWire
Joining the Padres alongside Morejon was fellow Havana, Cuba native Michel Baez. After spending the last two-plus seasons going through the Padres minor-league farm system (Fort Wayne, Lake Elsinore and Amarillo), Baez made the transition to the bullpen this season with the Sod Poodles (AA). In 15 appearances, the 23-year-old went 3-2 with a 2.00 ERA and 38 strikeouts, while holding opposing batters to just a .216 batting average. On July 23 at Citi Field against the Mets, the Padres No. 10 prospect (according to MLBPipeline.com) came out of the bullpen in the sixth inning tossing one shutout inning, allowing only one hit. His shutout appearances have continued through the early stages of his professional career, pitching a combined 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and keeping a clean 0.00 ERA.
Michel Baez - Photo by Gaslamp Ball