Jackson Merrill’s Breakout and Assessing the San Diego Padres Farm System w/ Aram Leighton

on today's show it's time folks everyone's been talking about Jack samaro we got to talk about him has he exceeded the expectations for what he was a prospect just a lowly old Prospect and the state of the Padre's fist farm system following not just the MLB draft but their just scorched Earth approach as usual from AJ prer at the deadline and some other names to keep an eye on with my buddy Long Time guest AR Leon he's been on the show many times before so let's get into it you are locked on Padre's your daily San Diego Padres podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day GRE greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another edition of lock. Padre's podcast which is part of the lock. podcast Network your team every day for Wednesday September 4th as always I your host with sometimes occasionally but certainly not always the most Javier Reyes you may be familiar with my other baseball related work over at the website just baseball a fantastic website go check that out you can also check me out uh on my other podcast baseball versus the world and if you just want to you know send me questions whatever havo on Twitter the best handle in the game dare I say j a v i i p n o but speaking of just baseball today's guest I mean in my opinion needs no introduction but for those unfamiliar he is the co-founder of just baseball the website that I just mentioned earlier um and also a co-host on their Flagship podcast ad just baseball show the prospect Guru over at the callup a prospects um podcast for baseball talk it's really really great my longtime friend who's been on the show 67 times arm Leighton sir how you doing um I'm doing great always excited for 68 uh but no it's it's uh I have a lot of thank yous to give to to the Padres for one just mining so many gems then trading them so it gives us so much to talk about on the callup which was a lot of fun but you know they're going to load back up again and I get to get excited about lower level prospects that they're pushing kind of quickly so uh I'm already doing that right like Leo de star uh in the making here potentially and then you know even what we're seeing at the big league level so uh the Padres are great for Prospect content creators I mean yeah just just content in general man it's it's really as much as I talked about this on a previous show AJ prer if he were to let's say theoretically the Padre's blow it they lose in the first round and then he was to be fired I will always be grateful for the content this man was never boring at all um I think one offseason one off season maybe it was like the Nick Casados free agency like that was the only time he was a little boring remember like the Nick Martinez acquisition I remember sending stuff in the chat like oh please like is that all they're gonna do this is weird then he turned out okay which was funny um and then his brother may R not have attacked me on YouTube um still unconfirmed reports in that regard but um let's start with a guy who youve been talking about for a very long time and uh everybody go check out the call up the YouTube page and also the Twitter um page as well for like these sort of clips and in one of the clips you've been really high on Jackson Merill but we all know he's good but I want you to talk about like where he's grown and what how has he exceeded the expectations that you had for him um and not just like his output but like specifically like his ability to you know make contact or even power stuff like that no it's great question it's funny because you know the I guess like the the outlook on him not in a negative or positive way just in terms of like what type of player he is how what is his role going to be at the big league level like what is he gonna do what position is he gonna play like that has changed so much um like over the several times I've seen him you know the first time I saw him in person was in the Arizona fall league where he was grinding his butt off to to turn into a a good defensive short stop and I was floored you know he was there early watching him like get into his footwork his arm was always solid uh you know just getting the ball out quick and and I was like okay this guy can play short and then I talked to him a little bit after and I think he was 19 at the time and I'm like okay this guy is way ahead of his years like this is a dude that's going to be a big leager that was for sure I had always loved the swing and I think we always talk about the Padres they nail swing mechanics and and they that's why do so well drafting it's either pitching mechanics swing mechanics they're really good on that front um but I always kind of wondered how much power would be there and then you started to see him grow into a little bit more and a little bit more and you know I think when I saw him this spring training was where I just realized this guy's gonna be successful no matter what because that's when they first were were you know really trying him in the Outfield significantly and giving him looks in center and I'm watching his reads pregame you know he this guy doesn't waste a rep uh in batting practice getting live reads off the bat um just just getting more comfortable and I'm watching this guy already look absurdly comfortable in center field in spring training and that's where I said this guy's going to make the opening day roster and that was the clip I think that that really uh circulated from the call up but I I meant it like it wasn't just like hot take theater it was okay I've seen this guy just just Blossom from 19 years old being ahead of his years to now 20 21 being being ahead of his years and you know I think the thing that has been the most surprising if I could pinpoint like two things I I likened him to Christian Yelich in the respect that I figured the power would come along maybe year three of the big league I said you know I think he's gonna be a productive hitter no matter what and it'll be an above average hitter if you look back at like yelich's first couple years with the Marlins very good hitter but it was contact over power a lot of doubles and enough homers um I think he's tapped into more power than than I would have expected this early again I thought there was 25 plus home run upside as he blossoms maybe get up to 30 because he's a little bit bigger than I think he gets credit for long levers uh but there was some some challenges to elevate the ball consistently and especially to the pole side and then he cleans that up really quickly and now you're seeing him really get into him to the pole side so I would say the power exceeded my expectations and then I knew hold it down in center after what I saw I didn't think he'd be seven outs average good in center field yeah and then again you we could talk about the the personality and how polished he is sure but this is a different Beast I've seen some of the most mature and Polished young hitters get to the big and and they get overwhelmed he's on a different level so I would say everything that I was high on has somehow been pushed even higher and then you know some of the things that I thought would come in maybe year two or three came in the second half so I this whole process has just been quicker than I ever could have imagined with him and and I feel like we were at just baseball as high as anybody on him absolutely you were and I think that you know this last it's been like at least a month now of him really tapping into the power ders of the hard hit have been amazing but for me and this isn't going to help necessarily as as Rookie of the Year case um but for me what's also been impressive is one as just a Padre's fan we're so used to them calling up prospects really quickly and for them to come up and be like a CJ Abrams or a McKenzie Gore um where they're there's still promised there but it doesn't it's like okay they're doing the thing where PR accidentally forgot that you have to build out the rest of the team so all right CJ come up uh you know campano come up uh your first bat will at bat in the majors will be against Prime Kenley Janson good luck that sort of thing um so I was surprised for him not necessarily that he's better than you know Trent Grisham I I feel like that wasn't necessarily a high bar to pass at least offensively um but the other thing for me is also I don't again I don't know if this will help in his rookie the case I don't understand how he's like the alpha personality on this team um this is a team with tatis with Musgrove with CE with Machado with Bogarts a World Series winner uh like all these sort of guys on this team and for him to come in and I watch these games and it's like he's got a celebration that's different for each player he's getting more excited seemingly for other players than himself he has like just this heart of the line approach and it's funny that you said yeah I talked to him when he was 19 what was that like three months ago like you know what I mean like that's the craziest part is this is a 21y old not a rookie who came up at 26 which is I feel like you know a little bit more common than most no there a 21-year-old kid who like is finally of legal drinking age who seems like he's an alpha on a team with so many personalities I think for me that's been the most astonishing thing even if it's not a statistical measurement I I love that you bring that up and you know just being being able to to see that the impact that he's had on I think on the clubhouse has been huge as well where you know I think for these vets man it becomes especially when you sign that Mega deal and you know the last couple years have been a little bit disappointing and you're surrounded by some other guys that have signed the mega deal deal and everyone kind of has their routine and you know not to say that they don't get along like I I think clearly the the clubhouse has really trended in the right direction over the last couple years uh but you know I think this youthful energy that he brings I think invigorated everybody there I think it invigorated you know the the Vets too because I again I think there's there's certain teams where you load up on a lot of stars and you all of a sudden it just kind of everyone kind of Beats to their own drum does their own thing and you have this this kind of individualized approach to to the game uh that can you know sometimes hold teams back and and I think that's something that we saw with like the brave teams that had faltered at times too I I believe that again it's it's kind of conjecture but it's just uh based on you know people that I talked to that cover teams players that have been in different club houses all that good stuff players that have been in World Series club houses sometimes it just takes that young player that reminds everybody yeah a little bit of of of the fun and joy that's in the game like I guarantee Merill reminds Machado a little bit of like his love for the game when he first came up of course very different personalities but the the passion that he plays with I'm sure Xander sees that and like oh yeah like like I remember that that passion that I had when I came up and made an impact and helped the Red Sox win the World Series like I I really do believe and those were two guys that came up very young as well and so I think it's easy to get away from that and I really think Merill is has has reeled them in and and I think think he's really set the tone of hey this is a game and this is fun and and this is something that we're we're really fortunate to be playing and not to say that they fully got away from that but you know I think sometimes having that 21 20y Old tone Setter that's Fearless out there uh that rises to the occasion that's infectious and it's funny people talk about veteran leadership in the clubhouse sometimes it's it's good to have that youthful energy in the clubhouse as well and I think in the past some of those youthful players were maybe overwhelmed and I think seeing Merl not be overwhelmed at all and they all know how hard it is to learn center field and do all the things that he's doing seeing him not be overwhelmed and have that youthful energy I really think has changed the vibe for the Padres and has set it tone so yeah he might have a four and a half win season here if you look at F War but I it's it's cliche but it's beyond the box score I think with what Merrill's done and that's why yeah he's a no-brainer rookie the year for me absolutely man unfortunately we'll have to see the one thing he is missing is the famous girlfriend and Jeff Pon tweets about him so we'll have to see if he wins it but folks we're not just talking about Jackson merell let's talk about the rest of the Padre's farb System including your Salis and your de and your oh God is that it well we're going to find out in just a second guys but first let me take a second to talk to you about our lovely lovely friend and folks over at eBay Motors passage drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay motus has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and leveled up to Peak Performance from superchargers to exhaust kits LED headlights uh carpet whatever you want they have you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you always find exactly what you want speed power whatever you want they got you covered up over there because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need go check it out ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions do apply 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time moves it's gotten almost underrated and you know almost a meme but it's true that he keeps doing all these trades more trades and especially blackbuster ones in nearly every team in the sport and they seem to regenerate their farm system you know Deadpool Wolverine just came out like that level of healing right so what can you tell us let's start off first with the obvious ones that I think that everyone knows that are really exciting and that's Ethan Salis and leoa de um I will preface it by saying that arm was a little bit lower on Ethan Salis than some other folks last year um and I think that we've seen might have been right he's still a very raw Prospect but what can you tell us uh about the young future hopefully star catcher for the San Diego Padres well you know and and you bring up a good point like when we get like deep in the depth of the system like oh this guy's you know looks like a good find or or this guy is uh oh May performing very well and as a breakout like those are the guys that typically end up getting moved but prer does have kind of like those quote unquote Untouchables at least that get have to really be Pride away in in like a Juan sto type of situation but I thought there was a reason why Merill wasn't moved in that deal um and a reason why they've just continued to hold on to Merl they they knew that this player could could be there and I think Dev is in that conversation I think you know Salis could be in that conversation to them and um you know with with Salas you know I'll start on like more the the less positive I wouldn't say negative because he's been a lot better of late you know I we got a lot of that was probably one of the the prospects we got the most push back and you know it's relatively lower where you know we just don't have him in the top 20 and he slipped you know now to the the mid-range of the top 100 but I remember when we didn't you know we had him in the 30 range 35 range going into this year people are like he's a top 10 Prospect blah blah blah I very well could be um but you know I just got to see more the defense is great and I think that really does give him a a high floor as you know a potential Big League catcher I feel very confident with with that especially with you figured the bats going to develop and come along and the swing decisions have gotten better and better but yeah he has really struggled with with secondary stuff as he's been aggressively assigned and aggressively pushed and it's been very difficult to be able to really assess what he can do because of the way that he has been handled as a prospect but I think if you look at the last 30 games all of a sudden Solace looks a lot better uh I think he's got about a 740 Ops over those last 30 games in high and I've been just waiting for that because through the first half of the season they really was not any shift like there really wasn't any tangible Improvement um and and you know maybe it just takes a while for for a guy that's so aggressively pushed and I think we're starting to see that shine through a little bit more now um where he's starting to put together some better numbers but yeah I think with with Solace at this point it's just a wait and seee thing and and you know he has plenty of time and that's why I think some are so so high on him uh but for me I just you I wanted to tread a little more lightly because they got to do it right they got to show something you know D which we'll get to like he showed things already uh and and and bigger flashes where you know Solace again he could end up being a top 10 Prospect in the game in a year or so but you know I'd rather make that correction back upwards than just say hey we're GNA throw him in the top 10 because he's really polished for his age and uh and and is being assigned very aggressively um because you know I do wonder how much upside is is is fully there but what I will say is he's starting to show that he can hit the ball a little bit harder uh and you know you never know what he's going to look like a year from now given that he just turned 18 years old so plenty to like and I think the Finish to this year is is encouraging not striking out and starting to do some things a lot better uh but you know for me I just I just wanted to see a little bit more because at this point we just had not really seen him perform uh but you could you could see the flashes and the Polish but there's plenty of times where we've seen that with players and it hasn't fully come together I think Salas won't be that at all that's why he's still a top 100 guy uh and he's by far the worst numbers of any guy in our top 100 ever um so I I think that says enough in itself uh but yeah it's going to be a really interesting offseason then going into next year where you're going to want to see you know that that leap next year as as he gets into you know closer to 19 years old 20 years old um and goes from there like that once he gets to 19 in high that's assuming he repeats there or they they send him to double you know then there's going to be another adjustment period so then how do you fully assess there like there there's a lot there's a lot of difficulty I think in assessing Salis but um you know I do think that this is a big league catcher one way or another yeah and that's really exciting I like what you said about the defense Padre's fans have been uh they've been coming for our guy man uh Luis cisano it just seems like it's not happening the defense and I think that's why you've seen some fans asking more and more and I think there's been a bias among Padre's fans were like no no see ignore that arbl has him at 65 I trust mlb.com they have it by 19 almost because they desperately want um their catcher of the future because with Kyle aoko being a free agent after the season you know Elias Diaz whatever happens with him and capano just seems like he took not just a step back offensively but the defense didn't improve at all so I think that there is a lot of pressure and a lot of excitement on this particular Prospect and I'm you know I can't wait to see what happens but you know I don't know if this is a guy who's ready for next year I think and that's the no I just I just don't see it man like I think that that would be a disaster just adjusting the high like just now looking like he can a League average hitter in High um like again that's really impressive for an 18-year-old and I think people really underestimate the catching side of things like there's been so many prospects like a campasano who you know then stall out at the big leagues a little bit and then it takes a couple years and then how many catchers you see at like 26 27 start to figure it out uh especially former top prospects too it's a slower burn and and I think that's why people are very excited about Salis is he's so ahead of his peers in that regard but at the other on the flip side of that like he's gonna have a huge adjustment period every everywhere he goes and and he's just now kind of had this shift that we've been waiting for where you I mean how many games did this point as he played in in high a uh between you know the end of last year and and and this year I know he got some games in double A as well at the end of last year like it's been a pretty sizable amount of ball games again I'm not like holding it against him because he shouldn't have even been there in the first place they should just let him continue to go on low way and then play the second half of this year in high uh but now that we're just seeing that Improvement you know like there's going to be a similar learning curb in double so I just think it's we're getting a little ahead of ourselves if we're fully assessing this player um before we we really see what the more polished and better version of him looks like as he starts to get more acclimated but I I get it also because the defense is so good um at for his age the the fact that he's surviving and putting the ball in play and has flashed some decent EVS is is encouraging like there's a lot to like there uh but you know I think we got to see it come together a little bit more before he's you know a top 20 30 Pros in the game for me but still a really really good Prospect and not a guy I would want to move in any situation and they did not move him and I'm looking forward to the brushing him to be the starting day opening catcher of 2025 uh but no in all seriousness that should be a really interesting one to note and then we got to talk about leoa Dev um he's someone that's just been raking uh for a while now it feels like um especially in the miners I get a highlight of this guy every other day and I think that he's another one to keep an eye out in a similar position vacancy situation that the Padre's had uh have at catcher which is why everyone's excited about Salis with h k be your free agent I mean hey maybe Mason McCoy is this guy who's going to be the nice stop gap between who knows he's had a productive 13 games so far but what can you tell us about D because he is the higher rank Prospect I believe number 15 I should have wrote this down before on the just baseball top 100 yeah and I mean that's we we don't like to push lower level guys too high like too quickly for for all the reasons that we just said but you know with a guy like Dev it was it was a no-brainer I think to when you're looking at the top prospects in this game how can you not look at a 17-year-old here that's doing what he's doing in Lowa uh over the course of the Season how much better he got in the second half and this what makes the the injury that cut a season short even more frustrating but it rumors are that he's gonna go to the Arizona fall league which should be a blast I can't wait to see him there um and make up for some of that lost time but a switch-hitting short stop with you know who's flashing already you know I think above average power I think he's going to grow into plus power uh and and we've clearly seen a really Advanced approach which you just don't see from a 17-year-old switch hitter who's getting assigned aggressively um and not quite as aggressively but still being in full season ball at 17 is pretty crazy running a Chase rate below 20% I mean over his final 40 games before the injury had a 963 Ops so I this dude between the swing decisions between the ability to elevate consistently like this guy's sitting in the air very often um and and I think defense has come along and and he looks like a guy that could stick it short if he moves to third then he could be very solid there but I think he could stick it short uh the instincts he has for the game all that good stuff like I was floored every time I checked in on this guy and the one nitpick is you know I like to see the left-handed swing catch up a little bit more to the right-handed swing but he both jumped over the over the final couple months of the Season where you know he improved from both sides of the plate it just was a disproportionate leap uh from the right side where if you look since I believe if we go back to like July 1st I mean this dude from the left side had a 9907 Ops which is crazy from the right side it was 1162 which is nuts but if you go like larger sample size like just the whole season from the right side at 855 Ops left side was 782 so still pretty close but the fact that that right-handed swing is is already where it's at is it's pretty remarkable you always want to see the guy you know guys that are Switch Hitters be a little bit further along from the left side I think it's just naturally he gets into the backside a bit better from the right side because he's right side dominant um but the fact that both swings got better as the year progressed and more productive as the year progressed and his EVS went up and he continued to elevate like this guy's a superstar in the making potentially can't wait um I think with him it's going to be interesting to see what exactly the Padre's do at shortstop because for me spending a lot of money elsewhere I'd rather not spend you know a lot of money on a shortstop if you might have someone like deves already so we're going to see how they approach that I think that's a underrated subplot for the Padres this coming up uh offseason so very excited about that two golden egg prospects but we got to talk about the rest of them and we got to talk about the draft and maybe some under the radar names in just one moment folks first I gotta mention to you one of our favorite sponsors here on the show prize picks here's the thing football's coming up you all know it baseball still here obviously but football's coming up and basically prize pick it is the number one daily fantasy sports app over 5 million active members and all you do is pick more or less on two to six players stat projections watch the winnings roll in and speaking of football one Caleb Williams passing 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everybody we are thriving and vibing here into segment number three let's talk the rest of the farm system band because you know we went through the headliners it's exciting it's like oh man you know you've got you've got some ACE pitures but then oh God what happens after that um besides and Salis you know Following also the MLB draft as well with cash Mayfield being their first round pick what's kind of the state of the Padre for system right now you know obviously it's thinner um but when you've got two you know Blue Chip prospects like sa and de verice it's always a great start and then I think it's going to be interesting to see how some of these prospects develop out of the draft cash Mayfield was one of my favorite arms in the class especially out of the high school group another guy just really smooth delivery great feel for three pitches and I I'm really excited to see him throw once he makes his Pro debut but I think this is a guy that you know is kind of cut from the Snelling cloth and the respect that he could probably hit the ground running in Pro bow and and and climb rather quickly I know Snelling stalled out a little bit this year but overall I think it was very impressive what he was able to do as a teenager and when you look at Cash Mayfield it's I think above average fast ball above average slider above average change up and potential for plus control like if you have that um you're going to fly through the minors pretty quickly and you're a high probability Big League starter so I I I think Mayfield's going to be a guy that's on top 100 list by you know middle part of next year so that definitely helps and then I I I think just pitching wise like they've just got some interesting irons in the fire like Ryan Berger's been solid this year I was gonna ask you about him yeah yeah I think that's a guy that could project as like a back end of the rotation arm still or yeah at least as as a big league role in one way or another as a reliever I thought being able to get Boston baitman was interesting right very projectable in terms of what the stuff can be I don't think there's much more projection in a 67 250 pound frame uh but I mean by the way guy's nickname's like Sasquatch um so he's a monster like that's a guy that I think in the right development system here like and and with some of the right improvements like that fast ball could be monstrous he has a banger curveball so like I'm interested there and then a deep cut that I think is a very underrated addition to their system is Umberto Cruz who they signed for 750 ,000 out of Mexico in international free agency and um I really do think that this is a guy that could be that next kind of breakout like big name and in the Padre system that no one had really heard about before uh I think with the we saw him only for a couple Innings at the complex but the fastball was sitting 95 he's got good secondary stuff nasty slider um so I I think that's a guy that we could see kind of make that leap as well and then you've got just some good filler arms I think that have had nice years throughout the system that help balance it out and give it some depth like you know uh Brandon Ned or isaah low isaah low I think has been a good one as well it's put together a pretty nice season absolutely and I think that with this Padre's far but look I I like what you bring up there that by the end of next year you know cash Mayfield on there that's just kind of what I expect I'm expecting some name to be on there and just sneak their way in who's going to be the next grab paully type of player that I just get excited about who's then you know sent into the woodshed you know cast into the mountain and of Mordor and just just PR's vicious man this man does not care but um I do want to also talk about rag Berger for a second because with Berger one he had a great start um in double a somewhat recently um a few weeks ago where he struck out like eight um across six Innings he has had just on the raw numbers a little bit of a decline random not randomly but in his strikeout rate uh he was nearly 30% for like four different seasons across you know multiple different levels do you think that there's any cause for concern there um no I I think some of that was was a little bit inflated you know with with the performance in High um and then I think also there's been more of a a focus for him this year to just fill up the zone you know I think he knows he's a guy that's probably going to you know not he's not going to be a 29% strikeout rate guy at the big league level right and I think that's what he was uh in 2023 uh but he also walked 11% of batters that's something that'll really burn you at the big league level especially if you can't sustain that you know High strikeout rates so I think it's been more of him just pitching to contact and and I think that's been something that you know he could probably now adjust back and say okay I can I can maybe expand a bit more with the slider uh get guys to to you know Chase a little bit more but I think there was a considered effort and he cut his walk rate to eight% this year so I think that was that was the focus so I don't have a ton of concern there because I think ultimately the strikeout rate was always going to settle in the in the low 20s you know I'd like to see it get up there a little bit more and I think again that'll come with you know being willing to now go back out and expand a little bit more and and see if guys will will be willing to to chase that slider and and Chase that curveball uh but you I I would I'm more encouraged by the fact that he's cut that walk rate by 3% uh because that's something that will more directly affect you at the big league level unless you're you're guaranteed to to rack up the whiffs at an elite clip and I don't think berer ever was going to do that and I think the underlying numbers on on a lot of his stuff looked pretty good I think there might be a little bit of a pitch usage adjustment that could help him if the curveball seems to be performing pretty well I'd like to see him throw it more so little tweaks like that could could help him but in terms of the strikeout rate I I'll take that if it's a decrease in the walk rate and we're talking about a guy that isn't giving up a ton of bombs or anything like that in the Texas League flyball pitcher only seven home runs so I'm I'm I'm encouraged by the fact that he's pounding the Zone more it's gonna be really interesting to follow the Padre's I think especially pitching prospects it's always interesting um I'm fascinated because gave up snowing he's been doing okay you know for your team whatever um but you know giving up both him and Lesco it makes you wonder like are they like screw it we're going to keep a ceas keep a Michael King that will be another subplot to follow for the Padres this coming offseason you know because they gave up their future pitchers are they going to extend a Michael King or a Dyan Seas I think that'll be really interesting last question Brandon Valenzuela I'm wondering we talked about this before with the catching Prospect situation with the fact that higashioka is a free agent with the fact that cisano as evidenced by the briged elas Diaz might not be panning out is there anything to expect from that guy uh potentially being a storyline to follow as not some star catcher but someone who can you know uh fill in the gap between um you know now and when Ethan Salas is ready I I think so because look is he gonna hit probably not um is he a disaster at the plate no not that either but you know I don't think he's uh much of an offensive Force but the defense is so solid there and you've talked about like it's just the need for that right like this is a guy that uh I think receives well great arm you know I think can can limit the running game pretty well uh and I think if you're looking for someone that can just hold it down uh that's a guy that I think you could feel pretty confident with at least being able to provide the defensive side of things and that's the most important part of the equation here right so I think the back can continue to come along I know it's a guy that the Padres have liked for a while and um you know if if he can get going a little bit more offensively it would be a lot more encouraging it's been really rough I think in the second half in terms of the bat but I also think there's been a big focus in in in Triple A especially uh to to just prove that he can be that Defender and prove that he can be a guy that um you know can play a big league defensive catcher ultimately I think he's a backup but if that's a guy that's giving you a plus defense back there uh and is hitting in your nine Hole uh I think you can you can pallet the the poor offense but I would say I will say it is a little bit concerning that he has struggled this much in the PCL uh and and that that does say something about I think where the offense is at but with a full offseason to work with that maybe uh I assume he'd be spending you know probably the entire spring training with the big Le Club this coming year maybe that offense can come along a little bit to to just I mean if he's an 8590 WRC plus guy I think he'll provide more than enough value with the glove to to be you know a Fillin catcher solid backup and I still think they they should bring somebody else back but he's definitely a guy that could fill I think they should bring higashioka back but he's definitely guy that could build a backup role without a doubt yeah we'll see but that is another subplot to follow for the Padre's some exciting stuff uh on the horizon while the farb system hasn't been depleted it seems like there's at least options and at least the majer league team is really good so yes crossing fingers at least it looks like they're not in a position that I feel like they've been in past years where you like need people to come up and everyone's been coming up lately especially Bullpen arms Alec Jacob Shawn Reynolds had 5Ks and one and a third the other day so really exciting stuff for the padr all around always exciting of course talk rum though what do you want to plug for the good people out there uh just baseball show of course every single day giving you everything you need to know in the Baseball World of course just baseball.com we're putting out articles every single day as well covering all 30 teams and uh Prospect stuff as well uh plenty of content that we're putting out there and I'm writing up all of these guys and then the callup our Prospect podcast where uh we can keep you up to date with everything going on who's performing promotions all that good stuff uh that's available on all platforms as well uh but Obi is always thanks for me on man of course man go check out RM as well at rml and8 on Twitter really good follow especially if you want to keep up on Prospect stuff and with that all said everybody that about does it for today's edition of the locked. Padre's podcast the only pod that may be better than the Padres themselves remember subscribe where you get your shows from uh follow me on Twitter at haveno send me your questions if you'd like to answer for next week's mailbag and then also stay tuned to just baseball as well I'll be writing some articles there about the Padre's Bullpen and randomly if you care about Victor robless of the Mariners I'm obsessed with him personally so look forward to that but until that next time stay safe and of course stay faithful my fire faithful homies take care