Weathers exits early with arm soreness

Not that the Padres ever want to see a high-upside 21-year-old pitching prospect exit a start early because of arm trouble, but the Padres are optimistic that left-hander Ryan Weathers is OK after leaving his start early Wednesday night because of left arm soreness.

Weathers pitched only the first inning during the Padres’ 12-3 victory over the D-backs at Chase Field.

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Weathers, whose fastball typically sits in the mid-90s, threw two pitches to start the game clocked in the high 80s. That prompted a quick visit from manager Jayce Tingler and a team trainer. Weathers appeared to tell them he was fine, and he remained in the game, pitching a scoreless frame.

Weathers' fastball velocity crept above 90 mph later in the frame, but it still averaged just 91.3 mph on the night -- well below his season average of 94.4.

After Weathers left the mound to end the first inning, he had a conversation with Tingler and pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Weathers told them he had experienced some soreness that Tingler later likened to “fatigue” and “dead arm.” That was enough for Tingler, who informed Weathers that his night was done.

Left-hander Nick Ramirez entered for the second inning, and the Padres called on eight pitchers to get 27 outs.

Tingler said team trainers ruled out any potential damage to Weathers’ ligaments but noted the pitcher experienced some inflammation on the back side of his forearm.

“I’ll call it day to day, and we’ll kind of wait and see if we can get that inflammation out and see where he’s at,” Tingler said. “I do think it’s a possibility that he makes his next start.”

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Weathers is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Padres’ No. 5 prospect. He is off to an excellent start to his rookie season, with a 0.55 ERA overall and no runs allowed in any of his three starts.

In his first professional season two years ago, Weathers got off to a similarly excellent start at Class A Fort Wayne before experiencing a dead arm. Weathers missed a couple weeks, and it took a bit of time for him to build his velocity back. It’s unclear if the injury Wednesday was related.