Padres prospects, pitching shine in Week 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Padres have only been playing Cactus League games for a week, but it’s already crunch time in their roster-construction process. With less than two weeks until Opening Day, San Diego will have some decisions to make -- and a limited data set with which to make them.

"It's never going to be exactly where you want it to be with a shortened Spring Training like this," manager Bob Melvin said. "Usually you're a little farther along with the at-bats. But you have to resist trying to get guys in there too much. ... First and foremost you want to come out of here healthy."

With every game carrying extra weight this spring, here are four takeaways from one week in the Cactus League:

1. The kids came to play

The two biggest standouts at Padres Spring Training? The two biggest name prospects in camp.

CJ Abrams has been excellent all spring. He's hitting .357 with a 1.143 OPS (and that doesn't include a leadoff homer that wasn't against the Guardians on Tuesday). MacKenzie Gore has been similarly brilliant on the mound, pitching five scoreless innings in which he's struck out seven while allowing no walks and one hit.

A few weeks ago, both Abrams and Gore were apparent long shots to make the Opening Day roster. That is no longer the case. Abrams is vying for the starting shortstop role, with Fernando Tatis Jr. out for three months with a fractured wrist. Gore, meanwhile, is in the mix for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

As things stand, both are probably on the outside looking in. But if they keep producing like this, that could certainly change.

2. There's a lot of starting pitching depth

Consider the past four outings from Padres rotation candidates: On Wednesday, Mike Clevinger worked three perfect innings in a Minor League game in his first game action since 2020 Tommy John surgery. A few hundred yards away, Gore tossed three innings of one-hit ball on the big league field at the Peoria Sports Complex.

After an off-day Thursday, Chris Paddack pitched three scoreless frames against Mariners Minor Leaguers, striking out four. Then, Nick Martínez was handed the toughest challenge of all -- a fully loaded Dodgers lineup. He allowed one run, a Freddie Freeman homer, across three innings in the Padres' 5-5 tie at Camelback Ranch, an impressive outing in its own right.

“We’re going to be facing them a lot, so there’s no point in running away from them,” Martínez said. “It’s going to be a dogfight all year. Why run from it? Let’s get out there, and let’s battle.”

Last summer, the Padres collapsed largely because their lack of pitching depth was fully exposed. This year, they insist, things are different. They added Martínez. Clevinger is fully healthy. Gore, albeit in a small sample, appears to have put his command issues behind him.

“You saw the trouble it caused us last year, running out of pitching,” said right-hander Joe Musgrove. “You never can have too much pitching. Never. To have as many good options as we have right now -- and to see MacKenzie bouncing back like he has -- it’s all really exciting.”

3. There are options at closer, but ...

There's no obvious choice. The Padres would like to have an answer by Opening Day. But the nature of this spring might prevent them from opening the season with a no-doubt ninth-inning guy.

"I need to leave it open," Melvin said when asked whether he planned to break camp with a winner in the closer race. "I do like knowing. I like to work back every day, know who's pitching the ninth. ... But I'm not sure that's going to be the case."

Emilio Pagán has added a split-finger fastball to his arsenal and looks sharp this spring. Newly acquired Robert Suarez has shown easy velocity and has a reputation for finding the strike zone and keeping the ball on the ground. (Suarez faced 229 hitters in Japan last season, only walked eight and did not allow a home run.)

Right now, they're the top two choices, perhaps merely holding down the role until Drew Pomeranz returns in late April or early May. Or -- and this is the preferred avenue of some in the organization -- maybe Dinelson Lamet seizes that job in his first full season as a reliever. No question, Lamet has the stuff for it, and a bullpen role probably suits him best considering his history of elbow trouble.

4. What the heck happens in the outfield?

Nomar Mazara is having an excellent camp, hitting .300 with a 1.162 OPS. That's an encouraging sign. Because this much has become abundantly clear: The Padres don't really have many outfield options.

On their 40-man roster, in fact, they have only three -- Wil Myers in right, Trent Grisham in center and Jurickson Profar in left. That alignment leaves something to be desired. Profar struggled last season and has always been a better fit as a utility piece. The Padres are still scouring the market for outfield help. But with less than a fortnight until Opening Day, they're running out of time to find it.

Is Jorge Alfaro an option? He destroyed his third home run of the spring on Friday night and has been the team's best hitter in camp. But Melvin insists Alfaro is viewed exclusively as a catcher, despite his experience in left. Mazara is an option, too, but considering his struggles the past two seasons, he's better served as a bench piece.

So who's the left fielder come Opening Day? Maybe it's Profar. Or maybe, the starting left fielder isn't on the roster just yet.