Cal Quantrill

Quantrill's rookie season was a mixed bag. Just four of his 18 starts were of the quality variety, but he was pitching quite well for a stretch until he tired late in the season. He had a four-start stretch from Aug. 27 to Sept. 15 in which he allowed 28 earned runs in 16.2 innings, taking his ERA from a strong 3.32 to an ugly 5.33 ERA. The Padres allowed him one more start before shutting him down for the season, and he finished with a 5.16 ERA. He simply ran into a buzzsaw there with starts against the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Cubs and at Coors Field which ruined what had been a solid statistical rookie season. His limited strikeout production is tough to roster in shallow mixed leagues, but the young man has a solid skills base to be a productive pitcher moving forward and is better than what his ERA showed last year. He will compete for a rotation spot in camp, but will likely open the year at Triple-A.

Quantrill's stock may have peaked prior to the 2017 season, when many evaluators projected a future No. 3 starter with a chance to be a No. 2. One can still dream on a potentially plus-plus changeup and a borderline plus fastball, but he was too inconsistent with his mechanics and command last year to flash upper-rotation upside very often. An athletic 6-foot-2 righty, Quantrill underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, which is why he is heading into his age-23 season with less than 50 innings under his belt at Double-A. If his command were to jump a grade and he added a tick to his fastball, we could still comfortably project a No. 3 starter, but given his age and proximity to the majors, it seems safer to expect a No. 4 starter at this point. There may be outlets that are slower to adjust to this new reality, so he could still fetch a top-100 prospect this offseason. He could make his big-league debut in the second half.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2015, Quantrill fell out of the mix for last year's No. 1 overall pick. The Padres used the situation to their advantage and landed him with a slightly over-slot deal at No. 8. The early returns suggest they got the best college arm in the draft. He has a deadly changeup, but unlike most minor leaguers with plus changeups, his fastball sits in the mid-90s, serving as a second plus pitch. His slider is good enough for him to safely project as a mid-rotation starter, but if it were to jump a grade in the coming years, Quantrill would have the repertoire of a No. 2 starter. It will take him a couple of years to build up his innings to the point that he eases workload concerns, but he has a starter's frame, so his body should hold up. Despite barely getting any work at Low-A Tri-City or Fort Wayne last year, he is advanced enough to get an assignment to High-A Lake Elsinore this year, joining one of the best rotations in the minors.