It's been quite the whirlwind season for Mat Latos, the top pitching prospect in the San Diego Padres' system. He began all the way down in low Single-A ball with the Fort Wayne Wizards -- three full levels from the major leagues. After dominating for 25 1/3 innings (3-0, 0.36 ERA, 27 strikeouts, 3 walks), he bypassed advanced Single-A and went straight to Double-A. In San Antonio, things weren't much different for the 21-year-old right-hander, as he compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.91 ERA and 46 strikeouts to only nine walks. It now appears the spotless inning Latos threw in the Futures Game Sunday at Busch Stadium will be his last work before taking a major league mound. According to MLB.com, Latos could get the call this Sunday against Colorado.
San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said late Monday that the Padres are "having internal discussions about the possibility" of purchasing Latos' contract, adding him to the 40-man roster and sticking him in the starting rotation.One point of caution, though, is the Padres are worried about the innings Latos stands to log this season. He's never thrown more than 56 in a professional season and he's already at 72 1/3 innings in 2009. The thinking is that he'll get his feet wet in the bigs this year and the Padres -- considering they won't be in the pennant race -- will shut him down before the season ends. Towers said he'd rather go "no more than double the innings" that a pitcher has previously thrown, but 112 is extremely low at this point.
We shall see how the Padres proceed, but the smart money is on Latos pitching for San Diego sooner rather than later. As for how he performs? He better get used to a lack of run support, but Petco Park has made Chad Gaudin look like a world-beater at times. He couldn't pitch in a park which provides a smoother transition to the majors.
Once he gets some confidence at the big-league level, he'll be ready to join the rotation full-time next season. Then, the sky is the limit.
