Top prospects MacKenzie Gore, Luis Patino and Joey Cantillo are all up against their workload limits, but the Padres three remaining affiliates in the postseason – Double-A Amarillo, high Single-A Lake Elsinore and short-season Tri-City – hardly have their arms tied behind their back as the minor league postseason begins today.
For starters, former Angels ace Garrett Richards – rehabbing his Tommy John surgery in the first year of his deal with San Diego – is expected to start the Storm’s playoff opener, and right-hander Jacob Nix should start Game 2 for the Sod Poodles, a playoff entrant in their inaugural season.