Sod Poodles' Andres Munoz Receives First Call-Up By San Diego Padres

Amarillo's Hard-Throwing Right-Handed Pitcher Receives First-Career Major League Call-Up

Amarillo Sod Poodles pitcher Andres Munoz (20) pitches against the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday, April 20, 2019, at HODGETOWN in Amarillo, Texas. [Photo by John Moore/Amarillo Sod Poodles] (Photo by John Moore)

By Sod Poodles PR

July 12, 2019

Amarillo Sod Poodles hard-throwing relief pitcher and Padres' number 18-rated prospect (MLB.com) Andres Munoz has been called up by the San Diego Padres, marking the second Sod Poodles player who started the 2019 season in Amarillo to make their Major League debut and third Sod Poodles player overall to reach

Amarillo Sod Poodles hard-throwing relief pitcher and Padres' number 18-rated prospect (MLB.com) Andres Munoz has been called up by the San Diego Padres, marking the second Sod Poodles player who started the 2019 season in Amarillo to make their Major League debut and third Sod Poodles player overall to reach the Major League level this season (Pedro Avila, Kazuhisa Makita).
The 20-year-old from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico impressed crowds across the Texas League with his easy 100 MPH fastballs, but especially HODGETOWN as the six-foot-two relief arm showed Amarillo pitches topping at 103 and 104 MPH.
Over 16 games with the Sod Poodles, Munoz held a 2.16 ERA, completing four of five save opportunities and allowed just four earned runs on 10 hits with 34 strikeouts.
On May 21, Munoz was promoted to Triple-A El Paso, making his debut the same day against Reno at Southwest University Park and tossing one scoreless frame with a walk allowed and two strikeouts. Over 19 games with the Chihuahuas, he converted two of four save opportunities over 19 innings with eight earned runs allowed on 16 hits and 24 strikeouts.
In the 2017 Arizona Fall League, as the circuit's youngest player, he pitched to a 1.04 ERA, allowing just four hits while striking out 11 in eight and two-thirds innings. An elbow injury limited Munoz at the outset of the '18 season. But he returned in mid-June as the same flame-throwing right-hander and made the jump to Double-A soon after.
Munoz owns the best fastball in San Diego's system and is one of the hardest throwers in the Minor Leagues, consistently offering upper-90s fastballs and a hard slider in the upper 80s to give him a second dynamic offering.
Munoz was signed by the Padres on July 7, 2015, and holds a 9-6 career record with a 3.14 ERA over exactly 100 Minor League games.
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