MWL notes: Espinoza excited for new start

Anderson Espinoza was sitting in the Greenville Drive clubhouse on July 14 when one of his teammates said he saw a story online that the 18-year-old right-hander was about to be traded by the Red Sox organization.

"I was a little scared at first," Espinoza said through an interpreter. "I was emotional and worried about it when I first heard about the trade, but after I talked to my agent and my family, I found out that the trade was good for me.

"I have a good chance to make the big leagues a little quicker now. When I found that out, I quit worrying. I went right to work. I was a little concerned about having to make new friends with new teammates, making sure the new relationships would work well. The baseball part … baseball is the same game everywhere."

Espinoza, who is listed at six-foot and 160 pounds, was acquired by the Padres organization for pitcher Drew Pomeranz.

Espinoza was assigned to Fort Wayne, and when he did his first bullpen session at the TinCaps' Parkview Field, a crowd of about 15 teammates and members of the Padres organization crowded around behind him to watch him throw.

"I was excited and proud," Espinoza said about attracting a crowd. "Everybody was looking for Anderson. It was fun to get that kind of attention."

San Diego Minor League pitching coordinator Mark Prior saw Espinoza throw five impressive shutout innings against Lansing on July 31. Unleashing an athletic delivery, Espinoza maintained a fastball at 95 mph and has been known to light up a radar gun at 99 mph.

"For an 18 year old, he's exceptionally polished," Prior said of Espinoza. "He has a long way to go … but he has a three-pitch mix, and he has a good feel for it. He has a mid-90s fastball and moves it around in different quadrants.

"Anderson has a pretty smooth delivery, and he has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do, what he does well and how to attack hitters," Prior continued. "When you put the whole package together and look at the tangibles and the intangibles, you potentially have the making of a pretty good pitcher."

Espinoza signed at age 16 in 2014 for $2 million. He is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Padres organization by MLB.com.

"One of my favorite players of all time is Francisco Rodriguez," Espinoza said. "When I was a kid, I had to go to sleep early because I had school in the morning, but I had my mom wake me up whenever Francisco Rodriguez was about to close a game. I would watch the last inning and then go back to sleep."

Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez has been a major influence on Espinoza's pitching. Espinoza went to the Dominican Republic so the Red Sox could get a look at him, and Martinez happened to see him throwing a bullpen session.

"Right after Pedro Martinez saw me throwing that bullpen session, he told the Red Sox to sign me right away," Espinoza said. "Whenever I could, I started talking to Pedro Martinez, and he talked to me about pitching."

Espinoza has drawn comparisons to Martinez.

"Obviously the size and the build are fairly similar," Prior said. "I definitely think you see a guy in Anderson who has three pitches and is not afraid to use all of them, and he's not afraid to challenge batters. That's obviously a mark of Pedro. He was going to pitch to his strengths. He knew he was in charge when he was on the mound. Time will tell if Anderson has that same type of personality.

"I get nervous when you start comparing guys to Hall of Famers," Prior added. "The reason they have the HOF in front of them is because of longevity and success, but you can see that there are some similarities that make you want to draw those comparisons. But [Espinoza] will set his own path and his own career. The sky is the limit. He has a high ceiling."

In brief

Road success: Bowling Green is off to a hot start during a stretch in which they play 13 of 16 games on the road, racking up a 9-4 record through Tuesday. The Hot Rods just completed their best July in franchise history, posting a 19-8 record. Bowling Green's offense helped push the record numbers. The Hot Rods hit 30 homers in July, the most in any month in franchise history. Bowling Green leads the Midwest League with 80 homers, and Kevin Padlo is second in the league with 15.

Home detour: Dayton suffered a 1-6 record on its recently concluded homestand. The Dragons were outscored, 58-24, in the seven-game homestand. The Dayton pitching staff was roughed up, allowing six runs in each of its last six games (a combined ERA of 7.83 in that stretch).

Hitting streak: Fort Wayne's Austin Allen, a fourth-round pick in the 2015 Draft, has a 17-game hitting streak. Allen is a 6-foot-4 left-handed-hitting catcher and is 25-of-65 (.385) during his streak.