Padres To Select Eduarniel Nunez

The Padres will call up reliever Eduarniel Núñez for tomorrow’s doubleheader in Philadelphia, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Matt Waldron is being optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. The Padres will be able to recall another player tomorrow as the 27th man for the twin bill. They’ll need to select Nuñez onto the 40-man roster and already have an opening after designating Logan Gillaspie for assignment yesterday.

It’s the first MLB call for the 26-year-old Núñez. The 6’2″ righty is a former Cubs prospect who joined the Friars as a minor league free agent last offseason. He has spent the bulk of the season in Double-A, working to a 3.57 earned run average over 22 2/3 innings. He struck out more than 40% of opposing hitters while getting swinging strikes on 21% of his pitches. That earned him a bump to Triple-A El Paso in the middle of June. Núñez has rattled off 7 1/3 scoreless frames with 11 more punchouts over seven appearances.

Núñez is now up to a combined 30 innings of 2.70 ERA ball with a 41.9% strikeout percentage on the season. That’s elite swing-and-miss ability backed up by high-octane stuff. Núñez has averaged north of 99 MPH on his heater since getting bumped to Triple-A. He has been a two-pitch pitcher this season, using the fastball slightly more often than he turns to his upper-80s breaking ball. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him the #32 prospect in the San Diego system last month, crediting him with plus or better grades on both offerings.

That it nevertheless took him parts of eight minor league seasons to get an MLB look reflects his well below-average control. Núñez has walked nearly 15% of opponents over his professional career. He has been a little better in that regard this season, cutting the free passes to a somewhat more manageable 12% clip. He’ll be a volatile but intriguing middle innings option for skipper Mike Shildt.