Padres Peg Prospect to Take on Rays Saturday 

The Padres announced Wednesday afternoon that Saturday’s game would have 23-year old Burch Smith take the mound against Jeremy Hellickson and the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith has been listed as the Padres no. 20 prospect by MLB.com and has impressed the club during his short time with Double-A San Antonio, going 1-2 with a 1.15 ERA in six starts. Smith has also struck out 37 batters in 33 and 1/3 innings with the Missions, and is currently holding the opposition to a .155 batting average.

Originally, starting pitcher Andrew Cashner was listed as Saturday’s starter but the Padres decided to give Cashner an extra day of rest so as to fit Smith into the rotation. Much like Cashner, Smith has been clocked at tossing a fastball over 100 MPH and is notorious for being a hard throwing right-handed pitcher. A corresponding roster move will be announced on Friday or Saturday.

Burch was selected out of the 14^th round of the 2011 First-Year Player draft from the University of Oklahoma. Last season Smith went 9-6 with a 3.85 ERA for Single-A Lake Elsinore, striking out 137 in his first full professional season.

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About the author: Ian Edward Russell Smith

Ian is a former writer for the San Diego Padres, having worked as the Padres' "In-Season Blogger" during the 2015 season. Ian wrote as a member of the Friarhood's writing staff between parts of 2013-2015, writing over 100 articles over that span. In addition to being a writer, Ian is also a recent graduate of California Western School of Law in San Diego, having earned a Juris Doctor, as well as his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Law & Society from the University of California, Riverside. Be sure to follow Ian on Twitter (@SDRedBull8) to see what other ramblings he's posted about the Padres, San Diego, and baseball in general!