Friar Futures Weekly Update: Sanabria Gets on Base, Yost Throws 6.1 Scoreless
By Alex Martinez ·
Friar Futures covers the last 7 days of action for the Padres farm system.
Romeo Sanabria Tallies Eight Hits and Four Walks
Romeo Sanabria (AA, 1B, Rank: 11) went 8-for-17 with a double, three RBI, and four walks across 21 plate appearances at San Antonio this week, showcasing what the 24-year-old first baseman can be when everything clicks. He is a 50 hit tool with legitimate bat-to-ball skills, and this week demonstrated those strengths: a patient, line-drive approach against Double-A pitching with a contact rate that popped well above his season baseline. Over the last 30 days, he is slashing .354/.447/.523 with two home runs, five doubles, and 14 RBI in 78 plate appearances, his swing rate down to 42.5 percent and contact rate up to 81.3 percent, the best sustained stretch of his 2026 campaign. For reference, the season line across Double-A and Triple-A combined sits at .257/.351/.392 with 10 home runs and a 12.2 BB%, respectable for a first baseman at Double-A but not yet causing a longer conversation.
The honest projection on Sanabria remains a second-division regular or bench piece, with the profile hinging almost entirely on whether the hit tool plays consistently against upper-level secondary pitches. His speed (30-grade) and defensive ceiling at first base leave no margin for error on the offensive side, and his 2025 second-half fade at San Antonio raised real questions about his ability to sustain an approach as opposing pitchers map out his weaknesses with breaking balls. What the last 30 days have added is a meaningful counter-data point. The swing-rate dip to 42.5 percent is significant for a hitter who averaged 47.8 percent on the year, and when Sanabria is selective, the contact quality follows. He has a walk rate of 14.1 percent over that stretch and struck out only 16.7 percent of the time, numbers that look like the version of him the Padres drafted on. Whether this is a sustainable adjustment or a month-long hot zone is the real question heading into the final weeks of the Double-A schedule.
Eric Yost Fans Six over 6.1 Shutout Innings
Eric Yost (AA, RHP, Rank: 25) delivered 6.1 shutout innings against 24 batters this week, scattering four hits, issuing zero walks, and punching out six while generating 12 whiffs. It was the latest entry in a second half that has genuinely outrun what most projections would attach to a 45 fastball. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, he owns a 2.89 ERA across 28 innings with a 6.1 BB% and a 23.7 K%, his command sitting in the best range of his season. The full Double-A line for 2026 reads 3.22 ERA through 89.1 innings, a significant step forward from the 5.79 ERA he posted in eight Double-A starts last year before spending most of 2025 at High-A Fort Wayne, where he was excellent (2.89 ERA, 23.6 K%).
The scouting framework on Yost centers on a 55 curveball as the carrying pitch, a sweeper he added ahead of 2025 that now grades as average, and a fastball that sits 92-96 without generating easy velocity-based swings. His 50 command grade is what keeps the profile alive as a starter, because a 45 fastball in a major league rotation requires precise location and sequencing to avoid hard contact. What 2026 has added is the innings durability that the projection demanded: 89.1 innings at Double-A through 20 appearances, with a walk rate that has come down from 15.5 BB% in his first Double-A look (eight starts in 2025) to 12.5 BB% on the season and 6.1 BB% over the last 30 days. The one asterisk is a rough single-start cameo at Triple-A El Paso (5 ER in 3.1 innings), which is a reminder that the margin for error shrinks fast when the fastball can not carry a mistake. A #5 starter or up-down arm ceiling remains the realistic frame, but the consistency Yost has shown across 92-plus combined innings this year makes the floor considerably more comfortable than the raw grades suggest.
Quick Hits
Rosman Verdugo (A+, SS, Rank: 15) · put together 7 hits, three doubles, a home run, and 5 RBI over 20 plate appearances, his best offensive week of the season at Fort Wayne. The power has been real all year: 14 home runs across 413 plate appearances with an average exit velocity that grades in the 98th percentile according to evaluations. The concern, as always, is contact: Verdugo's contact rate sits at 67.9 percent on the season and dipped further to 61.5 percent over the last 30 days, with 27 strikeouts in 87 plate appearances during that stretch. He is a 50 power bat who can hurt pitchers when he makes contact, but the swing-and-miss against breaking stuff remains the defining developmental question at 21.
Garrett Hawkins (AA, RHP, Rank: 20) · got 14 whiffs across 3.1 innings, struck out 8, and allowed just 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 1 walk in a strong individual outing. The 34.1 K% at Double-A for the season is a legitimate number, and the fastball-slider combination has flashed dominant stuff during his 1.50 ERA run through High-A and Double-A last year. The problem is context: the season ERA at Double-A sits at 6.38, and over the last 30 days his ERA across nine appearances is 9.64 with a 2.36 WHIP. The command volatility is real, and at 26 with the Triple-A line (6.17 ERA) also a concern, the window for the stuff to play consistently is narrowing.
Kannon Kemp (A+, RHP, Rank: 33) · struck out 10 and allowed just 1 earned run across 8.2 innings this week, easily his best outing or stretch of the season. A 55-grade fastball sitting 95-98 gives him the raw foundation, and 24 whiffs across 135 pitches is a strong individual showing. The season ERA at High-A is 4.66 through 29 innings, and the last-30-day ERA sits at 4.03 across 22.1 innings with a 6.1 BB% and an improving 25.7 whiff rate. He is 21, still working through a recovery arc after shoulder surgery in 2024, and this week shows the start that keeps the ceiling conversation alive. The secondary pitches need time, but the arm is already ahead of where most expected at this stage.
Jagger Haynes (AAA, LHP, Rank: 7) · had a rough week at El Paso: 9.2 innings across two starts, 9 hits, 5 walks, 5 earned runs, and only 6 strikeouts. The Triple-A ERA has climbed to 7.13 across six starts and 24 innings, and the last-30-day picture (6.00 ERA, 12.0 BB%, 16.0 K% in 21 innings) reflects a pitcher who has not consistently solved the step up in competition. The Double-A body of work this year was legitimate enough (4.37 ERA, 94.2 innings), and a 40-grade command grade was always the profile's biggest limiting factor. At 23 with a full three-pitch mix and a left-handed 93-95 fastball, there is still a #5 starter path here, but the command has to tighten for that outcome to be realistic.
Lamar King Jr. (A+, C, Rank: 17) · went 4-for-12 with a double, 3 RBI, a walk, and 2 hit-by-pitches across 16 plate appearances. The 22-year-old catcher is hitting .225/.324/.309 on the season with 16 stolen bases and a 10.2 BB%, a profile built on athleticism and catch-and-throw skill rather than offensive production. The 2026 line is a step back from his .286/.370/.408 showing at Low-A last year, and the walk rate over the last 30 days has dipped to 4.8 BB%, a number to watch. The 55 arm and 50 field grades give him a realistic path as a backup catcher regardless of whether the bat develops further.
Luis Gutierrez (AA, LHP, Rank: 31) · returned from a 60-day IL stint with a shoulder muscle injury on August 18, making his first appearance at San Antonio since April. He threw 2.1 innings, struck out 3, walked 1, and allowed 2 earned runs in his first outing back. Before the injury, he had been one of the system's more interesting developmental arms: 13 strikeouts in 8 innings at High-A Fort Wayne (2.25 ERA) in three appearances this spring. Getting back on the mound before the season ends is the only meaningful goal for the left-hander right now.
Lan-Hong Su (A, RHP, Rank: 16) · allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits over 3.2 innings at Lake Elsinore, walking none and striking out 5. The 19-year-old's season ERA at Low-A sits at 6.66 through 24.1 innings, though the whiff rate is a legitimate data point in his favor: a 32.6 percent whiff rate combined across levels and 37.3 percent over the last 30 days, driven by a slider that already grades at 55. The command (45 grade) and the changeup are the two developmental levers, and neither is close to where they need to be. He is young enough that none of this is disqualifying, and the arm speed and slider combination give evaluators enough to stay engaged with the projection.