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German Marquez did not look good his last time on the mound and Marco Gonzales followed today with a tough showing when the San Diego Padres took on the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz. Both pitchers are vying for the fifth and final rotation spot, which could be two spots with the latest news about Joe Musgrove, who is having difficulties recovering from throwing with the intensity that comes from competing on an MLB field – even in Spring Training.
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The remaining potential starters after Marquez and Gonzales are Walker Buehler, JP Sears, Matt Waldron and Triston McKenzie. Buehler appears to be the most consistent of the group, while Sears continues to struggle allowing home runs, Waldron just resumed throwing after hemorrhoid surgery and McKenzie, despite his most recent outing, has had trouble locating his pitches.
The Padres Reacts Survey on Gaslamp Ball this week asked respondents to select who they thought would win the final spot in the rotation and the overwhelming majority said Buehler. He has been the most consistent of the group competing for the job and his track record, despite multiple arm surgeries, says he knows how to pitch in the big leagues and can be successful.
When Buehler came into MLB he was known as a fastball pitcher, who could reach the mid- to high-90s. Since the surgeries, his velocity has dropped to the low- to mid-90s as we have seen him touch 94 mph in his spring outings to this point. Buehler is having to learn how to use his pitch-mix to keep hitters off balance and get outs. With Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla as a resource, there is no reason to think Buehler cannot have success. He seems to be the front runner for the job, and the Friar Faithful expect him to be in the rotation on Opening Day.
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