Tim Stauffer

The Safe Money Is On Tim Stauffer To Open The Season As the Padres No. 5 Starter

PEORIA, Ariz. — First Mat Latos threw, and he threw well. Then Wade LeBlanc took over, and he threw maybe even a little bit better.

The No. 5 spot in the Padres rotation is up for grabs this spring, and Manager Bud Black likes to see the competition: “When it’s all over,” he said, “somebody’s going to be (upset).”

And it could be both Latos and LeBlanc. Though both looked quite worthy of the job based on the way they pitched here Monday night in a 7-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Latos started and retired the side in the first inning on seven pitches. He finished up four comfortable innings, allowing just one run (on a bouncing, wrong-way double down the right-field line) and two hits. LeBlanc followed with four shutout innings, cruising through a parade of mostly-back up San Franciscans.

Black liked everything he saw.

“Mat’s ball was exploding in there,” the Padres’ skipper observed. “He had good stuff, and good movement.”

And LeBlanc?

“Really good command of the fastball and the change-up. Those are the two pitches for him, and they’re both working well right now. If he continues to locate the fastball in and out, and then drops the change in there, it’s good stuff.”

So there’s the good news for Latos, last year’s potential phenom who finished 4-5 with a 4.52 ERA, and for LeBlanc, tabbed in recent years as a future contributor who’s 5-5 with a 5.05 ERA at the big-league level in parts of two seasons. This spring Latos has thrown 13 innings and allowed just three runs. LeBlanc has pitched 13 innings, allowing two runs.

Now here’s the bad news: former first-round pick Tim Stauffer probably has the inside track for the No. 5 job over both of them. Though his big league resume over parts of four seasons shows just eight wins (against 14 losses) and a career ERA of 5.15 in 31 starts, Stauffer is out of options, meaning that if the Padres want to send him back to the minor leagues he would have to pass through waivers first.

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