Wise Investment

The Padres reap early rewards from signing 6-foot-8 Cuban righthander Michel Baez

- Jeff Sanders

The Padres made significantly bigger investments in the 2016 international free agent market than the $3 million they gave to Cuban righthander Michel Baez, most notably the $11 million it took to sign Cuban lefthander Adrian Morejon.

To date, none of the acquisitions looks as prudent as the 21-year-old Baez.

Through his first six starts at low Class A Fort Wayne, Baez struck out 56 and walked four in 36.2 innings, while going 5-0, 0.74 and allowing a .148 opponent average. His Midwest League introduction put him squarely on the prospect map.

Baez, who signed last December, ranked No. 7 on the Padres’ midseason prospect update. Given his tools, he could soar even higher before long.