San Diego Padres

MadFriars' Announcer Series - Lake Elsinore

Published Oct. 17, 2016 12:15 p.m. ET

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MadFriars presents part three of our year wrap-up, this time with Tyler Zickel, the Director of Digital Content and part-time broadcaster for the Lake Elsinore Storm.

The Lake Elsinore Storm came into the 2016 season with a few top prospects on the roster but ultimately finished with a losing record for the second consecutive season, at 69-71.

The club was much better in the second half and nearly grabbed a second half title. The team did feature top prospects, such as Luis Urias, Javier Guerra and late-season acquisition Josh Naylor.

Top Players: INF Luis Urias, seemed like an ambitious choice to make the jump to High-A. The teenager rewarded the Padres' faith by winning a batting title, the Rookie of the Year and the California League MVP while playing most of the season as the youngest player of the year. Overall, Urias hit .330/.397/.440 overall, including .347/.420/.493 in the second half. While the overall numbers are mighty impressive, Urias struck out just 36 times in 500 at-bats. According to Sam Geaney, the Padres Director of Player Development, Urias could see more time next season at shortstop as well.

Shortstop Javier Guerra was billed as the one of the top prospects in the Padres' organization and seemed like a good bet to have a big year in the hitter-friendly Cal League. Instead, the talented shortstop struggled with his swing mechanics and had a poor season, plagued by strikeouts and errors. The talent is plentiful but Guerra seems likely to start next season

Outfielder Franmil Reyes turned in his finest season of his career, leading the team 16 home runs and 32 doubles. The large and powerful outfielder also had an OPS north of .900 in the season's second half of the season. The outfielder is still just 21 and seems poised to continue to move up the organizational ladder.

Infielder Josh VanMeter bounced back from a broken leg and made his first professional All-Star team. The left-handed swinging infielder found a home at third base and hit 12 homers for Lake Elsinore, earning a late-season promotion to Double-A. Prior to this season, VanMeter only homered three times. His big year in Lake Elsinore led to him representing the Padres in the Arizona Fall League.

On the mound: RHP Brett Kennedy was the most consistent starter for the Storm all season, after arriving in mid-May from Fort Wayne. The former Fordham Ram averaged nearly a strikeout an inning and his 3.80 ERA looks even better when you remove two rough starts in High Desert. Initially, Kennedy struggled with his control but the righty has the ability to command his fastball to each quadrant of the plate.

RHP Chris Huffman had a great first-half that culminated in a start in the California v. Carolina All-Star game. The righty doesn't have a big-time fastball but he throws strikes and seems to always find a way to get hitters out.

RHP Walker Lockett did his best work in Lake Elsinore as the righty climbed all the way up to Triple-A El Paso. Lockett pitched a 2.98 ERA and generated plenty of ground balls with his sinker. Lockett could be in the mix for a big league job next spring for the Padres.

Reliever Phil Maton struck out nearly 16 batters per nine innings last season in the Northwest League -- this season he was nearly as dominant. Maton took over the closer role in the second half and pitched to a 1.91 ERA with nine saves in 25 games. The righty was added to the El Paso roster in the last few weeks of the season.

MadFriars Announcer Series: Tyler Zickel

Sean McCall is the voice of the Storm and has facilitated that role for 20 years. McCall is one of the better broadcasters in all of minor league baseball, although he sees his as more of a broadcaster/reporter than a scout/pundit so he is reticent about spouting his opinions on them. For that reason, he always requests that we ask someone else for their thoughts/opinions on the talent that he saw in front of them.

Tyler Zickel, a graduate from Whittier college, wears a lot of hats for the Lake Elsinore Storm. He is the Director of Digital Content for the Storm, handles all media relations and even works as a graphic designer, in addition to handling in-game entertainment. Zickel also calls the middle innings and has called some road games in the past. Zickel answered a few questions about the 2016 version of the Lake Elsinore Storm.

MadFriars: On the offensive side of things, what players stood out to you?

Tyler Zickel: Franmil Reyes and Edwin Moreno were, in my opinion, a big part of the team's success this year. Reyes led the team in doubles (32), home runs (16) and RBI (83) while Moreno was the team leader in triples (11) and second in slugging percentage (.469). Michael Gettys was fun to watch and had the stats to back it up after joining the team in the second half; he batted .306 in 60 games with 13 doubles, 9 home runs, 33 RBI and 40 runs scored.

Brett Kennedy continued to get better as the season progressed. What made him so great down the stretch?

Tyler Zickel: He committed himself to the pitching program and stayed true to his abilities. Brett became a more refined pitcher by the season's end and was a steady presence in the rotation.

Chris Huffman and Dinelson Lamet were fantastic all year. What can you tell us about them?

Huffman's approach to pitching stood out to me. He understands what he has to throw and when, and he knows how to use his stuff to his advantage. Huffman spent a lot of time talking pitching with Storm pitching coach Glendon Rusch and the results showed. As for Dinelson Lamet, his ability was apparent from opening night. Every fifth day you knew he'd go out and compete, and he didn't last to the All-Star Break before he was up in Double-A. Those two are a pair of quality arms who had career years in 2016.

Phil Maton dominated the Cal League. Is he a guy that you can see cracking a big league roster next season?

Tyler Zickel: Phil had quite the season, starting the year with Fort Wayne and finishing by recording the final out to secure the PCL Championship for the Chihuahuas in Triple-A. In between, he dominated with the Storm. He posted a 1.91 ERA in 25 appearances, which included 9 saves in 11 opportunities. Most telling are his 47 strikeouts to eight walks. Will he play in the bigs next season? I couldn't tell you, though anything is possible for a pitcher in the upper Minors who throws strikes.

Josh Naylor came over in the Cashner deal. Do you think he can be a big-time power hitter?

Tyler Zickel: What sets Josh apart is his character, most notably his maturity. When he joined the Storm in July he became the youngest player in the Cal League at 19, but he's already logged more miles in more places through his international experience than many of his teammates. From the outside looking in, it seemed as though Josh handled the midseason move and the accompanying adjustment phase very well; I don't think I once caught him in a bad mood or without a positive outlook. In fact, he became the player who attended the most community service events in the short time he was with the Storm.