This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
In March, as he readied to pitch in the Padres’ Spring Breakout prospect showcase against the Mariners, 20-year-old right-hander Dylan Lesko laid out this goal for the 2024 season:
“Go out each start and get better,” Lesko said. “Maybe the results won’t be better every time. But personally, just work every day, get in a better spot and by the end of the year, be the best I can be.”
Through eight starts, the Padres’ No. 3 prospect, is on that trajectory. Which is to say, he’s getting better. After a slow start, Lesko, who is ranked No. 70 overall by MLB Pipeline, is coming off consecutive outings in which he pitched one-run ball over five innings. He’s struck out 13 in that span and has allowed only five hits.
“The evidence of his stuff and the weapons that he’s able to show each week, it’s been fun to see,” said Mike Daly, Lesko’s manager at High-A Fort Wayne and the Padres’ assistant director of player development. “As he’s continued to get more starts and outings and innings, the ability to be in zone has progressed. Of late, that’s been the real separator.”
