Pedro Avila

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked San Diego Padres #29 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Avila signed with the Nationals for $50,000 in 2014 and was traded to the Padres for Derek Norris after the 2016 season. He finished among the organization’s strikeout leaders in both 2017 and 2018 and received his first big league callup in April 2019, when he pitched 5.1 strong innings in his lone start. He suffered an elbow strain that eventually led to Tommy John surgery in August, however, and missed the rest of the season and all of 2020 recovering.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: When healthy, Avila throws three quality pitches for strikes. He has a strong, sturdy frame that allows him to hold his 92-93 mph fastball deep in games and will touch 95. Avila’s best pitch is his curveball. It’s a plus offering at 73-77 mph with big break that freezes hitters and gets both called strikes and swings and misses. He rounds out his arsenal with an 82-84 mph changeup that shows above-average potential. Avila gets in trouble when he falls in love with his secondaries or throws his pitches out of sequence, but he’s a good athlete with a clean delivery and racks up strikeouts when he’s on.
  
  THE FUTURE: Avila is slated to return in 2021. If his stuff returns intact, he has a chance to be a spot starter or swingman.
• 
  Ranked San Diego Padres #29 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Avila signed with the Nationals for $50,000 in 2014 and was traded to the Padres for Derek Norris two years later. After leading Padres minor leaguers in strikeouts in 2017, Avila finished second in the high Class A California League with 142 strikeouts in 2018.
  
  Scouting Report: Avila is undersized but throws three quality pitches for strikes. His fastball sits 91-93 mph and touches 95, and his above-average 74-77 mph curveball is one of the top breaking balls in the system. His 82-85 mph changeup also improved to above-average, deceiving hitters out of the hand with similar arm speed before dropping late. Avila falls in love with his secondaries too much at times and loses his command in the zone, but those are fixable with maturity. Avila is a bit chubby, but he's a good athlete who repeats his delivery and keeps the ball around the strike zone.
  
  The Future: Avila projects as a fifth starter or swingman for most evaluators. He'll move to Double-A Amarillo in 2019.
• 
  Ranked San Diego Padres #26 prospect in 2018
  The Nationals signed Avila for $50,000 out of Venezuela in 2014 and traded him to the Padres for Derek Norris after the 2016 season. While Norris never played a game for the Nationals, Avila led the Padres system with 170 strikeouts in 2017, including an eight-inning, 17-strikeout night for low Class A Fort Wayne in August. Avila has an average fastball that sits 92 mph and touches 94, but his plus curveball is a separator. It's a swing-and-miss pitch in the 73-77 mph range that he manipulates at will, adding and subtracting velocity while keeping the shape consistent. He can go to his curveball whenever he wants, although sometimes he falls in love with it and gets in trouble throwing it out of sequence. He also has a 82-83 mph changeup with above-average potential at his disposal. Avila's command isn't great, which, combined with his average fastball, makes him a future swingman in evaluators' eyes. He's a good athlete with a clean delivery, so his command has the potential to jump forward and make him more of a rotation option. Avila will start at high Class A Lake Elsinore in 2018.

• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Avila signed with the Nationals for $50,000 in 2014 and was traded to the Padres for Derek Norris after the 2016 season. He finished among the organization’s strikeout leaders in both 2017 and 2018 and received his first big league callup in April 2019, when he pitched 5.1 strong innings in his lone start. He suffered an elbow strain that eventually led to Tommy John surgery in August, however, and missed the rest of the season and all of 2020 recovering.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: When healthy, Avila throws three quality pitches for strikes. He has a strong, sturdy frame that allows him to hold his 92-93 mph fastball deep in games and will touch 95. Avila’s best pitch is his curveball. It’s a plus offering at 73-77 mph with big break that freezes hitters and gets both called strikes and swings and misses. He rounds out his arsenal with an 82-84 mph changeup that shows above-average potential. Avila gets in trouble when he falls in love with his secondaries or throws his pitches out of sequence, but he’s a good athlete with a clean delivery and racks up strikeouts when he’s on.
  
  THE FUTURE: Avila is slated to return in 2021. If his stuff returns intact, he has a chance to be a spot starter or swingman.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Avila signed with the Nationals for $50,000 in 2014 and was traded to the Padres for Derek Norris after the 2016 season. He finished among the organization’s strikeout leaders in both 2017 and 2018 and received his first big league callup in April 2019, when he pitched 5.1 strong innings in his lone start. He suffered an elbow strain that eventually led to Tommy John surgery in August, however, and missed the rest of the season and all of 2020 recovering.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: When healthy, Avila throws three quality pitches for strikes. He has a strong, sturdy frame that allows him to hold his 92-93 mph fastball deep in games and will touch 95. Avila’s best pitch is his curveball. It’s a plus offering at 73-77 mph with big break that freezes hitters and gets both called strikes and swings and misses. He rounds out his arsenal with an 82-84 mph changeup that shows above-average potential. Avila gets in trouble when he falls in love with his secondaries or throws his pitches out of sequence, but he’s a good athlete with a clean delivery and racks up strikeouts when he’s on.
  
  THE FUTURE: Avila is slated to return in 2021. If his stuff returns intact, he has a chance to be a spot starter or swingman.