By Bill Center

Twenty-three-year-old Phil Maton walked into a rough situation Friday night in Albuquerque.

Struggling Triple-A El Paso was already down by a run to the Isotopes when Maton entered the game with the bases loaded and one out. A hit here and the Chihuahuas risked falling farther behind in the game — and an Albuquerque win would have reduced El Paso’s lead over the Isotopes to 3 1/5 games.

And Maton was making just his second appearance with El Paso after being promoted from Double-A San Antonio.

But Maton struck out the next two hitters to stop the rally. And when El Paso scored four runs in the top of the seventh, Maton put himself in position to win his first Triple-A game. Maton also pitched the bottom of the seventh. Over 1 2/3 innings, Maton issued a walk with four strikeouts.

Maton, a 20th-round pick in the 2015 draft, has emerged as one of the hottest bullpen prospects in the Padres system. In his first full professional season, he has jumped from Single-A Fort Wayne to Triple-A, skipping Double-A along the way.

The powerful, 6-foot-3, 220-pound product of Louisiana Tech has a 5–3 record this season with 10 saves in 12 attempts. He has a 1.64 earned run average in 49 1/3 innings covering 35 appearances. And he has 74 strikeouts against 11 walks in those 49 1/3 innings. He has also allowed 31 hits — of an opponents’ batting average of .175 and a 0.85 WHIP.

Maton has been on a rapid climb ever since he joined short-season Single-A Tri-City after the draft in June of 2015. He had a 1.38 ERA in 23 appearances with the Dust Devils with 58 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. He was named a Short-Season Single-A All-Star.

Maton started this season at Fort Wayne and was 1–1 with a save and a 1.42 ERA in eight appearances. He struck out 19 in 12 2/3 innings. He was promoted to Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore on June 8 and was 3–2 with 11 saves in 25 appearances with the Storm. Maton struck out 47 in 33 innings at Lake Elsinore.

Maton has eight strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings with El Paso. He has yet to allow a hit or a run.