When Austin Hedges was finished standing in against Reggie Lawson on Friday morning, he asked the guys behind the cage a question:

“That was fast, right?”

Yes, the Padres catcher was told, 95 and 96 mph fast.

“It’s super jumpy,” Hedges said of the pitch that often seems to rise as it travels from the 6-foot-4 Lawson’s right hand and across the plate.


The velocity is not extraordinary for Lawson, except that spring training has just begun and he was not pitching much of last season.

The 22-year-old, a second-round (competitive balance) pick out of Victor Valley High in 2016, was shut down in May due to elbow soreness. He was close to submitting to Tommy John surgery before deciding on platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections and rest.

“Thank God for that,” he said.

Because Lawson returned to pitch in the Arizona Fall League and, going against hitters who have almost all shown well in Double-A and Triple-A, allowed three hits and a run in 11 innings. He struck out 14 and walked two.


“That was good to see,” general manager A.J. Preller said. “He ended the offseason knowing he was in a good spot from a health standing and he could get out advanced hitters … He can build on that for next year. He lost a lot of development time. I think he gained some of that back.”

Lawson entered the fall with the goal of showing the Padres and himself he was still a top prospect (currently the eighth-ranked pitcher in their system) and that he was past his elbow troubles.

“It did a lot,” Lawson it. “Last year was a tough year. Going to the AZL was good, being around that talent was good, getting back to pitching and doing what I love . … I just wanted to come out healthy, just knowing I could get back to what I do.”

Lawson will be expected to refine command of the fastball and tighten up his curve. In the Padres’ loaded system and still needing to work his way back after throwing just 38 2/3 innings all of 2019, he is likely slated for a return to Double-A Amarillo at the start of this season.


That will be after participating in his first big-league camp.

“It’s a big step,” Lawson said. “It’s a big honor. I’ve been working ever since I got drafted.”

