Lucchesi will be discussed as an option to fill in as the Padres' fifth starter while Dinelson Lamet (elbow) is out, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Manager Andy Green said he was "fairly certain" Lucchesi would be discussed in addition to Chris Young and Robbie Erlin as a potential fifth starter with Lamet out indefinitely with elbow soreness. Lucchesi was sent to minor-league camp Saturday but may not be there for long. Young or Erlin may get the nod over Lucchesi initially, as the latter has logged 60.1 innings at Double-A and zero innings at Triple-A. However, it sounds like Lucchesi is definitely on the fast track and should get a first-half look in the big-league rotation as long as he carries over just a modicum of his success from 2017 (2.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 148 strikeouts in 139 innings across High-A and Double-A). Scouting reports suggest that those numbers are a bit misleading, as Lucchesi, who turns 25 in June, projects as more of a No. 4 starter.