Strahm tossed four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 6-2 Cactus League win over the Reds, conceding two hits and no walks and striking out eight.
The Padres' decision to use Strahm in relief is less important than the fact that he upped his innings count in his second outing of the spring, which signals he's still being prepped for a rotation role once the regular season arrives. Strahm showed Saturday what kind of upside he might have in that capacity, boosting his spring strikeout total to 12 through nine scoreless frames across three outings. Expect the southpaw's average draft position to rise steadily as a result of his early dominance.