Zack Qin 5/21/26

Padres Taiwanese lefty Zack Qin threw on a rehab assignment Thursday night in Tempe and overmatched the ACL Angels. He is coming back from 2025 TJS; he went under the knife right after spring training in 2025, so this is a relatively quick rebound. It was his 3rd outing since coming back. He works from a high slot N/S approach. Qin’s fastball sat 89-91 but played above its velo, getting frequent sw/m up in the zone. Qin changes eye levels and has good feel for spin. The curveball has big depth but only comes 72 mph - a faster velo less depth alternative would likely be more effective. The slider is mostly vertical low 80s offering. Qin got occasional cut life on his fastball in on RHH hands – unsure if this was a cutter or just a fastball that can cut. Qin challenged hitters in zone and threw a lot of fastballs. It got a lot of uneasy takes and sw/m in the zone. Very few pitchers can survive at MLB throwing 89-91, but I wonder if the ride/carry traits of Qin’s fastball can get him there. Qin spots his fastball well and throws a lot of strikes – you could argue future plus command due to his mechanics and ease of operations. He also has some feel to pitch – so there is a chance he can make it work. Can see a path to back end starter but it is not the most likely outcome. Slower big depth curves generally don’t play as well vs better hitters – so I would expect developing a harder curve to be a player development point of emphasis. also needs to prove he can land spin in zone consistently. I am skeptical of increased fastball velo. There may be room for him to work more full throttle in a pen role, but Qin is physically maxed out. He signed at 6’2” 170 and looks closer to 195-200 lbs now. Could be a tough bullpen profile fit if he can’t make it work in a rotation b/c the velo would be below average even if he adds a couple ticks.