Padres Report - August 31st / Dripping with Irony

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 31, 2006

So, despite my insistence that the Padres wouldn’t trade George Kottaras caliber prospect for a one-month rental like David Wells, the Padres did in fact trade Kottaras for Wells.

I’m in the process of ranking the Padre prospects right now, and it wasn’t close. Kottaras was going to be the Padres top prospect. However, after initial frustration, I’ve come to the opinion that if the Padres are able to get deep into the playoffs, this might end up being worth it.

Dripping with Irony

The irony in all this is that Kevin Towers’ former protégé, now GM of the Boston Red Sox, Theo Epstein, just turned the tables on his former boss.

In early May, then-Padres backup catcher Doug Mirabelli was wearing out his welcome in San Diego while the new backup catcher in Boston, Josh Bard, was letting Wakefield’s knuckle-balls roll around behind home plate before picking them up. The Padres had just acquired Mirabelli, Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher, the previous off-season from the Red Sox. …You know the story…

Well, with Bard not working out as Wakefield’s caddy, Boston came calling wanting to switch catchers. Towers, knowing that an effective Wakefield could hinder New York’s playoff chances, asked the Yankees if they wanted to get into the bidding and block Mirabelli’s return to Boston. Having an offer in hand from New York, Towers was able to acquire Cla Meredith in addition to unloading Mirabelli for Bard.

Now, nearly four months later, Epstein gets a call from Towers inquiring about the price tag for his 43yr old portly, oft-injured, but still effective lefty who is no longer needed in Beantown. Epstein promptly dials up the Dodgers GM, Ned Colletti, who graciously helps drive up Wells’ price tag. And now you know the rest of the story.

Hitters:

AAA – Ben Johnson --- 2-4; HR (7), R, RBI
AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 2-4; 2B (31)
AA – Colt Morton --- 3-4; 2 2B (10), HR (6), 2 R, 3 RBI, SO
AA – Matt Ekstrom --- 1-3; 2B (2), 3 RBI, 2 SO
Lo-A – Matt Antonelli --- 1-3; 3B (1), 2 R, BB, SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 1-4; HR (8), R, 4 RBI, 3 SO
R – Rayner Contreras --- 2-5; SO
R – Kyler Burke --- 2-4; R, 2 SO

Pitchers:

AA – Mike Ekstrom --- 8.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Lo-A – Greg Burke --- 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
SS – Aaron Breit --- 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
R – Pablo Menchaca --- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

A bases-loaded, 3-RBI double by starting pitcher, Matt Ekstrom in the 2nd got the scoring started for AA Mobile. Nice.

Congrats to the AZL Padres for their Arizona League Championship!

Wells to San Diego?

ESPN and Buster Olney are reporting that San Diego is close to acquiring David Wells for George Kottaras.

Kottaras is a bigger chip than that and Wells is “damaged goods.” I have a hard time believing Alderson/Towers/DePodesta would trade a catcher with Kottaras’ on-base skills for a one-month 43yr old rental pitcher who’s had serious knee problems both this year and in the past…

Here’s what Olney had to say:

Wells is from San Diego and has pitched for the Padres in the past, and it may be best for all parties that he winds up going where he wants to go, because there is the possibility that at age 43, Wells would simply retire if he didn't like the team to which he was traded.

Kottaras is playing for Triple-A Portland, where he is hitting .233 with two homers and 13 RBI. The Red Sox organization is in need of catching, and Kottaras has a reputation as a solid defender.

So Wells wants to go to SD and if he doesn’t get his way he may retire… It sounds like San Diego wouldn’t have to give up much to get him. Now we know the Padres are willing to trade Kottaras, the Padres #2 prospect according to Baseball America. But he is the Padres’ best trading chip. I would expect Kottaras to fetch someone like Ensberg or Fields or Marte in the off-season. As we said, it’s unlikely the Padres would have to spend that much to get David Wells.

Two more things: one, when has Kottaras ever been heralded as a “solid defender?” However, two, if Boston is looking at acquiring catching help, Nick Hundley could be a candidate.

Of note: both Kottaras and Hundley were held out of action on Wednesday night.

Padres Report - August 30th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 30, 2006

Mike Thompson comes through with a solid performance. Dave Roberts is clutch. The Pads get their 2-out hits. It all equals a W and a series win… Bring on Cinci…

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 1-4; 2 R, BB, SO
AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 2-4; HR (19), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, SO
AAA – Jack Cust ---- 1-2; HR (29), R, 2 RBI, 3 BB
Hi-A – Sean Kazmir --- 2-4; 2B (18), 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 1-1; 2B (22) 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-5; 2 R, 4 RBI
Lo-A – Matt Stocco --- 2-3; 2 HR (2), 2 R, 3 RBI – G2
R – Cedric Hunter --- 2-4; 2B (13)

Pitchers:

AAA – Tim Stauffer --- 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR
Hi-A – Josh Geer --- 5.0 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR – ouch, & the W
SS – Brooks Dunn --- 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR – G1
SS – Orlando Lara --- 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR – G2

Commentary:

Today on the Mighty Double-X, Philly Billy Werndel and Darin Smith interviewed Padres' CEO, Sandy Alderson. Alderson specifically mentioned Jack Cust as someone who would likely get a September call-up and that the Padres wanted to evaluate him to potentially keep him in their organization for next year (potential starting LF? bench guy? AAA emergency bat?). It was an interesting statement for the single-season walks record holder in the Pacific Coast League (140 and counting). Going into tonight Cust was hitting .294/.470/.548. I haven’t previously mentioned him in this ‘blog because he’s not a “prospect.” He’s not because he’s 27 years old. He’s not because he’s no longer “rookie eligible.” But that doesn’t mean he won’t be a positive impact next year (on the Padres or some other team).

I don’t really like to give recaps in this forum, if you want recaps, check out MadFriars.com they do a good job of those. I feel my niche is reporting and analyzing prospects. However, I couldn’t help but point out that in honor of football season beginning (NFL, yawn…, but the College season begins tomorrow!), Rancho Cucamonga and Lake Elsinore met tonight and a football game broke out. Down one touchdown going into the bottom of the 3rd, Lake Elsinore responded with a field goal and a safety to make 7-5, after giving up a safety in the top of the 4th, they kicked three more field goals in the bottom of the 4th and went on win 20-10. As a team, the Storm worked 14 BB compared to only 5 SO. What a game!

Dodgers Interested in Wells

A lot of baseball writers have quite good senses of humor.

In the 2003 Edition of the Baseball Prospectus (the book), there’s the following hypothetical conversation between Mark Shapiro and one of his assistants (unnamed) who is on the phone with the Dodgers (p. 86):

Assistant: “Hey I’ve got the Dodgers on the phone. They want Paul Shuey. Who are we asking for?”
Shapiro: “Uh, tell them we want Ricardo Rodriguez or Francisco Cruceta.”
A: “We want Ricardo Rodriguez and Francisco Cruceta.”
S: “No! No! Wait, you’ll piss them off…”
A: “They just said yes.”

I highlight that section because of what I read in the Union Tribune this morning…

The Dodgers are believed to be interested in Wells, too, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Boston is believed to want a package of top L.A. prospects, including Triple-A center fielder Matt Kemp.

A package!?! They want more than one top prospect, including Kemp? I was thinking we might be able to get Wells for something in the range of a Sean Kazmir… Or one of our 24yr old Hi-A pitchers…

I don’t think Wells would be a big acquisition for us, and I don’t think he’d hurt us much as an opponent. I hope the Dodgers are willing to overspend to keep him from us. Again…

Padres Report - August 29th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 29, 2006

I fully endorse an automated ball/strike system. You need humans to watch tags, make decisions on rules, etc. I do not endorse eliminating umpires. But MLB spends money on QuestTec (or whatever’s called) to help train umpires on where the strike zone should be, all to enforce conformity and reduce errors. If we want one strike zone instead of dozens and fewer errors, why not go automated? I wonder if Chris Young agrees with me?

On to the report…

Hitters:

AAA – Ben Johnson --- 3-5; 2B (9), 2 R, BB, SO
AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 1-4; HR (24), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
AAA – Jon Knott --- 2-3; 2 2B (31), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SO
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 2-5; 2B (21), 2 RBI, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-4; HR (10), R, 2 RBI, BB – G1
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 1-2; 2 RBI – G2
Lo-A – David Freese --- 0-3; 2 R, BB – G1
Lo-A – Seth Johnston --- 3-4; 2 R, SO – G1
Lo-A – Chad Huffman --- 2-4; 3B (1), 2 R, 2 RBI – G1
Lo-A – Matt Antonelli --- 0-3; SO – G2

Pitchers:

AA – Jonathon Ellis --- 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Lo-A – Nathanial Culp --- 3.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR – G1
Lo-A – John Madden --- 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 SO, 0 HR – G1
R – Geoff Vandel --- 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Terrmel Sledge is some kind of hot this month. In April Terrmel went homerless. In May he hit 3 HR. in June he hit 4. In July he hit 6 HR. With 2 games left this month, Terrmel has jacked 11 balls out this month. When I looked, MinorLeagueSplits.com only had the Terrmel's stats updated through the 25th, but he was hitting .394/.482/.901 for the month. Those numbers are likely even better now. Wow!

“Say hey, let’s play two!” Will Venable had himself a day.

Chad Huffman had nice Lo-A debut. Matt Antonelli; not so much…

In his last three starts, Geoff Vandel has 16 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 23 SO. I like this kid.

Off-Season Assignments

It has been noted that while there are a lot of top prospects in the Arizona Fall League this year, the Padres didn’t send many “top” guys (3B Chase Headley is the only guy I would call “top” prospect). We can speculate as to why (possibly disgruntled with the coaching staff assigned to the Padre affiliate, the Peoria Saguaros, etc.) but most of the top talent is headed to the Instructional League.

Cesar Carrillo, who missed most of 2006 and was reportedly going to see some rehab-type action this off-season, is conspicuously absent from both lists and according to this Miami Herald article, won't be pitching for a few more months after a recent setback.

Former [Univ. of Miami] standout Cesar Carrillo, who hasn't pitched since July 12 because of an elbow injury, is recuperating slower than expected and will be held out of the Arizona Fall League. Carrillo, sidelined with a stretched ligament after 53 1/3 minor-league innings, had his elbow flare up during a recent rehab session. The Padres said he won't need surgery, but he won't be able to start throwing again for a couple of months.

Padres Report - August 28th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 28, 2006

I do not think the Padres have a shot to do any damage in the playoffs. And part of me just wants them to fall off the table so they can improve their draft-picking slot and improve their system and thus help their long-term success. But then, I can’t bring myself to root against them. But dang losing games like that is hard to stomach.

Hitters:

AAA - Terrmel Sledge --- 3-5; HR (23), R, 2 RBI, SO
AAA – Jon Knott --- 1-3; R, RBI, SO
Hi-A – Nick Hundley --- 2-3; BB
R – Rayner Contreras --- 4-5; 2B (9), 3B (3), 2 R, 5 RBI
R – Cedric Hunter --- 2-4; R, RBI, BB, 2 SO, 2 SB

Pitchers:

AAA – Jared Wells --- 6.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR
AA – Jose Oyervidez --- 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 SO, O HR
R – Yesid Salazar --- 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Terrmell Sledge and Jon Knott each go yard again! The Portland lineup isn’t prospect laden, but it has a few guys who can hit the longball.

It took the end of Cedric’s streak for him to get noticed… Well people definitely know his name now. Baseball America ranked him #2 on their Prospect Hot Sheet. Oh, did you notice he got on base 3 more times tonight?

20yr olds in Rookie-ball who aren’t striking out a batter per inning (or at least close) don’t impress me. After tonight’s impressive performance, Salazar now has 28 SO in 55 IP. Yawn… Well actually, Salazar won’t actually turn 20 until November – but that still doesn’t make him impressive.

Morning Notes

You all already know how high I am on Cedric Hunter. Today the Union Tribune let the Cedric-secret out of the bag to the rest of the Padre fans...

Also, at the bottom of the article there's a comment telling us Antonelli, Huffman, and Cooper will be promoted from Short-Season Eugene to Lo-A Fort Wayne for their playoff push. Cool.

Padres Report - August 27th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 27, 2006

I am NOT Steve Phillips biggest fan, but Sunday, on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, he predicted that the Dodgers would win the NL Wild Card (and that the Padres would win the NL West). I am beginning to think the Wild Card WILL NOT come from the West (not with the Reds and Cardinals both ahead of the Padres – and the Padres still two back of the Dodgers – plus the Phillies getting into the Wild Card hunt)… I do think the Padres can come back in the West however.

Alex Gyr has a nice feature piece on Chase Headley over at MiLB.com.

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 2-6; HR (22), 2 R, RBI, SO
AAA – Jon Knott --- 5-6; 2 HR (28), 3 R, 5 RBI – hit walk-off HR in 11th
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-5; RBI, SO
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 2-5; HR (6), R, 2 RBI, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 0-5; RBI
Lo-A – David Freese --- 0-2; 3 BB, 2 SO
SS – Chad Huffman --- 2-4; 2B (17), HR (9), 3 R, RBI, BB

Pitchers:

Lo-A - Wade Leblanc --- 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO

Commentary:

That’s now 13 HR for Nic Crosta in 382 AB in his first pro season.

The minor league season is just about finished and Chad Huffman is showing why the Padres drafted him in the second round. Chad now has 17 doubles, 1 triple and 9 home runs. That’s 27 extra-base hits (out of 68 hits in 198 AB)…

In the last month I’ve had the same conversation with two people. Once with Paul, an occasional poster and long-time friend who I respect, and once someone within the baseball community… We discussed whether Wade Leblanc has passed Cesar Ramos as the Padres’ top LHP prospect. I’ve all but made up my mind; yes.

Padres Report - August 26th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 26, 2006

The end of an era… And another pitcher jumps up and grabs my attention.

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 2-5; HR (21), R, RBI, BB, SO
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 2-4; SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 0-4; 2 SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 0-4
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 0-1; 2 R, 4 BB
SS – Chad Huffman --- 1-2; 2 RBI, BB
R – Cedric Hunter --- 0-5; 0 BB
R – Kyler Burke --- 0-5; 4 SO

Pitchers:

AA – Jack Cassel --- 9.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 1 HR
SS – Aaron Breit --- 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
R – Pablo Menchaca --- 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

I’ve not hid my opinion from anyone, I don’t think Jack Cassel is a prospect. But any complete game, 1 run, 10-strikeout performance deserves a place in my report. Way to go Jack!

Aaron Breit is doing his best to make me look good…

The end of an era… The Arizona League Padres have played 53 games (going 35-19 - .660 winning rate), Cedric Hunter had played in 49 of those games. In his first 48 games Cedric compiled the following: he hit .378/.473/.495, with 17 going for extra bases (12 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR), a 37/20 BB/SO ratio, he scored 45 runs while knocking in 43, and he stole 15 of 20 bases… And maybe most impressively, Cedric was on base in EVERY SINGLE GAME. Every game! Cedric’s professional career began with a 48-game on-base streak. I would bet that feat has never happened before… I’m excited to see what Cedric does with the last few games he has in this, his first professional season…

Pablo Menchaca a 6’4” righty, who will turn 19 on Nov. 28th, has flown beneath my radar this season. After tonight’s gem, Menchaca lowered his ERA to 3.35 with 52 hits allowed, and nine free passes versus 39 strikeouts. You’d like to see fewer hits and more strikeouts, but he also has a 1.51 groundout/flyout ratio. Experts have said the Padres scout Mexico better than most clubs. Menchaca, who hails from Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, can be added to the growing list of prospects the Padres have mined out of Mexico.

Padres Report - August 25th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 25, 2006

I had “date-night” with my wife tonight. I didn’t start checking box scores until late, We’re going to be short on commentary tonight…

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 2-4; R, RBI, SO
AAA – Jon Knott --- 2-4; HR (26), R, RBI, SO
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 2-4; 2B (20), 2 R, BB, SO
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 1-4; HR (12), 3 RBI, BB
Lo-A – David Freese --- 0-4; 2 SO
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 2-4; 2B (12), RBI
R- Rayner Contreras --- 1-3; 2B (8), 2 R, BB
R – Cedric Hunter --- 1-3; 2B (12), R, RBI

Pitchers:

AA – Matt Ekstrom --- 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Nic Crosta will turn 24 this November, so it’s hard to call him a top prospect. But this is first professional season… Now, factor in that he started his professional career in Lo-A and has already been promoted to Hi-A. One more fact, Nic has hit 49 XBHs in 373 AB (again, in his first professional season).

Padres Report - August 24th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 24, 2006

I just started compiling numbers and notes on some 40+ Padres prospects as I prepare to rank the Padres top prospects. I have no idea when the project will be complete, but I want to get my rankings out before the big boys do…

Hitters:

AAA - Terrmel Sledge --- 3-4; 3B (5), 2 R, SO
AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 3-3; 2B (30), HR (18), 3 RBI, BB
AA – Vince Sinisi --- 0-4; BB 3 SO
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 3-4; 2B (31),
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 1-4; HR (5), 4, 2 RBI, SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 1-3; 2 R, 2 BB, SO
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 1-3; 2 R, BB, 2 SO
SS – Craig Cooper --- 3-4; 2B (17), 3B, (1), 2 RBI
R – Cedric Hunter --- 1-3; R, RBI, BB, SO, SB (15)

Pitchers:

R - Geoff Vandel --- 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

I told you Sledge was starting a new extra base hit streak.

Paul, have a night! I really like this guy. I just don’t know where you play him. Well at least Phil Nevin isn’t around to give him pinch-hitting advice.

Last year, Geoff posted a 0.43 ERA in 21 IP in the Rookie Arizona league. After a promotion to Short-Season Eugene, Geoff posted a 0.90 ERA in 10 IP. In both stops he struck out more than a batter per inning and less than a hit per inning (combined: 0.58 ERA in 31 IP with 20 H, 0 HR, 43 SO, & 6 BB). Now since he only had 10 IP in Eugene, the Padres assigned him to Eugene again (he’s still only 19 years old). After struggling mightily in 11 IP in Eugene, the Padres demoted him back to Rookie-ball again. Until his last appearance (Aug. 18th) and this one, he hadn’t fared all that well in the AZL either. So what’s the lhe line of demarcation? Those last two outing were both starts; his first two in the AZL this year. Wanna bet the Padres let him start more regularly?

Vandel’s last 2 starts:

August 18: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
August 24: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

Wow!

Overall 2006 numbers: 31 IP, 44 H, 29 R, 23 ER, 2 HR, 18 BB, 29 SO

Ouch!

Good to see Geoff Vandel close out a rough year on a positive note.

Wow!

This isn't even Padre related, but I was so amazed by it, I had to post it:

"[Ryan Kalish] has a strong, athletic body," [Boston Scouting Director, Jason McLeod] said. "I wouldn't call it a power bat, but we really think highly of his swing. He didn't swing and miss at a single pitch in high school this year. We really believe in him. He's a high-energy, confident kid."

That was an excerpt from Baseball America's Draft Dish (requires subscription) about a 9th round pick Boston signed for 2nd round money ($600,000).

All I can say is, "Wow!"

Padres Report - August 23rd

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 23, 2006

SWEEP LA! SWEEP LA! SWEEP LA!

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 1-4; HR (20), R, RBI,
AAA – George Kottaras --- 0-3; 2 SO
AA – Luis Cruz --- 3-5; R
Hi-A – Sean Kazmar --- 4-5; 3 R, 2 RBI
SS – Craig Cooper --- 3-5; HR (6), R, 2 RBI
R – Kyler Burke --- 3-4; 2 2B (3), 3B (4), R, 3 RBI

Pitchers:

AAA – Jared Wells --- 8.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
AA – Jose Oyervidez --- 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR
SS – Orlando Lara --- 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO

Commentary:

Terrmel was obviously ticked off about losing his extra-base-hit streak last night. So he started a new one… He’s having quite an August.

So did Jared Wells channel Tim Stauffer tonight or what?

Way to go Kyler! How weird is it, for a player whose game is not “speed” to have more triples than doubles? I still think we’re going to see Kyler’s plus power, it just may not be this year.

Orlando Lara continues to shine. I think I like this kid.

Padres Report - August 22nd

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 22, 2006

I have two young boys. One will turn five in two weeks and one turned three in April. As a father of young kids, almost every night I help them get into bed. While I don’t watch every game, virtually every game I do watch is tape-delayed (boy I love my DVR). Tonight I paused the game in the top of the 6th with the game still scoreless. When my wife had gone to bed I came back downstairs my DVR had gone to live TV. Jane Mitchell was on doing her “One On One” interview show. The guest was Sandy Alderson. VERY interesting. I can’t comment on anything that jumped out at me but I will say if you live in the San Diego, get Cox Channel 4, and have a chance to catch it later (trust me, Cox will replay it), do so.

Last year I introduced my “7 Rules for a Dominant Start”

They are:

1. More strikeouts than innings pitched
2. Fewer than 1 BB per every 3 SO
3. Fewer hits than innings pitched
4. Two or fewer runs allowed
5. Zero home runs allowed
6. Seven+ innings pitched
7. Fewer than 110 pitches thrown

(In hindsight, I’ll probably revise rules 1 & 7 – but not right now).

Peavy’s line from Tuesday night:

7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

While Peavy’s outing doesn’t technically meet all 7 “rules,” the only rule he missed was that he equaled his innings pitched with his strikeout total rather than having more strikeouts than innings pitched. Rules schmules… Peavy was brilliant!

The Padres needed a series win and they got it. Now a sweep would really get the Dodgers questioning their own ability… Go get ‘em boys!

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 1-3; BB
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-5; SO
Hi-A – Nick Hundley --- 3-4; 2 2B, R

Pitchers:

AA – Sean Thompson --- 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Terrmel Sledge ONLY had a decent night… However in that decent night, his 9-game extra base hit streak ended.

I’m admittedly more negative on Sean Thompson than a lot of Padres minor league observers, and the reason he’s on tonight’s Report is because not only did he pitch 7 innings of shutout baseball, but he knocked in the only run of the game as well. Way to go Sean!

Padres Report - August 21st

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 21, 2006

Before we get to the report, I want to discuss the 2007 starting pitching…

Rotation candidates:

(The following are under contract or otherwise under control of the Padres:)

Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley, Mike Thompson, Tim Stauffer

(The following are free agent Padre starters:)

Shawn Estes, Woody Williams, Chan Ho Park

First, let me say that while there may be a pitcher toiling for another organization that ends up being a starter here next year, I do NOT think the Padres will (or should) spend big money on a free agent pitcher. The Padres are tied (with the Rockies of all teams) for the fewest runs allowed this season. How likely is it that the Padres could improve their run-prevention THAT much? On the other hand only Pittsburgh and Chicago in the NL have scored fewer runs. I think the Padres will open their checkbooks some, but I expect them to open it for a hitter.

How’s that for an intro…? Anyway, with that in mind, I believe our 2007 rotation will be made up primarily from ’06 starters. How will it look?

1. Peavy
2. Young
3. [free agent / trade acquisition]
4. Park/Williams
5. Hensley/Thompson/Stauffer

I do expect the Padres to unearth a solid but inexpensive 3rd starter via free agency or trade.

Don’t forget we have Cesar Carrillo rehabbing in the minors. He’s missed most of 2006 with forearm/elbow problems but he does have #2 starter stuff. It is unlikely Cesar will be ready before the season starts but he should be ready mid-season.

***

Is it just me, or is Todd Walker actually playing quite good defense lately?

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 1-3; 2B (18), R, RBI, BB
AAA - Paul McAnulty --- 1-2; 3B (), R, RBI, 2 BB
AAA – George Kottaras --- 2-4; 2B (8), R, SO
AA – Luis Cruz --- 2-4; RBI
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-6; RBI, 2 SO
Hi-A – Nick Hundley --- 2-5; 2 2B (9), SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 1-3; R, BB
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-3; 2B (12), 3B (3), BB
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 2-4; R, BB, SO
SS - Chad Huffman --- 2-4; HR (8), R, RBI

Pitchers:

SS – Aaron Breit --- 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Terrmel Sledge has now hit extra-base hits in 9 consecutive games. During that span he has 3 2B, 3 3B, and 5 HR. While I think bullpens are integral to post-season success, I think you don’t need as many bullpen arms in the postseason as you do in the regular season. I would love to see the Padres recall Terrmel from Portland on Aug. 31st (so he’d be eligible for the playoffs). Having his bat off the bench could be huge.

Will Venable celebrated today in a rather ordinary fashion… Will Venable made Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet today (ranking #3). BA had this to say about Will:

“No other hitters stepped into the zone like Venable, who was 13-for-28 on the week with four homers and 14 RBIs while hitting safely in eight games.”

David Freese now has 35 XBH (20 2B, 3 3B, & 12 HR) in his 228 AB professional career (.338 BA & .610 SLG).

Matt Antonelli continues to do two things well: make contact and draw walks. Unfortunately, Matt has yet to show any power. Going into tonight Antonelli had a disappointing .354 slugging rate. He’s still an exciting prospect (because of his long-term abilities), but I am less than pleased with how his first professional season has progressed.

Another Padre prospect deserved to make BA’s Hot Sheet, Chad Huffman. The 2006 2nd round pick has gone 17 for 29 with 3 doubles and a home run since August 13th.

Padres Report - August 20th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 20, 2006

Nice to the Padres get another series win (the Padres have won 4 of their last 8 series – not surprising for a team with a 62-62 record). We need to get a few more of those.

Hitters:

AAA – Jon Knott --- 2-3; 2 2B (28), R
AA – Luis Cruz --- 2-3; RBI, BB
Hi-A – Sean Kazmar --- 2-4; HR (11), R, 4 RBI, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-4; 2B (32), R
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 1-3; R, RBI, 2 BB
SS – Craig Cooper --- 4-5; 2 2B (16), 2 R, RBI
SS – Chad Huffman --- 2-4; R
R – Cedric Hunter --- 0-1; 2 R, 3 BB

Pitchers:

AA – Matt Ekstrom --- 9.0 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
SS – Ernesto Fieri --- 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Craig Cooper had a night…

Cedric now has 35 BB to go with 19 SO in 187 AB…

Ernesto Fieri is an interesting prospect. Baseball America ranked the Columbian acquisition #17 in the 2006 Prospect Handbook. He’s 20 years old and listed as 6’2” 168 lbs., so he’s obviously not a big guy. BA also has a couple of interesting quotes on him:

1. “His fastball has no more than average velocity, but he features two quality breaking pitches.”
2. “…Most of his strikeouts came when inexperienced hitters chase pitches out of the zone.”

However, due to Ernesto’s size, I would guess he might have a bit of velocity left in him if/when he fills out. Secondly, I could see criticizing a pitcher’s strikeout total if had one season that was statistically flukish, or only had one season experience. Ernesto has 170 career strikeouts in 136 IP over three seasons (going into the season) and 30 SO in 29 IP this year. So he’s consistently striking out at least a hitter per inning pitched. I don’t consider Ernesto to be a top prospect by any means, but as I said, he is interesting…

Padres Report - August 19th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 19, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Terrmel Sledge --- 2-4; 2 2B (17), R, SO
AA – Luis Cruz --- 1-4; HR (12), R, RBI
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 3-7; 2B (30), SO
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 1-4; 2B (), R, 2 BB, 3 SO
Lo-A - Will Venable --- 2-4; R, RBI, SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-4; 3B (2), 2 RBI
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 3-4; 2 2B (10), R, RBI, SO
SS – Craig Cooper --- 2-5; 2B (14), R, 4 RBI, SO
SS – Chad Huffman --- 3-5; 2 2B (15), RBI
R – Luis Durango --- 3-6; 3 R, RBI, BB, SO
R – Matt Bush --- 0-1; R, RBI, 3 BB
R – Cedric Hunter --- 2-5; 3B (4), R, 4 RBI, BB, SO
R – Sam Carter --- 2-3; 2B (8), HR (3), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SO
R – Kyler Burke --- 0-3; R, 3 BB

Pitchers:

…none worth noting…

Commentary:

In August Terrmel Sledge is hitting .388 with 11 BB compared to 12 SO. He also has 11 XBH (2 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR). I think someone wants to play in San Diego. Terrmel and Ben Johnson will make re-signing Dave Roberts a tough decision. But then, Dave Roberts is making that decision tough as well…

Luis Cruz, the one Double-A hitter who interests me, hit a HR today. This is good, but then his overall numbers still depress more than they impress (going into tonight: .263/.303/.429). He does have 34 doubles, 3 triples, and now 12 home runs, but then in 445 AB he has only walked 25 times while striking out 55. If a prospect isn’t going to walk much he needs to hit over .300. I still think Cruz could have a major league career, but It’s likely as a back-up/defensive replacement.

Welcome back Matt… I think Antonelli took exception to my comments yesterday. Well Matt, since you’re paying attention, we’d like to see a couple balls leave the yard as well…

Luis Durango hasn’t gotten much ink here. He’s not going to get Cedric-level praise, but he deserves some. As sublime as Cedric’s numbers are, Luis Durango, not Cedric Hunter, leads the AZL league in hitting (.407). Furthermore Luis has impressive BB/SO numbers (20/12) in 118 AB. He’s not young for the league; he’s 20 – but he’s not old either. This kid deserves to be watched.

Matt Bush resurfaced. He started, played SS, had 4 plate appearances and was pitch-hit for in the 6th. I’m not ready to give up on the kid, but it wasn’t good for him to lose this year…

Cedric was Cedric…

I don’t know much about Sam Carter (I’m looking…) other than he’s 23 (OLD for Rookie ball), but he turned in the line of the day… His overall numbers (not tonight’s line) are why I’m looking deeper (going into tonight: .277/.417/.458).

The Cedric Hunter Report - August 18th

Padres’ “Cedric Hunter” Report – August 18, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Tremel Sledge --- 2-4; HR (19), 4 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB
AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 3-4; 2B (29), HR (17), 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 1-3; GS-HR (9), 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-5; HR (7), R, 4 RBI
SS – Craig Cooper --- 1-2; R, RBI, 2 BB
SS – Chad Huffman --- 3-4; HR (7), R, 3 RBI, SO
R – Cedric Hunter --- 1-4; HR (1), R, 2 RBI, SO

Commentary:

Tremel Sledge and Paul McAnulty have decent shots at being useful pieces to the Padres’ 2006 playoff push and the Padres’ 2007 season. It’s good to see both them both hot and cumulatively successful.

Jared Wells’ prospect status keeps slipping. Sad.

Lake Elsinore got beat 17-2… Ouch…

In my Mid-Season rankings I had the following Top 6:

1. George Kottaras
2. Matt Antonelli
3. Cesar Carrillo
4. Chase Headley
5. Cedric Hunter
6. Will Venable

At this point, I’ve already mentally moved Antonelli down below Hunter. With the way Venable is closing his 2006 season, Antonelli may slide past him too. I still think Venable needs to be challenged with a promotion. Venable is a touch old for his league, but he hasn’t been playing baseball as long as most professionals his age (he’ll turn 24 this October), so his age doesn’t count against as much as it would for most 23-4 year olds. However, his age is what it is… He needs to advance through the rest of the system quickly if he wants a big league career.

Chad Huffman had a solid beginning to his professional career. In June, despite getting only 23 AB in 12 games, Chad hit .304/.379/.652… Then, in July, he slowed down as he started to get regular playing time, but still hit a more-than respectable .299/.411/.471. Now that we’re into August, Chad has really picked it up hitting .375/.492/.542 (those numbers are a couple days old but should be close to where they are now).

Cedric Hunter, Cedric Hunter, Cedric Hunter… A big PRD tip of the cap to you on the night of your first professional home run. Good job. I’ve enjoyed pinpin’ you to all the San Diego fans out there, and I look forward to watching your continued success. Big ups kid! Keep it up.

Padres Report - August 17th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 17, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Tremel Sledge --- 2-5; 3B (3), R, RBI, SO
AAA - George Kottaras --- 1-3; BB, SO
AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 1-3; 2 BB, SO (and an error at 3B)
Hi-A – Nick Hundley --- 1-3; HR (2), R, RBI, BB, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-4; HR (8), R, 3 RBI
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 1-4; BB, 2 SO
SS – Craig Cooper --- 2-4; RBI

Pitchers:

…none worth mentioning…

Commentary:

I’m not going to write much, I’m way too tired tonight. But I do have one thing I want to discuss:

Player A: .268/.420/.336
Player B: .270/.383/.388

Player A is first round pick, Matt Antonelli. Player B is Brian Giles. How sad is it that the current and future fortunes of the Padres ride on the shoulders of two men with phenomenal on-base skills but who neither of whom are driving the ball with any consistency? I don’t think we should be worried yet (about Antonelli). But at the same when it comes to ranking prospects, I can’t ignore it either.

Padres Report - August 16th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 16, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Tremel Sledge --- 2-4; HR (18), R, 3 RBI, SO
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-4; 2B (29), 2 RBI, SO
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 0-3; 3 SO – & an E - ouch!
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-4; 2B (11), R, 2 SO
R – Luis Durango --- 3-4; R, RBI, BB
R – Rayner Contreras --- 2-5; R, 2 RBI, SO
R – Cedric Hunter --- 4-5; 2B (11), 2 R, RBI
R – Kyler Burke --- 0-3; R, RBI, 2 BB

Pitchers:

Lo-A – Grant Varnell --- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR
Lo-A – Joakim Soria --- 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Despite Grant Varnell’s electric performance today, he is NOT a prospect. The 23 year old (he’ll turn 24 next month) who’s allowing roughly 25% more hits than IP and is barely striking out one guy every two IP (58 SO in 105 IP) is getting by on guile and maturity. The going will become too much as he advances.

Who is Joakim Soria? All I know is he pitched in Mexico for Diablos Rojos del Mexico, going 0-0 over 37 IP with a 3.89 ERA allowing 37 H, 2 HR, 11 BB & 30 SO with 15 Saves… Age? We’ll find out…

It’s quite the small sample size (107 AB) but Luis Durango was hitting .402/.487/.500 going into tonight’s contest. Going 3-4 with a walk raises those already awesome numbers.

Cedric. Four hits. Four! …And a 2B. He’s now batting .384. – I’ve told a few friends about this, but Tony Gwynn showed up and my former place of work and made a large purchase (despite being paid to advertise for a competitor -hmm…). Anyway, during a waiting period, he and I chatted baseball for over 30 minutes. One complaint he had about the Padres minor league organization is that we didn’t have enough athletes. We had lumbering mid-to-late 20 year-old, first-basemen masquerading as shortstops and CFers (ok, those were my words not Tony’s but that’s essentially his point). Well Tony, here’s your high-upside athlete. I present to you, Cedric Hunter.

Padres Report - August 15th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 15, 2006

Buckle up, I wrote a lot tonight…

Kevin Goldstein, of Baseball Prospectus and a PRD favorite, posted his NL West Division Roundup today. Kevin and I have talked on numerous occasions so I’m very familiar with his opinion of the Padres’ organization. However, Kevin shocked me with this quote, “Wow, it's almost depressing to look too closely at the Padres system--it's really, really bad.”

In the 2006 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, BA rated our minor league organization 28th (Kevin compiled the Padres’ Top 30 for the 2006 book when he was with BA so he’s quite familiar with the system).

While the Padres system does not deserve to be talked about among the upper echelon of minor league systems, it is improving. Heck, I’d say that after the 2006 draft (which I think was a very good one) they are still in the bottom third. The difference is, apparently unlike Kevin; I think the Padres have moved into the low-20s (21, 22, 23… in that range).

The reason I was shocked with the quote is because I think Kevin has it completely backwards. If you look quickly at the organization you notice a few things:

1. It’s made up of a quite a few older players
2. There ain’t much at the top (other than Kottaras and Carrillo I’m not sure there’s any MLB regulars in AAA & AA – fittingly, Kevin made that comment in his paragraph about the prospect-devoid AA Mobile team)
3. The team’s minor league reputation has to deal with the recent memory of Matt Bush as the #1 pick in 2004 and Tim Stauffer showing up injured when he was drafted 4th overall in 2003 (no fault of the Padres on that one)

However, if you dig deeper (which is what Kevin said was “depressing”) you’ll notice a bunch of interesting guys who are legit prospects (if a ways away) and some others who have to be called “sleepers” or “emerging prospects:”

• Aaron Breit – JUCO 20 yr. old pitcher w/ low-mid 90’s FB in 1st pro season
• Chad Huffman – Col. OF drafted in 2006, some power, good stats, 21 yrs. old
• Craig Cooper - Short-Season 1B having solid year; a 2006 draftee
• David Freese - Lo-A 3B who crushed Short-Season ball; another 2006 draftee
• Kyle Blanks – 6’7” 270 lbs. freak-athlete in Lo-A w/ more potential than production
• Kyler Burke – High School OF drafted in ’06, power, struggling, but high upside
• Michael Epping – Col. ’06 drafted CF who walks & steals some in Short-Season
• Nic Crosta - Hi-A OF who killed Lo-A, 23 yrs. old, 1st year of pro ball
• Orlando Lara - 21 year old Mexican prospect with 46 SO in 38.1 IP
• Rayner Contreras – 19 yr. old Dominican batting .315/.408/.468 in Rookie-ball

(…And that doesn’t include the two obvious prospects: Matt Antonelli and Cedric Hunter or a few mid-level pitchers who could top out as 4th or 5th starters.)

Again, I’m not going to confuse the Padres’ system with those of the Dodgers or Diamondbacks (two of the top 5 in all of baseball) but let’s not pretend the system hasn’t made serious strides.

On to tonight’s report:

Hitters:

AAA – George Kottaras --- 0-3; 2 R, BB
AAA – Tremel Sledge --- 1-1; HR (17), R, 3 RBI
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 0-2; 2 BB
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-4; R, RBI
SS – Chad Huffman --- 2-3; 2B (13), RBI, BB
R – Cedric Hunter --- 1-4; RBI, BB, SO
R – Rayner Contreras --- 3-5; R, 2 SO

Pitchers:

AA – Matt Ekstrom --- 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Hi-A – Josh Geer --- 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
SS – Aaron Breit --- 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

George is showing that he’s probably not ready for MLB action (obviously not now, but probably not for 2007 either). He is still getting on base at a good clip.

Chase has been batting 5th quite a bit lately after batting 2nd and 3rd earlier in the season. He was back in the 2-hole tonight and got on base via the walk twice.

PRD fave Cedric Hunter had a rather ordinary night, but he could have had an even a worse night and he would have gotten love here tonight. The reason is Baseball America mentioned him in their Prospect Hot Sheet.

Since signing as a third-round pick, all Hunter has done is hit. And hit, and hit and hit. Hunter went 9-for-16 on the week and is hitting .377/.469/.465, with a 17-game hitting streak. He has no homers, but a remarkable 29-16 strikeout-walk ratio in 159 at-bats.

…Cedric did lose a few points off his sublime numbers by getting only 1 hit tonight and ONLY getting on base two times in five attempts. Oh… and those strikeouts to walks? That’s now 30 BB to 17 SO (one of each tonight). By the way, he’s only 18… Wow!

Rayner Contreras continues to impress… Ignoring the Dominican creed, “You can’t walk off the island,” the 19-year-old Contreras has 17 BB to go with 22 SO. Rayner played briefly at Lo-A Fort Wayne and struggled mightily before raking in the Rookie-level Arizona league.

Another PRD fave, Aaron Breit, had a solid outing. I always wonder about unearned runs, but he didn’t allow any home runs, only walked one, and didn’t give up a lot hits… So I’m pleased. Aaron now has 54 SO in 44.2 IP (compared to 19 BB). He has allowed 41 H but only 2 HR. I haven’t decided how deep I’ll go when I rank the Padres’ minor leaguers this off-season, but if I go 20 deep Aaron will probably be there. I really like him.

Padres Report - August 14th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 14, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – George Kottaras --- 1-4; RBI, SO
AAA – Termel Sledge --- 1-3; HR (16), R, 3 RBI, BB, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 3-5; 2 HR (7), 2 R, 3 RBI, SO
SS – Michael Epping --- 2-3; HR (3), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
SS – Chad Huffman --- 2-2; 2 BB
R- Rayner Contreras --- 3-4; 2 R, RBI, BB
R – Kyler Burke --- 2-4

Pitchers:

AAA – Mike Thompson --- 7.2 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR

Commentary:

Triple-A Portland scored 8 runs with 4 of those runs coming on three HR. In case you’re new to my analysis, I didn’t (and won’t) mention the HR’s from guys who are really non-prospects. In this case a couple of our so-called “4-A hitters,” 29 year-old Justin Leone and 28 year-old Luke Allen, hit the other two HRs.

Another news flash for any new readers: I like Will Venable. Call it a “man-crush.” Will is now batting .313 and has 31 doubles to go with his 7 home runs. I can’t wait to watch how many doubles he’ll smack into that cavernous right-center field in Lake Elsinore next year.

I didn’t post Cedric Hunter’s line (he hit a single and walked), but he still got on base two times out of five plate appearances. Oh yeah, he lowered his batting average and his on-base percentage in the process. This man-crush is bigger than the one I have for Venable…

Padres Report - August 13th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 13, 2006

Hitters:

AAA - Tremmel Sledge --- 2-4; 3B (2), HR (15), R, 3 RBI
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 1-5; 2B (28), RBI, 2 SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 1-3; BB, SO
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 3-4; 2B (8), 2 R, 2 RBI
SS – Chad Huffman --- 2-3; 2 RBI, BB
R – Cedric Hunter --- 1-3; R, RBI, 2 BB

Pitchers:

Lo-A – Wade Leblanc --- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Chase’s performance with the stick is not the reason I’m writing about him tonight, his return after leaving last night’s game with an injury is… Good to see Chase back on the field.

One night after top prospect, Chase Headley left the game early, 2006 2nd rounder, Wade Leblanc leaves the game in the fourth inning. If anyone knows why, please let me know.

I was wondering if Matt Antonelli’s arm was still bothering. I think it’s fine.

Cedric Hunter walked to open the bottom of the first inning. Cedric went on to steal a base, then advanced to third on a groundout and later scored on a single… I’m not the biggest fan of stolen bases attempts, but you gotta love Cedric’s athleticism – especially when it is present in such an intelligent hitter.

Padres Report - August 12th

Padres Minor League Report – August 12, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 2-4; 2B (28), 2 R, RBI, SO
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 0-0
Hi-A – Sean Kazmar --- 0-1; R, 3 BB
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 0-4; 3 SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 0-3; BB, 2 SO

Pitchers:

AAA – Jared Wells --- 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
Hi-A – Cesar Ramos --- 5.0 IP 13 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR – yuck!

Commentary:

Overall Will Venable isn’t having a horrible month. However, Will’s .304 August batting average is accompanied by nary a walk to go with 12 strikeouts. Furthermore, while his batting average is good, 12 of his 14 hits came in his first six games of the month. In his last four, he’s garnered two hits (in 19 AB) and eight strikeouts. I'm not predicting "doom and gloom" nor do I think anything's wrong per say. But I don't like it either...

Jared Well’s line is quite the mixed bag… On one hand, you have to be pleased with a 6.0 inning performance only giving up two earned runs. On the other hand he walked six. Six! On the season he now has given up 66 BB to go with 90 SO in 114 innings. Those numbers don’t equal success.

According to MinorLeagueBaseball.com, Chase Headley fielded a bunt-single in the first inning and injured his arm on the play. I’ll be watching to find out how serious it is.

Padres Report - August 11th

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 11, 2006

As loyal reader LynchMob pointed out, David Freese made Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet on August 7th as their “Helium Watch” player and had this to say about the third-sacker:

Scouts liked Freese's mature approach and raw power at South Alabama, but as a 23-year-old fifth-year senior, it was hard to see a high ceiling for him. Hitting .355/.430/.657 with 11 homers in 47 games has a way of getting people's attention, though. Freese doesn't play a pretty third base, but if he keeps mashing like this, it might not matter.

…Which is essentially what I said back on July 27th, “I’ve previously mentioned that [David Freese is] old. Thus he doesn’t have long to get to the big leagues. But Dude is raking!”

Hitters:

AAA – George Kottaras --- 0-4; RBI, SO
AA – Luis Cruz --- 2-4; 4 R, RBI, BB
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 0-5; 3 SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-4; 2 RBI

Pitchers:

AAA – Tim Stauffer --- 5.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR
AA – Sean Thompson --- 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Portland (AAA) and Mobile (AA) went off Friday night (celebrating my return no doubt); they scored 11 and 13 runs respectively. Yet only one hitter from each team made my list. Why? Because they’re either too old or simply not prospects… Sad, but true.

Tim Stauffer may officially be done. At the start of the season I opined that his success had less to do with what he threw than what was in his head. If he could regain some confidence he could top out as a 4th starter or so. Now, he’s in danger of being left off the 40 man roster.

Padres Report - August 4th

Padres’ Minor League Report

*** Programming Alert: I will be out of town from tomorrow until next Friday. See you then. ***

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty –-- 1-3; 2 BB
Hi-A – Sean Kazmar --- 3-5; 2B (15), R
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-5; 3B (4), RBI
R – Cedric Hunter --- 4-5; R, RBI, BB
R – Kyler Burke --- 1-4; 3B (3), R, RBI, BB

Pitchers:

AA – Matt Ekstrom --- 4.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR
SS – Orlando Lara --- 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

I got a little grief for excluding Matt Ekstrom from my recent top 15… Matt is from Point Loma Nazarene University, a small private university here in San Diego and my alma mater… There is no one (other than maybe his family) that wants to see Ekstrom do better than I do. I just don’t see it happening.

Matt Antonelli missed a few games in late July and came back on July 27th… Since coming back Antonelli has gone 4 for 28 with one extra-base hit (a double). He has worked 9 BB (opposed to 5 SO) leading to eight runs in those seven games, but his numbers suggest he’s still not “right” since taking some time off for what was described to me as a “sore arm.”

That’s two consecutive solid performances from Lara. He now has 38.1 IP, 32 H, 11 BB, 46 SO, 3 HR. I need to find out what Lara throws… Anyone know?

Cedric Hunter is now batting .360… Cedric also walked tonight, getting on base five out of six plate appearances. I’m AMPED to see what this kid can do as he advances!

Kyler Burke has put up consecutive ‘1-for-4 with a BB’ nights. Nothing to write home about, but baby-steps for the now “.200” hitter.

Padres Report - August 3rd

Padres’ Minor League Report

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty – 0-5; SO
AAA – George Kottaras – 2-3; R, BB, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-4; 2B (31)
SS – Michael Epping --- 1-4; HR (2), R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SO
R – Cedric Hunter --- 2-5; 3B (2), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SO
R – Rayner Contreras --- 2-5; 2B (6), R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SO
R – Adam Bourassa --- 2-5; 2B (2), R, RBI, BB, SO

Pitchers:

AAA – Brian Sweeney --- 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
R – Geoff Vandall --- 1.0 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR – yikes!

Commentary:

I am not Brian Sweeney’s biggest fan. I think he can be useful middle reliever or even a 5th starter. However there are many guys just like him: Clay Hensley, Mike Thompson, to name two… That said, you gotta love seeing him perform as well as he did tonight.

Will Venable is a doubles machine! In 2004 Mark Loretta hit .335/.391/.495 with 47 2B and 16 HR. I don’t think Venable can have Mark’s 2004 level of success for a career (that would be HOF-caliber) but every time I see that Venable has hit another 2B, I think of Mark Loretta and 2004.

I was prepared to write about the end of a very impressive streak; maybe even more impressive than Utley’s now 35-game hitting streak. Going into the bottom of the 6th inning, the Arizona League Padres trailed the Brewers 9-1 And Cedric Hunter had not been on base. Cedric then extended his streak in the bottom of that 6th inning with a walk. He later tripled; knocking in one run. Then he singled in the 9th to knock in the trying run and he also scored the winning run on a walk-off, ground-rule double by Adam Bourassa to win the game 10-9.

Cedric Hunter has begun his professional career by getting on base in EVERY game he’s played. Doing so, Cedric has been among league leaders in several offensive categories:

• 6th in Batting Average
• 1st in hits
• 2nd (tied) in doubles
• 6th in On-Base Percentage3rd in BB (with 23 compared to only 14 SO)

Cedric has accomplished all this an 18 year old. – That is why I ranked Hunter #5 on my Mid-Season Top 15 (16) Padres Prospects.

Padres Report - August 2nd

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 2, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 3-5; 2B (27), HR (15), R, 3 RBI
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 2-4; 2B (15), R, RBI, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 3-4; 2 R, 2 RBI
Lo-A – David Freese --- 3-3; 2 2B (9), 2 R, 5 RBI, R

Pitchers:

AA – Dirk Hayhurst --- 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR
Hi-A – Cesar Ramos --- 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Lo-A – Wade Leblanc --- 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR


Commentary:

Paul McAnulty’s defense at 3B can’t be any worse than Walker’s, can it? Their bats are probably pretty equal… .320/.399/.537 before tonight’s performance.

I have doubts about Will Venable being an impact big leaguer (does he have range for CF or power for corner?), but he’s easily one of my favorite Padre minor leaguers and he just keeps hitting.

The legend of David Freese continues to grow. I don’t have info on HBP or reaching base on errors (for on-base purposes), but in 154 combined AB between Eugene and Fort Wayne, Freese is batting .370 with a .682 slugging rate (17 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR).

Padres’ minor league pitchers were singularly unimpressive tonight. Leblanc was decent picking up the win as his offense went off for 14… Hayhurst and Ramos on the other hand…

Padres Report - August 1st

Padres’ Minor League Report – August 1, 2006

Hitters:

AA – Stephen Smitherman --- 3-5; 2 HR (15), 2 R, 5 RBI,
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 0-2; 2 BB
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-5; 2B (30), RBI, 3 SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 1-3; HR (5), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB

Pitchers:

AAA – Jared Wells --- 3.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
AA – Jose Oyervidez --- 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR

Commentary:

Through mid-June (12 starts) Jared Wells was performing well enough to earn a promotion from AA Mobile to AAA Portland (4-3 with a 2.64 ERA). So should the Padres brain trust ship his 7.30 ERA back to Mobile now?

I think both Chase Headley and Will Venable need to be challenged with promotions.

I still don’t think that much of the 27 year old Smitherman (as of July 31:.254/.333/.530) but you got to love a 2-HR performance.

...David Freese on the other hand…