Padres Report - July 31

Padres' Minor League Report - July 31, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – George Kottaras --- 1-3; 2B (5), RBI, BB, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 2-4; HR (5), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
Lo-A – David Freese --- 1-3; 2 RBI, BB
SS – Michael Epping --- 4-6; R, RBI, SO
SS – Craig Cooper --- 2-5; HR, R, RBI, BB, 2 SO
SS – Chad Huffman --- 2-3, R, 3 BB, SO
R – Rayner Contreras --- 2-5; HR (2), 2 R, 5 RBI, SO
R – Jeremy Hunt --- 3-4; HR (4), R, 2 RBI, BB
R – Kyler Burke --- 2-5; 2B (1), R, 3 RBI, 2 SO

Pitchers:

AA – Sean Thompson --- 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR – yuck
SS – Andrew Miller --- 2.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

I mentioned above that I was pleased to see Kottaras was not traded for a Boone/Randa type 3B. While that sentiment still holds, as I looking through box scores for tonight’s Report, I was reminded that we weren’t able to complete a deal for a top-notch 3B; Ensberg went 2-4 with an HR and BB tonight – I think that shoulder is healthy.

Will Venable doesn’t have (and probably won’t develop) “plus” power but he is showing that he’s all but done with Lo-A baseball. It’s time to challenge him with a promotion to Lake Elsinore.

Sean Thompson just doesn’t excite me. He may get to the bigs, but I think he’s more likely to be a lefty-specialist than even a 4th-5th starter…

It is nice to see Kyler Burke make a return visit to the Report. I got faith in you Kyler, don’t press, keep playing.

Trade Thoughts

I’ll post more later… But right now I want to say that at the beginning of the season I thought the Padres has a decent shot at getting to the playoffs, but not a strong likelihood to advance in the playoffs. Furthermore, I felt that this season was more about 2007 than it was about 2006. I have since come to believe that our playoff chances are greater than I initially thought but I still think this season is more about 2007 than it is about 2006.

So how do those thoughts gel with the trade deadline deals/non-deals?

I’m pleased we got Todd Walker (.277/.352/.390) but I’m still worried about the Padres’ defense at the “hot corner.” Never-the-less I’m pleased we didn’t trade George Kottaras (whom I called the top prospect in our system) for a Joe Randa/Aaron Bloom type player.

Padres Report - July 30

Padres' Minor League Report - July 30, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- DNP – conspicuous in absence…
AAA – George Kottaras --- DNP – conspicuous in absence…
AAA – Jon Knott --- 2-5; 2B (22), 2 R, RBI, SO
Hi-A – Yordany Ramirez --- 1-1; 2 RBI – Left game early (hmmm…)
Hi-A – Nick Hundley --- 2-4; 2B (4), R, RBI
Lo-A – David Freese – 1-3; R, BB
SS – Matt Antonelli – 2-3; 2 R, 2 BB
SS – Tom King --- 3-5; 2B (10), 2 R, 2 SO
SS – Craig Cooper --- 1-2; 2B (10), 3 R, 3 BB
R – Cedric Hunger --- 2-3; 2 2B (10), 3 R, 2 BB

Pitchers:

AA – Jack Cassel --- 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
AA – Dale Thayer --- 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
SS – Aaron Breit --- 3.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR – yuck!

Commentary:

First, I was in Lake Elsinore tonight to catch the Storm with my dad who is town from Washington… It was a lot of fun.

Nick Hundley was less than impressive. He supposedly has passed George Kottaras as the organization’s “catcher of the future” due to his superior defensive skills. Throws to second were consistently off line. One two steal attempts (both successful) the throws sailed high and tailed towards 1B. Even on warm-up tosses he was missing his target. You can’t draw conclusions from 1 game, but I was hoping to see more.

The ball sounds different off Nic Crosta’s and Headley’s bats. Headley CRUSHED a pitch to left-center in-between the 380 and 425 ft. markers. It was caught at the warning track, but it wouldn’t have been caught in Petco or any other park I could think of. Headley is bigger and Crosta is smaller than I expected (though he has huge forearms)… And Hundley is thinner… A scout I asked Crosta about didn’t elaborate but said he was a prospect.

No XBH for Freese? What is the world coming to?

Matt Antonelli just keeps on getting on base; 4 times in 5 plate appearances.

Cedric Hunter is back. I was telling a guy at Lake Elsinore about this kid. Walks, average, power (doubles)… This kid is going to be a top prospect soon.

Padres Report - July 29th

Padres’ Minor League Report

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 2-4; 2B (26), RBI
AAA – George Kottaras --- 1-2; HR (2), 2 RBI
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 1-4; HR (3), R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-4; 2B (7), R, RBI, SO
SS – Tom King --- 3-6; 2B (9), HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 1-5; 2B (6), SO
R – Cedric Hunter --- 1-2; 3B (2), R

Pitchers:

AA – Matt Ekstrom --- 3.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
SS – Orlando Lara --- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

I HAVE to find out more about Olando Lara. Here’s what we know so far. Lara now has 41 SO and only 11 BB in 33.1 IP. His ERA isn’t stunning (4.32) but he’s only allowed 28 hits in those 33+ innings… Plus he isn’t old (he’s not exactly young, but not so old that you dismiss him as a prospect); he turned 21 in May.

David Freese keeps doing what David Freese does hit extra-baggers (25 of 51 H are extra-base hits).

Nic Crosta and David Freese are both old enough that their prospect status-door is closing due to their age. However, both are hitting well enough to hold that door open. It will be interesting to see if David Freese is promoted yet another level this season and if either of them start 2007 in Hi-A or go straight to AA.

Dodgers Jettison Baez in Trade for Betemit

Braves traded Wilson Betemit for Danys Baez and Willy Aybar. I've long debated the merrits of getting a Wilson Betemit (for Scott Linebrink)... I think Linebrink is better than Baez but I don't know if we had a comp. for Aybar...

Dodgers GM, Ned Colletti, was on the radio here in San Diego during the off-season talking about the Brian Giles negoations. He mentioned going after Giles had two benefits: one, it made us pay more to retain him, and two, if he got Giles, he got a good player. I think Colletti saw Baez the same way Padres hitters did - as a BP pitcher - and knew he had to get rid of him. Using Baez to acquire a versatile player such as Betemit while, blocking us from getting a player who could help us run away from the division, has to be feather in Colletti's cap.

Padres Report - July 28

Padres' Minor League Report - July 28, 2006

This is an abbreviated report…

My parents are in town from Washington and we were out late – then I found out we lost 1-3… Not in the mood to write…

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 0-4; 3 SO – ouch!
Hi-A – Nic Crosta --- 2-4; BB, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 0-2; 2 BB, SO
Lo-A – David Freese --- 1-4; HR (4), R, RBI, SO
SS – Chad Huffman --- 3-4; 2B (8), RBI
SS – Craig Cooper --- 1-4; 2B (9), R, RBI, 2 SO

Pitchers:

AA – Dirk Hayhurst --- 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO
Lo-A – Wade LeBlanc --- 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

David Freese just keeps on hitting XBHs… Nice.

Wade LeBlanc started his professional career in Short Season Eugene and was recently promoted to Fort Wayne…

Padres Report - July 27th

Tough loss in Colorado; hard to get started tonight… Dang! Get ‘em tomorrow boys!

Padres' Minor League Report - July 27, 2006

Hitters:

AAA – Jon Knott --- 3-5; 2B (21), 3B (6), 2 R, RBI
AAA – George Kottaras --- 1-4; 2B (4), RBI, SO
AA – Luis Cruz --- 2-5
Hi-A – Sean Kazmar --- 3-5; HR (8), 3 R, 3 RBI, SO
Hi-A – Peter Ciofrone --- 2-4; 2B (12), HR (7), 2 R, 5 RBI, BB
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-3; HR (11), R, RBI, 2 BB
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-4; 2B (6), RBI, SO
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 0-4; SO
Lo-A – A.J. Davidiuk --- 2-3; R, BB
SS – Matt Antonelli --- 0-2; 4 R, RBI, 3 BB
SS – Craig Cooper --- 3-5; HR (4), 3 R, 5 RBI
SS – Kody Valverde --- 1-3, 2B (5), 3 RBI
R – Rayner Contreras --- 1-5; 2B (5), 3 RBI

Pitchers:

AA – Bubba Nelson --- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR
AA - Leonel Rosales --- 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR
Hi-A – Cesar Ramos --- 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
SS – Matthew Buschman --- 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
R – Matthew Huff --- 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Peter Ciofrone is NOT a prospect. But that was a heck a game. Well done!

Cesar Ramos continue to prevent opposing hitters from scoring. How he does it without striking people out is a mystery.

In 132 professional AB, David Freese has 48 hits (.364 BA) of which 23 are of the extra-base variety (14 2B, 1 3B, & 8 HR - .667 slugging). I’ve previously mentioned that he’s old. Thus he doesn’t have long to get to the big leagues. But Dude is raking! And it’s fun to watch.

The excellent John Manuel of Baseball America sent me an e-mail to solve the Matt Antonelli riddle, “It sounds like his arm, which was sore this spring… is barking at him again. They don't think anything is too wrong, and they are hoping rest will take care of it.” By the looks of Matt’s performance tonight, it looks like that rest did help. But then he was doing this before the rest too… I can’t wait to see how he performs at higher levels.

The AZL Padres score 9 to win their game 9-5, yet despite Contreras 3 RBI performance, there really wasn’t an offensive hero in the game. You take “W’s” any way you can get ‘em…

The Eugene and AZL clubs are scoring some SERIOUS runs…

AZL Padres’ 7.61 R/G (leads league by more than .90 R/G)
Eugene Emeralds’ 5.51 R/G (leads league by .40 R/G)

Linebrink to the White Sox?

Ben Maller's (BenMaller.com) Rumor website links to a Chicago Tribune article pointing out that the South-Siders are another team looking for bullpen help such as "...San Diego's Scott Linebrink and Pittsburgh's Roberto Hernandez and Salomon Torres..."

The Padres have looked into the availability of Josh Fields (White Sox' AAA 3B) but were rebuffed... The ChiSox know if they want to acquire someone like Linebrink it wouldn't be cheap but are reluctant to let go of Fields. They have enough depth where they could deal other talent. I can't help but wonder if the Padres and White Sox have explored a three-trading scenario that would send Linebrink to Chicago, an un-named third baseman to San Diego, and prospects to the third team...

Betemit to New York???

Ken Rosenthal and ESPN are both reporting that the Yankees are considering trading for Wilson Betemit of the Braves. The Yankee sources are suggesting that this is to prevent the need for Robinson Cano to rush back at 2B and provide a super-utility (all 4 IF positions) positions for Betemit. What seems to be missing from the discussion is that Yankee brass are apparently concerned about A-Rod's ability to play 3B in the NY spotlight.

The Yankees would reportedly send Scott Proctor to the Braves.

Padres Report - July 26

Padres' Minor League Report - July 26

Hitters:

AAA – Paul McAnulty --- 2-4; HR (14), R, 2 RBI, SO
AAA – Jon Knott --- 2-4; 2B (20), HR (24), R, 3 RBI, SO
AAA – George Kottaras --- 0-3; 3 SO
AA – Luis Cruz --- 0-2; 2 BB
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 2-3; 2 R, BB
Lo-A – David Freese --- 1-4; HR (3), R, RBI
Lo-A – Michael Campbell --- 3-4; 2 2B (3), RBI
R – Rayner Contreras --- 2-5; HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI
R – Luis Durango --- 3-5; 2 R, RBI, BB
R – Cedric Hunter --- 2-5; R, 3 RBI, SO
R – Jeremy Hunt --- 3-3; 2B (7), 2 R, RBI, BB

Pitchers:

Hi-A – Manny Ayala --- 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Lo-A – Nathaniel Culp --- 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
SS – Aaron Breit --- 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Paul McAnulty and Jon Knott continue to show their displeasure at being left in AAA. And they’re taking it out on AAA pitchers.

I mentioned below in my Mid Season Top Prospects that Luis Cruz needed to work on his strike zone control. So tonight Cruz went out and worked 2 walks.

Jeremy Hunt hasn’t gotten a lot of love from me. He was drafted in the 28th round this year. Like other guys the Padres picked up this year, Hunt packs a potent bat. He led the underrated Big East conference in HR this past season. He’s likely overmatching the competition in Rookie ball (a lot of the players in rookie ball just graduated from high school in May/June.

You all know what I think of Cedric Hunter.

I was STOKED to see Aaron Breit’s line. I have high hopes for this kid. He might be my favorite non-Carrillo pitcher in the Padre organization.

Padres Mid-Season Top 15 (16) Prospects

This was supposed to be a top 15 group, but I had to include #16 as well. These are my rankings (in parentheses is the ranking Baseball America gave the prospect at the beginning of the 2006 season).

1. George Kottaras C (Baseball America’s 2006 #2 Padres Prospect)

George hit .276/.394/.451 in 257 at bats with AA Mobile. He has since been promoted to AAA Portland and is hitting .269/.321/.500 in 26 at bats with the Beavers. His catching skills continue to draw concern, though I wonder if his lack of defense is consistent with the same reported lack of defense that Josh Barfield and Khalil Greene supposedly had.

2. Matt Antonelli 3B (NR)

Padres first selection from the 2006 amateur draft, Matt Antonelli, is hitting .309/.440/.381. Matt obviously shows good hitting ability and a phenomenal ability to control the strike zone (only 12 SO to go along with 23 BB in 97 AB). He hasn’t hit a professional HR yet, but does have 5 2B and a 3B. I ran into Tony Gwynn and had a chance to talk shop with him for 30-45 minutes. Tony, who has watched Matt take batting practice, says that Matt won’t hit for much power. Though I believe he should hit 10-15 annually. That lack of power plus a reported “70” running ability (on the scouts’ 20-80 scale) will likely lead to a defensive shift to CF (2B is also a possibility).

3. Cesar Carrillo RHP (#1)

Carillo could be #1 on this list again if he was healthy. I searched around for additional information, contacted a source, etc… I was able to unearth a quote from Portland Beavers manager, Craig Colbert, “I don’t know if we’ll see [Carrillo] again (in Portland), there’s a lot of precaution being taken,” said Colbert in the LocalNewsDaily.com.

Before the injury, Cesar had posted the following line:

In AA Mobile:

1-3 50.2 IP, 45 H, 23 R, 17 ER, 15 BB, 43 SO, 5 HR, 3.02 ERA

Even if Carrillo is shut down, he still has the ability to be a solid 2-3 starter in a rotation. I like the Padres’ patience with Carrillo’s injury. He pitched close to 200 innings last season between collegiate and professional seasons. Giving Carrillo’s right arm time off could not only protect the Padres’ investment, but allow Cesar to come back stronger.

4. Chase Headley 3B (#5)

The 2nd round pick from 2005’s draft continues to shine. Chase is hitting .292/.385/.449 at the hot corner in Lake Elsinore (in 356 AB). He has 10 HR and 26 2B (his HR total leads the team and his 2B total ranks 2nd). He also has solid ability to control the strike zone as evidenced by his 52/65 BB/SO ratio. Chase is currently the 3B of the future, but plans to acquire a good (youngish) 3B could make Headley redundant. You don’t have to worry about it though, Headley is good, but he’s not Miguel Cabrera. If you block him it’s not the end of the world (Headley has enough athleticism that he could probably play OF if the Padres wanted to move him).

5. Cedric Hunter OF (NR)

When he was drafted, Grady Fuson said in MLB.com that, Hunter is "…a Milton Bradley type player. [He’s a] very good athlete with a chance to be an offensive player in the middle of the field."

Cedric is currently hitting .324/.429/.402 with 6 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, and an excellent 19/11 BB/SO ratio. Cedric is quickly becoming one of my favorite Padres’ prospects. He currently has enough range to play CF, but often plays LF for AZL Padres. It’s uncertain if he’ll develop enough power to handle a corner.

6. Will Venable OF (NR)

My other favorite prospect… I’d like to see a few more HR, but Will is showing that Lo-A is beneath him. Will is hitting .321/.407/.465 with 29 2B, 3 3B, and 4 HR to go with a 46/50 BB/SO ratio. He played basketball in college and has that same athleticism as Hunter.

7. Paul McAnulty 1B/LF (#8)

Rodney Dangerfield gets more respect. McAnulty is hitting .326/.407/.549 with 24 2B and 13 HR and a 44/52 BB/SO ratio. McAnulty deserves a chance to be a big league regular. He would probably be very similar to Jeremy Giambi; some power, good BA, solid on-base skills… The problem is, like Jeremy Giambi, he doesn’t play solid defense. He usually plays 1B and has some experience in LF and is getting some PT at 3B lately as well. The Padres may see him as a less athletic, non-defensive specialist version of Chone Figgins and try to get his bat in the lineup rotating between the 3 positions.

8. Nick Hundley C (#9)

Rumor has it that Hundley’s more advanced catching skills (plus Bard/Bowen’s big league success) have made Kottaras expendable leaving the “catcher of the future” moniker for Nick Hundley.

Nick started the season in Lo-A and has since moved to Hi-A Lake Elsinore… Despite his Hi-A struggles, Nick has a solid bat.

Fort Wayne (215 AB):

.274/.355/.474 with 19 2B and 8 HR and a 25/45 BB/SO

Lake Elsinore (50 AB):

.260/.288/.280 with 1 2B and 0 HR and a 2/14 BB/SO

9. Kyle Blanks 1B/LF (#15)

The 6’6” 270lbs. behemoth actually has athleticism to spare. His power still isn’t fully developed, but he has stroked 30 XBH (out of 90 hits) and is hitting .292/.382/.455 with 20 2B and 10 HR and a 36/79 BB/SO ratio. Blanks, who is still young for Lo-A (and shares a birthday with my sister; Sept. 11), will turn 20 later this year but needs to improve his strike zone discipline if he wants his prospect star to shine brighter.

10. Jared Wells RHP (#7)

Kevin Towers once called Wells the top arm in the system. I wouldn’t go that far, but it does suggest that Wells might still be a work in progress. On the other hand, one of the Baseball America writers once said that while tools are more important than performance, tools without performance is worrisome.

Wells has the stuff: low-90’s 2 seamer, mid-90’s 4-seamer, and requisite off-speed stuff but he has yet to truly dominate over a full season.

AA Mobile stats:

4-3 61.1 IP, 20 R, 18 ER, 27 BB, 49 SO, 4 HR

AAA Portland stats:

1-3 35.1 IP, 21 R, 20 ER, 25 BB, 28 SO, 3 HR

11. Cesar Ramos LHP (#11)

Rated by BA as the #11 prospect in the beginning of 2006 wasn’t much of a compliment. Being rated as such by me now, is more of one. The Padres organization infused quite a bit of talent into a pretty poor talent group in the 2006 draft. And “the other Cesar” has had 2 lower rated guys (Venable and Blanks) pass him by. Still #11 on this list is better than #11 on the previous list.

Cesar hasn’t pitched brilliantly this year, but he has been serviceable in what is quite the hitters’ league.

6-4 113.0 IP, 122 H, 48 R, 38 ER, 33 BB, 58 SO, 9 HR

The lefty needs to improve his strikeout total and give up fewer hits if he wants to remain #11 (or move higher) on this list (fellow lefty Wade LeBlanc is bearing down).

12. Luis Cruz SS/2B (NR)

The 2006 Future’s Game participant reeks of athleticism and raw tools. He is “hitting” .276, and with power (31 2B and 9 HR) and reportedly plays solid D… However his on-base skills leave something to be desired (only .307). He’ll probably get to the big leagues and may even become a starting SS in an odd year. But he’ll likely have a long career as a defensive specialist.

13. Kyler Burke OF (NR)

This ranking is all projection. Kyle had some of the best power potential of any high school hitter in the 2006 draft. He’s struggling in Rookie ball but should be just fine. Kyler is hitting .218/.293/.299 with 0 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR and a 10/29 BB/SO ratio.

14. David Freese 3B (NR)

David’s more than a bit old (drafted as a collegiate 5th-year senior), the 23 year old has already been promoted from Short Season Eugene to Lo-A Fort Wayne.

Eugene stats (58 AB):

.379/.465/.776 with 8 2B and 5 HR and a 7/12 BB/SO ratio

Fort Wayne stats (64 AB):

.313/.380/.469 with 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR and a 4/12 BB/SO ratio

As noticed by his stats, David is raking. He has power to spare as well as the needed contact hitting ability and ability to control the strike zone. But as an older prospect his clock will tick faster.

15. Matt Bush SS (#13)

There might not be a single player that leads observers to draw a wider range of conclusions in all of minor league baseball. Matt Bush is PURE 5-tool talent. His biggest problem is his own head. He wants to display his talents and ends up pressing and forcing himself into mistakes. He does have considerable power for a shortstop, he has a pure “80” arm (leaving more than few people to suggest a return to pitching – in high school he threw 95 mph), he has phenomenal range (despite racking up 38 errors BA said he had “plus range” to either side and “is a potential Gold Glover.”

In 71 AB with the Fort Wayne Wizards, Bush is hitting .268/.333/.310 with 3 2B and a 6/13 BB/SO ratio. He missed roughly two months recovering from a broken ankle. His prospect status is slipping fast. He has the tools to recover, but at this point it seems unlikely.

16. Craig Cooper 1B (NR)

Another senior draftee from the 2006 draft class, Craig Cooper is also doing well. Craig is hitting .303/.404/.420 with 8 2B and 2 HR and a 17/26 BB/SO ratio. Cooper’s a bit old (only 2 years younger than current Padres 1B and former #1 overall pick, Adrian Gonzalez), so he’ll need to make strides quickly. But he is hitting well to start his professional career.

Padres Report - July 25

Padres’ Minor League Report – July 25th

Hitters:

AAA – Ben Johnson --- 2-3; R, RBI, BB
AA – Luis Cruz --- 1-3; R, BB, SO
AA – Colt Morgan --- 2-4; 2 HR (3), 2 R, 4 RBI
AA – Drew Macias --- 3-4; 2B (16)
Hi-A – Chase Headley --- 1-3; BB
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 1-4; 2 R, BB
Lo-A - David Freese --- 3-4; HR (3), R, 2 RBI
SS – Brian Lauderdale --- 3-5; R, SO
SS – Craig Cooper --- 2-5; HR (3), 2 R, 3 RBI
SS – Chad Huffman --- 1-3; HR (5), 3 R, 2 RBI
R – Cedric Hunter --- 3-5; 2 2B (8), 2 R, SO
R – Rayner Contreras --- 3-4; 2B (4), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
R – Kyler Burke --- 0-4; 4 SO

Pitchers:

AAA – Dewon Brazleton --- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 SO
AA – Jack Cassel --- 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO
Hi-A – Evan Meek --- 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO

Commentary:

Ben Johnson played CF. I can't help but wonder if Eric Young will be on his way out of San Diego when Ben Johnson is eligible to be activated. Ben has superior defensive range, offensive ability, he's probably even faster at this stage of Young's career, Ben has a better throwing arm (it isn't close). Eric's only advantages are clubhouse leadership (how important is that and would losing a 2nd clubhouse guy negatively affect the Padres THAT much?) and ability to play 2B (but the Padres have Blum and Bellhorn to do that).

Well Chase Headley is still a member of the Lake Elsinore Storm. I had wondered if he had been promoted, but he finally showed up in the box score again picking up a single and a walk. – Still no word on the whereabouts of Matt Antonelli. He has now missed three straight games with the Eugene Emeralds.

Freese is still smacking those XBH’s.

Hunter is a star. I can’t wait to watch his development at higher levels.

Burke is still a prospect. But I can’t help but wonder what’s going on in his head.

Each of the three pitchers deserve to be listed based on their performances, but none of them are prospects.

Padres Report - July 24

Padres' Minor League Report – July 24th

Hitters:

AAA - Paul McAnulty --- 3-5; 2B (24), R, RBI - played 3B again, 41 of 104 H are XBH
AAA - Jon Knott --- 2-5; HR (23), R, 2 RBI -
AA - Luis Cruz --- 2-6; HR (9), R, RBI
Lo-A - Will Venable --- 2-3; 2B (29), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SO
Lo-A - David Freese --- 2-4; 2 2B (5), 2 R, 2 RBI

Pitchers:

AA - Matt Ekstrom --- 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Hi-A - Josh Geer --- 4.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR !
Rookie - Pablo Menchaca --- 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

When I saw the 0-9 loss in Lake Elsinore I figured it was time to show that I’m not a raving optimist; I can report the negative as well as the positive… I figured I would post Joe Batter’s line of 0-4 w/ 3 SO… Except that Karl Gelinas, starting pitcher for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, went all 9 IP allowing 4 hits and 0 BB but only posting a single strike out… That’s not to say that Storm hitters deserve a pat on the back, I’m only saying it was a weird line.

I haven’t seen Chase Headley’s name in a box in the last couple nights. I Google’d his name in their “news” section and the last article with Chase in it was posted on July 5th. I’m wondering if he was promoted to Mobile and just given a couple days to get there…

What? You thought I’d let a performance like the one Will Venable had tonight go without comments. No way. My boy Venable is going OFF on Midwest pitchers to the tune of .321/.405/.465. That slugging percentage isn’t great, but the BA and on-base numbers are. He’s ready for a promotion.

Before I started posting these on my blog and was e-mailing them around to a few of you, I said that David Freese was about to go off on the Midwest League. He now has 6 XBH in his last 8 games.

By the way, nice win for the big league club.

Padres Report – July 22nd

Padres' Minor League Report – July 22nd

Hitters:

AAA - P. McAnulty --- 3-6; 3B (4) RBI
AAA - G. Kottaras --- 2-5; 2B (2) RBI
AA - Luis Cruz --- 2-4; 2B (31)
Hi-A - C. Headley --- 2-5; 2B (26), R
Hi-A – N. Hundley --- 2-4; R, RBI, BB, SO
Lo-A – D. Freese --- 1-3; 2B (3), R, BB, 2 SO
Lo-A – M. Bush --- 2-4; RBI, SO
R – C. Hunter --- 2-4; R, BB

Pitchers:

Hi-A - N. Jamison --- 1.1 IP 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO – S (22)

Commentary:

It’s too late and I’m too tired for much commentary, but it’s good to see most of our top minor league hitters do just that.

It’s also good to see Matt Bush doing better. You actually have to be impressed with his RBI without an XBH. Huh? Matt’s biggest hitting problem has been that he would press trying to show off his power (yes, he actually has quite a bit of juice in his bat). The problem was, out of control, he would strike out. Coming to the plate with an RBI-opportunity tonight, and lacing a nice single to get the job done could be a showing of maturity.

On a different note, it killed me to see Eric Young running with 2 outs in the ninth. Now those of you who know me, know I usually defend Bochy (not because I like him, but because I actually think he’s good - at motivating his team and keeping them focused, deflecting criticism from the team, etc. – which I think is more important than the in-game stuff). However…

Tonight, in the 9th, with a closer (Armando Benitez; 22+ IP, 13 BB) on the mound who has a reputation of missing the plate and a hitter at the plate (Rob Bowen) who has already walked three times, Bochy calls for the hit-and-run. We know it was the hit-and-run because the a-fore-mentioned Bowen swung defensively at a pitch when he had the count in his favor (2-1). Furthermore, on a straight steal base runners rarely look back (it slows them down), on hit-and-run plays, they always look back to see if the ball has been popped up and they need to get back to first, etc… EY looked back.

A win on Sunday and we’re back in first.

Williamson in = Linebrink out?

Which player would you rather have?

Pitcher A

46.2 IP, 35 H, 2.70 ERA

Pitcher B

28.1 IP, 27 H, 5.08 ERA

“A,” right? So would all the other GMs. A = Linebrink

Now, how about this:

Pitcher A

10.17 K/9, 2.00 K/BB, 2 HR, 1.54 GB/FB

Pitcher B

8.29 K/9, 3.31 K/BB, 8 HR, .89 GB/FB

This time A = Williamson. The Cubs play in a division full of band-boxes and Williamson has STILL only given up 2 HR. It’s likely that a change of environment (to a division full of pitchers’ parks) would help strengthen Williamson’s counting stats. His walk-rate is worrisome, but tolerable. I think he’ll be an asset for us.

Now let's go out and get a win tonight!

Padres Report

Padres' Minor League Report - July 21, 2006

Hitters:

AAA - Paul McAnulty --- 3-5; 2B (23), 3B (3) – played 3B
Hi-A – Sean Kazmar --- 2-4; 3B (3), R, BB
Hi-A – Peter Ciofrone --- 3-5; 2 HR (6)
Hi-A – Nick Hundley --- 2-4
Lo-A – Will Venable --- 1-4; 2B (28), 3 RBI
Lo-A – David Freese --- 2-5; 2B (2), SO
Lo-A – Matt Bush --- 1-5; 2 RBI – back from the DL
R – Cedric Hunter --- 2-4; SO

Pitchers:

AAA – Jered Wells ---- 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR
AA – Jose Oyervidez --- 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR

Commentary:

It’s good to see P-Mac getting more time at 3B. It’s also good to see him smacking all those extra-base hits (37 of his 83 hits are of the extra-base variety).

It’s also good to see our younger players doing well. Kazmar is the second youngest player (to Headley) on the Lake Elsinore team. He’s not excelling (.241/.321/.343) but he has had a few big games lately and his strike-out/walk rate is solid (44 BB/53 SO). He could still come around.

With catchers Josh Bard and Rob Bowen (and Mike Piazza) doing well enough that Kottaras is expendable as a trading chip, it is reassuring to see Nick Hundley doing well.

I need more info on Oyervidez…

Baseball Trade Talk in July = Subertfuge?

I was listening to Darren Smith and Philly Billy on the Mighty XX (AM 1090, FM 105.7) this afternoon as I was driving home from an appointment. Now I'm not their biggest fan, but they jumped to a great conclusion...

As noted elsewhere, the Padres are supposedly hot after Adrian Beltre. However, Adrian is owed $35m over the next 3 years. And his lack of plate discipline (.327 career OBP, .321 this year) doesn’t gel with what Towers/Alderson are building. Furthermore, the Padres are also supposedly considering Mike Lowell for their 3B hole. But Lowell would create a hole for Boston and they’re after pitching; we don’t want to give up pitching.

Darren & Billy went on to remind us that when they had Sandy Alderson on he specifically said the Padres wanted someone whose rights they would “control.” He did not say he’d want someone under contract. Keep in mind Alderson is a former lawyer. He’s used to being very precise. He wouldn’t be someone who would say something on accident.

Darren concluded that our interest in Lowell and Beltre is subterfuge to drive down the price for Houston’s 3B, Morgan Ensberg. Houston’s farm system is virtually devoid of catching talent and George Kottaras, our #1 trading chip and a chip we are willing to part with, would be a good “get” from their point of view.

I thought this was a GREAT piece of analysis.

Padres Report - July 20th

Padres' Minor League Report for July 20, 2006

Hitters:

AAA - Portland

Paul McAnulty --- 1-4; 2B, BB

AA - Mobile

Luis Cruz --- 0-5; R (played 3B)

Hi-A Lake Elsinore

Nic Crosta --- 4-5; 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI
N. Hundley --- 2-4; RBI, BB, SO

Lo-A- Fort Wayne

Will Venable --- 2-4; 2B (27), SO
David Freese --- 1-4; HR (1)
Kyle Blanks --- 2-2; 2 RBI, BB

SS - Eugene

Michael Epping --- 2-4; 2B (9), 2 SO

Rookie - AZL Padres

Cedric Hunter --- 3-7; 2 R
Jeremy Hunt --- 1-3; 3B, 2 BB
Felix Carrasco --- 3-5; 3B, HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, BB, SO

Pitchers:

Lo-A

S. Delabar --- 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO

Commentary:

I put Luis Cruz' line up there not because he did good (or bad) but because he played 3B. He's seen the vast majority of time at 2B and SS (all, I think). That he's playing 3B now is interesting.

David Freese BEAT UP on the Northwest League (.379/.465/.776) with 5 HR in 18 games. Tonight he got his first Lo-A HR in his 12th game. Another hot streak wouldn't surprise me AT ALL...

I wasn't going to put Stevie Delabar's line up. He's a 29th round 23 year-old in Lo-A. ...29th round... Wait. Is that a "29" on his uni? Yep. Coincident? I doubt it... That's why he's here. Just a cool thing.

Jeremy Hunt is probably playing a level too low. He's a collegiate in Rookie-ball and he's hitting .400/.471/.627 with 3 HR, 1 3B, & 6 2B...

I have no idea who Felix Carrasco is (I'll look into it) , but MAN! what a line!