Padres MiLB August 31, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

n/a

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Will Inman (AA): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Weekend Rules…

Padres MiLB August 30, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Edinson Rincon (Rookie): 1-2, 2B, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SO
Luis Durango (High-A): 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 BB
Kellen Kulbacki (High-A): 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
Allan Dykstra (High-A): 2-4, HR, R, 5 RBI, BB, SO
Kyle Blanks (AA): 4-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Simon Castro (SS): 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Allan Dykstra gets his first professional HR.

Blanks remains hot. Wow!

(Addition (8/31 7:00 AM): Heading into tonight's game, Blanks is hitting .396/.463/.642 for the month of August and .329/.405/.520 overall.

Padres MiLB August 29, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

James Darnell (SS): 2-5, 2B, R, SO
Matt Clark (SS): 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 SO
Felix Carrasco (Low-A): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SO
Yefri Carvajal (Low-A): 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI
Allan Dykstra (High-A): 3-4, 2 RBI, BB

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Corey Kluber (Low-A): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Jackson Quezada (Low-A): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

I really like Jackson Quezada. He has appeared in 58 games for the Wizard going 2-4 with 27 saves. He has thrown 62.2 innings and allowed only 42 hits and 1 home run. He also boasts a 19/77 walk/strikeout ratio. The Midwest League does lean pitcher-friendly so it will be interesting to see how he performs next year…

Padres dominate BA Prospect Hot Sheet

Aug. 29 Hot Sheet

#2 Kyle Blanks
#3 James Darnell
Team Photo: Mat Latos
Men Among Boys: Cory Luebke

BA could have added Cedric Hunter to the list. In the last week, he has 10-25 (.400) with 3 doubles, and an HR...

And the great thing about this list, is that these are legitimate prospects. These are not low ceiling collegiates who happen to be tearing up their Rookie league competition.

Padres MiLB August 28, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

James Darnell (SS): 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, SO

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Mat Latos (SS): 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
Rolando Valdez (High-A): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Wade LeBlanc (AAA): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR

Other Commentary

No commentary…

Padres MiLB August 27, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Blake Tekotte (SS): 4-6, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, SO, SB
James Darnell (SS): 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 6 RBI, 3 BB, SO
Matthew Clark (SS): 4-6, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, SO
Cole Figueroa (SS): 3-6, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB
Luis Durango (High-A): 3-4, 3 R, RBI, BB
Eric Sogard (High-A): 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Alan Dykstra (High-A): 1-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI, SO
Kyle Blanks (AA): 4-4, 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

n/a

Other Commentary

Eric Sogard might be the most under-rated prospect in the Padres system. With Cedric Hunter and Kellen Kulback on the Lake Elsinore squad and several other players at other levels (Kyle Blanks, Mat Latos, etc.) it is easy to forget about the 5’10” second-baseman. Yet the unheralded Sogard leads the entire Padres organization (including the big league club) in extra-base hits with 55. He also leads the entire organization in doubles with 42.

Sogard does not have huge home-run power, he’ll probably never hit more than 15 at the big league level, but being a high batting-average guy and with the doubles he will hit, the lack of home runs will not matter. As if all that is not impressive enough, he leads the Lake Elsinore Storm in walks (79) and is second in stolen bases (16).

A constant theme among Padres naysayers is that the upper levels of the Padres minor league system lack talent. While this may be mostly true, they must admit that the lower and middle levels are stocked full of talent (especially hitters). Here are the top hitting prospects between Rookie and High-A (sorted alphabetically by team):

Jeff Decker OF Arizona Padres
Logan Forsythe 3B Arizona Padres
Robert Lara C Arizona Padres
Edinson Rincon 3B Arizona Padres
Matt Clark 1B Eugene Emeralds
James Darnell 3B Eugene Emeralds
Cole Figueroa 2B/SS Eugene Emeralds
Dan Robertson CF Eugene Emeralds
Blake Tekotte CF Eugene Emeralds
Jeudy Valdez 2B/SS Eugene Emeralds
Sawyer Carroll OF Fort Wayne Wizards
Yefri Carvajal OF Fort Wayne Wizards
Andrew Cumberland SS Fort Wayne Wizards
Lance Zawadki SS Fort Wayne Wizards
Mitch Canham C Lake Elsinore Storm
Luis Durango CF Lake Elsinore Storm
Allan Dykstra 1B Lake Elsinore Storm
Cedric Hunter CF Lake Elsinore Storm
Kellen Kulbacki OF Lake Elsinore Storm
Eric Sogard 2B Lake Elsinore Storm

Obviously each one of these hitters is not a premium prospect and they won’t each pan out, but there is so much talent there; they won’t each miss either.

Padres MiLB August 26, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Cole Figueroa (SS): 2-4, R, RBI, SO, SB
Jeudy Valdez (SS): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Jeremy Hefner (Low-A): 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

The Dominican Summer League has wrapped up and a few players caught my eye (some are known prospects, some are guys whose numbers jumped out at me):

Jonathan Galvez: .272/.449/.370 with 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, a 47/40 BB/SO ratio, and 8-0 in stolen base attempts

Positives/Negatives: Galvez finished the season with an .819 OPS. But his monthly OPS numbers were 1.188 in June, .504 in July, and 1.095 in August. What does this tell us (I don’t know either, that is why I am asking)?

Rymer Liriano: .198/.296/.379 with 13 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, a 28/106 BB/SO ratio, and 9-5 in stolen base attempts

Positives/Negatives: Liriano clearly can drive the ball. And at only 17 years old he is listed at 6’0” 211, will he grow out of CF? Clearly the low batting average and high strikeout numbers are less than encouraging. But it must be noted that the DSL is notoriously pitching-friendly and at 17 Liriano often faces older players.

Pedro Hernandez: 7-2, 1.42 ERA in 63.1 IP with 50 H, 2 HR allowed, a 6/74 BB/SO ratio, and a .216 BAA

Positives/Negatives: That strikeout/walk rate is sick! The ERA is great but Hernandez allowed more unearned runs than earned runs this season (11 to 10).

Juan Oramus: 3-2, 1.02 ERA in 53.0 IP with 23 H, 0 HR allowed, a 24/70 BB/SO ratio, and a .125 BAA

Positives/Negatives: The walk-rate is not as gaudy as Hernandez’ but his K/9 rate is superior (11.89/9 for Osuna vs. 10.52/9 for Hernandez) and his hit rate is also more impressive.

Padres MiLB August 25, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Kyle Blanks (AA): 5-6, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 9 RBI, BB

Also-rans

Jaff Decker (Rookie): 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Jeudy Valdez (SS): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, SO
Luis Durango (High-A): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, SO, SF
Cedric Hunter (High-A): 2-4, 2B, R, BB
Mitch Canham (High-A): 4-5, R, 2 RBI
Jose Lobaton (AA): 3-4, 2 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, BB

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Pablo Menchaca (SS): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR
Cory Luebke (Low-A): 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
Jackson Quezada (Low-A): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Over the last 11 games, Kyle Blanks has hit .465 with 5 doubles and 4 home runs with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts, scored 7 runs and driven in 21. Last week, Baseball America had Blanks at the top of their Prospect HotSheet, with the way he continues to mash, he should make a repeat appearance.

The Padres continue to insist that Blanks is strictly a first baseman, however Blanks is surprisingly athletic and I believe he should be given the opportunity to try LF.

Overall Blanks is hitting .318/.397/.503. In the first two months of the season Blanks slugged .438 and .363 respectively. Since then he has slugged .564 or better each month. Blanks is easily a top-5 prospect in the Padres system. The question is whether he can move Adrian off first base (not likely), play an outfield position (we don’t know yet), or if he is merely trade-bait.

Padres MiLB August 24, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Jaff Decker (Rookie): 3-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SO, SB
Robert Lara (Rookie): 2-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB
James Darnell (SS): 2-5, 3B, R, RBI
Cole Figueroa (SS): 3-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI
Drew Macias (AA): 3-6, HR, R, 2 RBI, SO
Will Venable (AAA): 2-4, 2B, R
Matt Antonelli (AAA): 2-3, R, BB, SO

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Stiven Osuna (Rookie): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
Corey Kluber (Low-A): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

His evening did not merit a place among the Hitters of the Day, but Alan Dykstra made his Padre-organizational debut going 0-3 with 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and a run scored.

I decided to leave him off the list today because he failed to notch an XBH, but Cedric Hunter could have been here with a 3-5 performance...

Look at the last 7 Fort Wayne starting pitching performances:

8/17 - McBryde: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR
8/18 – no game
8/19 – Kluber: 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR
8/20 – Luebke: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
8/21 – Hefner: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR
8/22 – McBryde: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
8/23 – Pelzer: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
8/24 - Kluber: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR

Combined: 5-2, 42.0 IP, 23 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 57 SO, 0 HR (1.07 ERA)

Now this five-some is not the second coming of the 2001 Lake Elsinore Storm staff that featured Jake Peavy, Oliver Perez, Dennis Tankersley, Ben Howard, and Eric Cyr. But each of the above 5 starters is a prospect in his own right…

Padres MiLB August 23, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Robert Lara (Rookie): 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SO
Luis Durango (High-A): 3-6, 2B, 2 R, SO
Cedric Hunter (High-A): 2-6, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SO, CS
Eric Sogard (High-A): 3-6, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI, SB

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Mat Latos (SS): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Wynn Pelzer (Low-A): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Rolando Valdez (High-A): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Weekend rules…

Padres MiLB August 22, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Cedric Hunter (High-A): 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
Peter Ciofrone (AAA): 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Anthony Bass (SS): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Jeremy McBryde (Low-A): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 12 SO, 0 HR
Cesar Carrillo (High-A): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Evan Scribner (High-A): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

I am not Peter Ciofrone’s biggest fan. To whit, this is his first appearance on my Player of the Day list… However, how can I ignore a guy with a .900+ OPS in AAA? Ciofrone is listed as a third baseman, but his future is probably as a utility player… Still, not a bad guy to have in your organization…

Anthony Bass has now thrown 29 innings and has 38 strikeouts. In his blog, Paul DePodesta said that Bass was, “…a starter in college, [but] we've used Anthony exclusively out of the pen this summer so as not to overload his innings.” The quote seems to imply that Bass will move back to the rotation in 2009. Bass might be my favorite pitcher from the 2008 draft.

2008 has been a huge talent-acquisition year for the Padres. They added some nice players in the draft, they made a big splash in the international signings forum, and they traded for some nice talent (Evan Scribner, Chad Reineke, and two more players-to-be-named from the Dodgers). Reineke is now pitching for the big league club, so let us talk about Scribner. At three locations Scribner has pitched 63.1 innings allowing 36 hits, 3 home runs, and 12 walks while striking out 87 batters.

Padres MiLB August 21, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Jaff Decker (Rookie): 2-4, HR, R, RBI, BB, SO

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Erik Davis (SS): 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Jeremy Hefner (Low-A): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Too tired…

Padres MiLB August 20, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Dan Robertson (SS): 4-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
James Darnell (SS): 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SO
Sawyer Carroll (Low-A): 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
Cedric Hunter (High-A): 2-5, HR, R, RBI
Eric Sogard (High-A): 2-4, 3B, HR, 2 R, RBI
Kyle Blanks (AA): 5-7, 2B, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI, 2 SO

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Anthony Bass (SS): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
Cory Luebke (Low-A): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Wynn Pelzer (Low-A): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Dan Robertson is interesting. He’s listed at 5’8” 175. The 175 is probably accurate, but anyone listed under 6’0” probably has an inch or two of exaggeration added to his height… As a smallish guy, Robertson will be limited to CF. He does not, nor will not, have the power to man a corner slot. But if he can continue to hit like he is now (.373 with 15 doubles, a 29/31 BB/SO ratio and 19/24 in stolen base attempts) and play above-average defense, he could be a big-league centerfielder one day.

Some people are worried about Blanks' power decrease from last year (2007: 1 HR per 19.4 AB, 2008: 1 HR per 26.1 AB)… However, Blanks is coming on strong and plays in a park that John Conniff (MadFriars.com) says plays bigger than Petco Park. SignOnSanDiego.com reported that other teams are scouting Kyle Blanks and that with the presence of Gonzalez ahead of him and Dykstra behind him, Blanks could be trade-bait this off-season.

I like Bass. Wynn Pelzer in relief?

Padres MiLB August 19, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Jonathan Galvez (DSL): 4-5, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Rymer Liriano (DSL): 3-5, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, SO
Cedric Hunter (High-A): 4-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
Matt Antonelli (AAA): 3-4, R, 2 RBI

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Pedro Hernandez (DSL): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR
Corey Kluber (Low-A): 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

The Padres have really started to make a bigger push internationally. In the last few years they signed Yefri Carvajal and Simon Castro, each of whom are performing well in the lower levels of the minors. Last year the Padres signed Jonathan Galvez and Rymer Liriano who are playing in the Dominican Summer League. Next year we’ll start seeing the results from this year’s signees: Adis Portillo, Alvaro Aristy, Luis Domoromo, Corey Adamson, and Elvin Tavarez.

These international signees join a more-than respectable crop of draft-signees that the Padres have added under Grady Fuson’s leadership such as: Cedric Hunter, Mat Latos, Kellen Kulbacki, Mitch Canham, Eric Sogard, Matt Antonelli, Drew Cumberland, Emmanuel Quiles, and now Allan Dykstra, Jaff Decker, Logan Forsythe, and James Darnell.

Padres MiLB August 18, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

James Darnell (SS): 2-4, R, BB
Chad Huffman (AA): 3-5, 2B, CS

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Mat Latos (Rookie): 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Nice to see the Padres 2nd round pick, James Darnell, in action… I usually like to see at least one extra-base hit to give “Hitter of the Day” status, but Darnell’s 2-4 was close enough. Logan Forsythe also played (DH) tonight for the first time since injuring his thumb.

Did you look at Latos’ line? I mean, did you really look? That’s right, no hits, no walks… I think he’s proven he’s ready to go back to Fort Wayne.

Padres MiLB August 16 & 17, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Jaff Decker (Rookie): 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
Eric Sogard (High-A): 4-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
Mitch Canham (High-A): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI
Matt Antonelli (AAA): 1-1, HR, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Ernesto Frieri (AAA): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Four of my favorite prospects (Decker, Sogard, Canham, and Antonelli) each had big nights. Likewise, it’s nice to see a pitcher (Frieri) do well in his AAA-debut especially in a tough environment (Tuscon).

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Chad Huffman (AA): 3-5, 2B, 2 R
Drew Macias (AA): 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, PO
Kyle Blanks (AA): 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Jeremy McBryde (Low-A): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR
Mike Ekstrom (AA): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Chad is doing well… But he not moving up the ranks of Padre prospects. Huffman is hitting .289/.386/.429. He has only 9 HR on the season. San Antonio is an extreme pitchers' park and Huffman has only 1 HR at home. Next year will be critical for Chad.

Reportedly, Ekstrom bristled at the Padres' insistence that he throw his change-up. When he refused to comply, he found himself pitching out of the bullpen. This was first start back as a starter - no word on how many change-ups he threw...

Padres MiLB August 15, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Cedric Hunter (High-A): 3-6, R, 4 RBI
Eric Sogard (High-A): 2-6, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 SO
Kyle Blanks (AA): 3-4, 2B, R

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Erik Davis (SS): 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Well, according to MiLB.com, SignOnSanDiego.com, and Padres.com, Allan Dykstra is a Padre after all… Yesterday I noted that Brett Mooneyham turned down the Padres’ offer… I cannot help but wonder if lingering concerns regarding Dykstra’s hip injury was subterfuge for the Padres because they wanted Mooneyham more than Dykstra.

As a Padre fan, I am pleased to have Dykstra’s bat in the system. With the additions of Darnell and Dykstra, we just added two more solid bats to the organization.

Padres MiLB August 14, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Eric Sogard (High-A): 3-4, 3 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB
Drew Macias (AA): 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB, SO, SB

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

n/a

Other Commentary

Late start with an early morning scheduled for Friday. So not much commentary…

Brett Mooneyham turns down $1.4m to attend Stanford, according to Baseball America.

Padres MiLB August 13, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Eric Sogard (High-A): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, SB
Chad Huffman (AA): 3-4, 2 2B, 2 R, BB

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Deiber Sanchez (DSL): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Mat Latos (Rookie): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
Dirk Hayhurst (AAA): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

As is the case with many DSL players, I have no idea who Deiber Sanchez is and what kind of prospect he is… I can say that Sanchez, a Columbian, is 19; a touch old for the DSL but he has some sick peripherals: 25.1 IP, 14 H, 9 BB, 39 SO, 1 HR allowed, .156 BAA. Nice!

SignOnSanDiego.com is reporting that James Darnell, the Padres second-round pick out of South Carolina, has agreed to terms and only needs to pass a physical to make it official… The article also hints that the Padres have not given up on first-round pick Allan Dykstra or fifteenth-round pick (first-to-second-round talent) Brett Mooneyham. The deadline is Friday.

Padres MiLB August 12, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Cedric Hunter (High-A): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI
Mitch Canham (High-A): 3-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI,

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

n/a

Other Commentary

When the end of the season rankings come out Cedric Hunter and Mitch Canham will be overshadowed by teammate Kellen Kulbacki; and deservedly so. However, be assured that Canham and Hunter are every bit as important to the Padres long-term plans.

Padres MiLB August 11, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Kyle Blanks (AA): 4-4, 2 R, 2 RBI

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Juan Oramas (DSL): 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Jeremy Hefner (Low-A): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Juan Oramas has sick numbers… 44.0 IP, 19 H, 22 BB, 56 SO. Wow!

Hefner is quietly having a good year. 9-4, 3.22 ERA, 123 IP, 105 H, 34 BB, 123 SO, .231 BAA. Hefner is not the Padres top pitching prospect, but he deserves watching...

Padres MiLB August 10, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Jaff Decker (Rookie): 2-3, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SO
Blake Tekotte (SS): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
Will Venable (AAA): 2-3, HR, R, RBI,

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Rob Musgrave (SS): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Anthony Bass (SS): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

It has been awhile since Jaff Decker made an appearance on my list… Good to see him back.

In Eugene, the Emeralds hosted the Yakima Bears. Musgrave and Bass who combined to pitch the final two innings Sunday night allowed 3 baserunners; 2 hits by Musgrave and 1 walk by Bass and struck out 7. Nice.

Programming note: This blog has been on-again-off-again for a couple years or so now… This post is #200 for me. Okay, I know, I’m the only one who cares…

Padres MiLB August 8 & 9, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

August 8, 2008

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Yefri Carvajal (Low-A): 2-6, 2B, 2 R, RBI,

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

n/a

Other Commentary

It’s good to be back…

August 9, 2008

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Rymer Liriano (DSL): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, SO, CS
Cedric Hunter (High-A): 3-4, 3B, R

Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day

Pablo Menchaca (SS): 7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Aaron Breit (Low-A): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Steve Garrison (AA): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

I still like Aaron Breit… As a reliever he might gain a tick or two on his already-impressive 91-93 mph fastball.

Padres MiLB August 1, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter(s) of the Day

Edinson Rincon (Rookie): 2-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, SF
Blake Tekotte (SS): 2-2, 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

Jeremy McBryde (Low-A): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

Other Commentary

Edinson Rincon has been on the DL to start the season. He is 18 and the Padres like him.

Programming Note: I will be on vacation until Friday, August 8. I will not be updating this blog until I return.

Padres MiLB July 31, Players of the Day

Ground-rules: you won’t see a too-old-for-his-league non-prospect get an award. The award may not go to the best performance of the previous night, but what I deem the most significant performance of the night…

Minor League Hitter of the Day

Robert Lara (Rookie): 3-3, 2 2B, R

Minor League Pitcher of the Day

n/a

Other Commentary

Not a good day for Padres’ MiLB pitchers…