Star Performer:

Jedd Gyorko, INF (Double-A San Antonio) – After an abysmal start to the season Gyorko has been on fire since April 26^th hitting .351 with two home runs and two doubles.  He’s also logged 11 games through Thursday at second base for San Antonio and initial reports have been encouraging.  Gyorko has assisted in turning four double plays while committing just one error.  While errors don’t tell the whole story, evaluators have been encouraged by Gyorko’s ability to make most standard plays at second, yet doubt still lingers he can make the tougher plays necessary to stick at the position in the big leagues.  Even if Gyorko is able to stick at second for the next few years it seems clear he’ll be moved off second as his body continues to mature.

Rock Steady:

Keyvius Sampson, RHP (Double-A San Antonio) – After battling his control in his previous start, Sampson dominated Frisco on Thursday.  He was just one batter over the minimum through five before allowing a solo home run to Mike Olt.  This season he’s struck out 30 batters in 29.2 innings while allowing just 21 hits and one home run.  Jason Cole of Lone Star Dugout caught his most recent start, “Plus fastball at 91-94, top 95. Plus change. Avg curve. Stuff plays up due to pitchability.”  Prior to 2012, Sampson’s curveball was never a respected offering.  If he’s able to maintain two above average pitches, an average curveball and plus pitchability, any concerns that Sampson’s future lies in the bullpen should be quieted.

Adys Portillo, RHP (Single-A Fort Wayne) – Portillo fought through a tough start after being named Star Performer last week but was back to his dominant ways on Thursday.  Portillo threw a career high seven innings while striking out six, allowing just three base runners and retiring the last 13 batters he faced.  His walk rate of 4.3 batters per nine is by far the best of his career at any extended stop which pairs well with the fact that Portillo has allowed less than five hits per nine.  It’s a shame to think that Portillo may be relegated to bullpen duty with his strong frame and elite arm strength, but at this point in his career he’s still yet to establish legitimate secondary offerings.  That being said, Portillo is still just 20 years old and will have every opportunity in the world to remain in the rotation.

Jace Peterson, SS (Low-A Fort Wayne) – Peterson has flat out impressed in his first taste of full-season baseball.  In his last ten games Peterson has stolen eight bases while posting a slash line of .343/.439/.486 and playing solid defense.  While it’s tough to find a star-level tool in his game, it’s even tougher to project any of his five tools at less than a 50 if he continues to develop.

Other:

Alexi Amarista, UTIL (Triple-A Tucson) – San Diego acquired Amarista as part of the trade that sent Ernesto Frieri to the Angels.  Amarista has played six positions throughout his professional career and should give the Padres another versatile option at the back end of their roster.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear Amarista has much chance of being more than a useful player.  His hit tool is above average, but there isn’t much power to take advantage of his great bat control.  Similarly, Amarista has plus speed, but hasn’t shown great instincts on the basepaths – 34% caught stealing rate.

Donn Roach, RHP (High-A Lake Elsinore) – Roach was also acquired in the Frieri deal.  He throws an incredible sinker – 6.32 groundball-to-fly ball rate in 2012 – and not much else.  Roach throws a ton of strikes and shows good pitchability, but his ceiling likely sits around fifth starter or bullpen arm.