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. (more…)

Stats for High-A hitters are as of play Wednesday.

Star Performer:

Adys Portillo, RHP (Low-A Fort Wayne) – Walks are still a constant struggle for Portillo with 12 already in just 20.1 innings pitched, but his other peripherals have been much better.  So far he’s only allowed nine hits and a single homerun.  TinCap coaches have been encouraging Portillo to just let his fastball rip right down the middle of the zone so his approach will need some refinement before he’s able to really take off.

Rock Steady:

Frank Garces, LHP (Low-A Fort Wayne) – Garces has been on a tear since opening the season for the TinCaps.  In his Saturday start Garces went eight strong innings while allowing just six base runners and threw five solid innings on Thursday.  The 5’11” lefty has a devastating curveball when he’s on, but with his inconsistent control things can get ugly fast. (more…)

It had been a great year so far for Casey Kelly prior to Monday.  In his first two career Triple A starts Kelly had gone 12 innings while allowing just three runs and striking out 14 batters.  In addition, the sinker specialist has managed to hold a 1.63 ground-ball-to-fly-ball rate in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League through his first two starts.  A small sample to be sure, but extremely encouraging results for a guy who underwent delivery changes just two months prior.

On Monday, Kelly was scratched from his scheduled start due to what the team called “elbow discomfort.”  In the time since then GM Josh Byrnes has revealed that Kelly complained of elbow soreness after his last start, which caused the team to take an extremely cautious approach.

That cautious approach led to an MRI performed by Padres doctors back in San Diego that revealed elbow inflammation that would place Kelly on the disabled list for the next few weeks. (more…)

Star Performer:

Rico Noel, CF (High-A Lake Elsinore) – Noel’s production this season has to be a very pleasant surprise to the Padres after tasking him with learning how to switch hit this last offseason.  He was 12-for-32 heading into Monday’s game with seven steals in as many attempts and hitting a robust .370 against righties in 27 at bats.  Noel is never going to be a big power guy, but with his speed and contact skills you’d like to see a few more extra-base hits.  With an insane 91.5% career steal rate even if Noel is limited to singles you’re almost guaranteed to see him on second soon enough.

Rock Steady:

Jace Peterson, SS (Low-A Fort Wayne) – It’s been a great stretch for Peterson so far hitting leadoff for the TinCaps.  With three doubles, a triple and a homerun Peterson has shown a strong bat to go with his three steals.  Defensive production is still a concern as he continues to show plus tools in his arm and glove, but at this point he hasn’t been able to put them together.

Casey Kelly, RHP (Triple-A Tucson) – Kelly’s season was off to a fantastic start – 2.25 ERA in 12 innings pitched – before news came down before his start on Monday that he was headed to the 7-day disabled list with a sore elbow.  At last check there was no definitive word on exactly what plagued Kelly or a firm time table. (more…)

This is the third installment of our 2012 Spring Training Notebook, which chronicles time spent on the backfields in Arizona watching Padres prospects.  Check back for more notes and observations on top players and batting practice, game and bullpen videos still to come.

Joe Ross – Ross has been the talk of spring so far among scouts and coaches.  Everyone who has worked with him is quick to point out his fantastic makeup and excellent rapport with the coaching staff and his teammates – one reason why the Padres weren’t hesitant to send Ross directly to the Midwest League to start his career.

His fastball has sat comfortably in the 93-95 range, topping out at 96 in each outing.  He’s got great feel for both his 12-to-6 curveball and fading changeup, throwing both for strikes to right and left-handed batters.

Ross’ delivery is very smooth and his arm action is clean.  He has more than enough athleticism to repeat his delivery over extended outings and already commands his pitches well.

Padres coaches were working with Ross to extend out the release point on his curveball to give it more bite during a bullpen session as he has a tendency to throw it more for called strikes than a swinging out pitch.

Ross has a well-proportioned frame that should allow him to draw more strength in his leg drive as he matures, removing any unnecessary stress from his arm. (more…)

This is the second installment of our 2012 Spring Training Notebook, which chronicles time spent on the backfields in Arizona watching Padres prospects.  Check back for more notes and observations on top players and batting practice, game and bullpen videos still to come.

Jace Peterson – Peterson didn’t see too much action in games while I was in Arizona.  During batting practice he showed a much quieter swing than he had featured as an amateur – a testament to Padres coaches and Peterson’s own work ethic – and had a definite athleticism to his game.

At this point the best thing for him is to get as many at bats as possible.  As has been noted before, Peterson is focusing fully on baseball for the first time in his life.  His game is raw on both sides, but the ceiling is there.  The 4.2 he ran to first on a double play was a bit lackluster, but Peterson will normally sit in the 4.0-4.1 range hitting left handed, which is above average.

I’ve heard from more than a few people in the industry who aren’t completely sold on Peterson’s baseball future, but the tools are there for him to fight his way into the Padres’ future. (more…)

Note: Due to injuries and last minute decisions rosters should not be considered final until April 4th

Fort Wayne TinCaps

Pitchers

John Barbato, RHP
Luis De La Cruz, RHP
Robert Eisenbach, LHP
Frank Garces, LHP
Justin Hancock, RHP
Christopher Haney, RHP
Cody Hebner, RHP
Michael Kelly, RHP
Adys Portillo, RHP
Colin Rea, RHP
Joe Ross, RHP
Daniel Sarria, RHP
Matt Stites, RHP
Matthew Wisler, RHP (more…)

This is the first installment of our 2012 Spring Training Notebook, which chronicles time spent on the backfields in Arizona watching Padres prospects.  Check back for more notes and observations on top players and batting practice, game and bullpen videos still to come.

Jose Dore – Dore has always been a bit of a personal favorite of mine.  Great athletes with some idea of how to play baseball and great makeup don’t come along too often and the Padres have been encouraged with his progress – as slow as it has been – since he joined the organization as a 2010 draftee.

Dore’s swing is much cleaner and more organized than when he first joined the Padres.  He keeps his hands high with a quiet load that leads to a nice, balanced swing that allows Dore to square up balls and make the type of consistently hard contact his game had been missing.  (more…)

Some questions have been slightly edited to be shorter and more direct. If you have a question for the next Padres Prospect Mailbag that will be posted later in Spring Training, shoot us an email: mailbag@padresprospects.com

Do the Padres really expect the hit tool to develop with Austin Hedges?  3MIL even for a Gold Glove-type catcher seems a little excessive given concerns about his hitting – Gabe

In short, yes.  Hedges is a great example of a player in the draft who caused many teams to have differing opinions.  While there was absolutely no one denying his defensive prowess, the combination of Hedges’ high school team almost never holding batting practice sessions that were open to scouts and media members and opponents constantly pitching around him led to few teams having much experience watching Hedges’ bat in action.

Luckily for the Padres, Jaron Madison and his team were able to get more good looks of Hedges than just about any other team in the league.  Like with any player there’s no guarantee that Hedges will mature and progress to the point of reaching the majors, but you can be sure that no team in the league – not just the budget-minded Padres – would be willing to spend $3 million on a player they didn’t feel had a great chance of turning into a star.

It’s also important to remember just how low the hitting bar is at catcher in modern-day baseball.  Outside of 2010, MLB catchers have produced the worst offensive output of any position in baseball every year since 2000.  The Padres don’t need Hedges to post an .800 OPS to be a star with his defensive tools.  Though should he get to that point – which a few key people in the organization believe he can – you’re looking at a perennial All Star.

There’s been a lot of talk about breakout players for 2012, but who do you think is going to slide a bit on lists? – Angel (more…)

Joe Wieland came to the Padres along with Robbie Erlin in the July 31st trade that sent Mike Adams to the Texas Rangers.  Wieland finished 2011 fifth in all of the minors with a 1.97 ERA and is headed to Spring Training with an eye on making his way to San Diego sometime in 2012.  You can follow him on Twitter.

Via BBref:

You went through an experience this year few top prospects go through. What was it like switching organizations in the middle of the season?

It definitely was a different experience, especially with everything that had happened two days prior* to the trade. It kind of was like my first day of pro ball all over again. I had to learn everyone’s names, adjust to the new surroundings, and get settled in. I couldn’t have been more happy with everything that happened though.

*Wieland threw a no hitter against the Padres’ Double-A affiliate he would later pitch for two days before being traded

Your name was at or near the top of just about every leader board this season, what clicked in 2011 to help you take your game to the next level? (more…)