News, analysis and scouting reports of San Diego Padres Prospects
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Q&A with Baseball America Associate Editor Matt Eddy

Posted by Jeff in AZL Padres | Eugene Emeralds | Fort Wayne Tin Caps | Lake Elsinore Storm | Player Update | Q&A | San Antonio Missions | Trades | Tucson Padres - (0 Comments)

Matt Eddy is an Associate Editor at Baseball America who has covered the Padres’ minor league system since the 2006 off season.  He was kind enough to chat with us about BA’s recently released Padres Top 10 Prospect list.  You can also see full writeups on the Padres’ Top 30 prospects in BA’s Prospect Handbook.  Be sure to follow Matt on Twitter.

Where would the prospects acquired in the Mat Latos trade rank in the Padres’ farm system?

The Mat Latos trade with the Reds changed the Padres prospect landscape. San Diego can plug in first baseman Yonder Alonso at first base right away, and he fits with the organization’s emphasis on on-base skills and a line-to-line hitting approach—particularly when it comes to lefty bats like Alonso. He would challenge Anthony Rizzo for top prospect in the system honors.

Catcher Yasmani Grandal will spend the bulk of 2012 in Triple-A if all goes according to plan, though he could share time with either Nick Hundley or John Baker in 2013. Catchers who provide offensive value are so rare that Grandal might slot in at No. 5 on our list, after Cory Spangenberg and ahead of Austin Hedges.

Right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger probably would not crack the Top 10, though like Alonso he is big league-ready.

Who are the prospects in your Top 10 who scouts continually gave glowing reviews? Continue reading “Q&A with Baseball America Associate Editor Matt Eddy” »

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Q&A with Padres Pitching Prospect Brad Boxberger

Posted by Jeff in Player Update | Q&A - (0 Comments)

Brad Boxberger came to the Padres this offseason in the trade that sent Mat Latos to the Reds.  Drafted in the first round (43rd overall) of the 2009 MLB Draft out of USC, Boxberger split time in 2010 as a starter and reliever before making the full time conversion this season to the bullpen.  You can also follow him on Twitter.

Via BBref:

Year Tm Lev W L ERA G GS GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2010 Lynchburg A+ 4 6 3.19 14 13 0 0 62.0 57 30 22 3 20 70 1.242 8.3 0.4 2.9 10.2 3.50
2010 Carolina AA 1 4 8.49 22 0 6 0 29.2 35 28 28 4 22 40 1.921 10.6 1.2 6.7 12.1 1.82
2011 Carolina AA 1 2 1.31 30 0 22 4 34.1 16 5 5 2 13 57 0.845 4.2 0.5 3.4 14.9 4.38
2011 Louisville AAA 1 2 2.93 25 0 12 7 27.2 16 10 9 2 15 36 1.120 5.2 0.7 4.9 11.7 2.40
2 Seasons 7 14 3.75 91 13 40 11 153.2 124 73 64 11 70 203 1.262 7.3 0.6 4.1 11.9 2.9

2011 was your first season as a full time reliever. Do you feel like you are fully used to your new role? How has your daily routine changed? Continue reading “Q&A with Padres Pitching Prospect Brad Boxberger” »

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Q&A with Reds Prospect Writer Doug Gray

Posted by Jeff in Player Update | Q&A - (0 Comments)

As you no doubt have heard by now, the Padres traded Mat Latos to the Reds on Saturday for a four-player package.  Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com was kind enough to answer a few questions from the Reds’ perspective.

What was your first reaction to hearing the final trade package?

My first reaction was a little different from my overall reaction, but at the end of the day I liked the deal for the Reds. My first reaction was that I am a huge fan of Latos, but that was a decent chunk of talent. My final reaction was similar. I think that both teams did well.

If another team were to have traded all of those pieces, I would say that they made a mistake even though Latos is a borderline ace-caliber pitcher today. But the Reds have the depth to make up for the guys they moved with their first base, catcher and left field options. Assuming that Latos can stay healthy and perform similar to what everyone thinks he is capable of, I think both teams can look back at this trade in 5-6 years and be very happy with it.

In your mind, who is the best prospect the Padres are receiving in return? Continue reading “Q&A with Reds Prospect Writer Doug Gray” »

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Padres Cash in Latos for Prospect Haul

Posted by Jeff in Player Update | Trades - (3 Comments)

On Saturday the Padres agreed to a trade with the Reds that will send 24-year-old right-hander Mat Latos to Cincinnati for a four-player package that includes Edinson Volquez, Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger.

For reactions to this trade from the MLB perspective I’ll recommend checking out the work done here, here and here.

On trading Latos:

I discussed this topic in the December Mailbag that was posted this week and came to the conclusion that this seemed like an odd time to shop him.  The only reason that you’d give up a player like Latos at this point in his career with four years of team control left is if you’re offered a package that is too good to pass up.

It’s irrelevant what sort of value fans and analysts believe Latos carries.  The fact that the Padres were concerned enough about his on-field maturity to trade a young, front-of-the-rotation starter as he enters his physical prime is a huge factor to consider.  No one is claiming that Latos is a bad person, simply that people who are privy to information we are not believe that in certain situations Latos tends to allow his emotions to alter his effectiveness.  Add that to the fact that he has missed time the last two seasons because of shoulder injury concerns and you can see how the Padres saw an opportunity they could not let slip.  While there is a good chance that Latos turns into a perennial Cy Young contender, the chance he’s the next AJ Burnett or Carlos Zambrano is just as likely.

On the players received in return: Continue reading “Padres Cash in Latos for Prospect Haul” »

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Padres Prospect Mailbag: December

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

The Rays just locked up Matt Moore.  When are the Padres going to do this with one of their young players and show the fans that they are serious about winning? – Steve

There are two things to consider here: 1) both Moore and the Rays are taking on a significant amount of risk in this move 2) the Padres lack the type of talent that you would consider giving this type of contract.

To the first point – Yes, this deal (much like the one given to Evan Longoria) looks fantastic on paper.  The Rays just assured themselves what many pundits believe to be a premier, front-of-the-rotation starter through his age-30 season for a maximum cost of $40 million.  To make this deal even sweeter for the club if Moore blows out his arm in his first start of 2012 they have only guaranteed him $14 million!  But even $14 million for a club like the Rays that operates on razor thin margins is a significant commitment considering the attrition rate of young pitchers.

For Moore, his risk is tied to the fact that he may just live up to expectations meaning that he will lose out on tens of million of dollars in potential earnings through arbitration and his first few years of free agency.  On the other hand, as mentioned above he could suffer a career ending injury next season but still have a nice $14 million cushion to help out him and his family.

To the second point – When teams begin discussing offering contracts to players with less than two years of service time the first question that is asked is: “What do we believe this player will become?”

While the Padres currently have one of the top farm systems in the league, they simply lack the elite level talent – top three to five in all of baseball – that you’d consider guaranteeing more the five years to before seeing any sort of production.

What do you make of this whole Drew Cumberland situation? – Tim Continue reading “Padres Prospect Mailbag: December” »

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Padres Trade Schmidt to the Rockies, Lose Poreda

Posted by Jeff in Player Update | Trades - (0 Comments)

Padres trade Nick Schmidt for Huston Street

We finally can cross one item off the Player-To-Be-Named-Later tab of the Padres with Nick Schmidt officially sent to Colorado to complete the Huston Street trade.

Schmidt fills the only spot that the Padres owe, with at least two other minor leaguers heading San Diego’s way as compensation for losing Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod to the Cubs and Ryan Ludwick to the Pirates.  Both of those deals should be completed before the end of the month.

Schmidt was the Padres’ first-round draft pick in 2007 but never made it above Class A Lake Elsinore – a level he repeated three times.  An injury forced a delay to the start of his 2011 season and Schmidt never really showed great stuff throughout the season or in AFL action. Continue reading “Padres Trade Schmidt to the Rockies, Lose Poreda” »

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AFL Wrap-up and Winter Ball Notes

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Although the regular season is long over, Winter League baseball has been in full effect for about a month with a few big-name Padres prospects headlining rosters.  This is not a complete look at the performances of all Padres players, only guys who have either done something worth talking about or have come up in conversations with scouts.

Jedd Gyorko

Gyorko put on quite the hitting display during AFL action, winning the batting title with a .437 average.  Even in the hitter-friendly environment that AFL stadiums offer his numbers were impressive.  Scouts rave about his ability to consistently square up balls and produce against advanced competition.

Defensively, Gyorko put more stock into the idea that he can stay at third base while simultaneously showing off great baseball instincts both in the field and on the bases.  He’ll never be a good runner – or even an average one – but more than ever Gyorko has shown that he’ll be able to make up for his awkward, slow running style with great awareness.

G R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BA OBP SLG
18 17 31 4 0 5 22 1 0 .437 .500 .704

Jaff Decker

Decker was a late addition to the Peoria roster after it was announced that James Darnell would need to undergo shoulder surgery, effectively ruling him out of any baseball activities until Spring Training.  Like just about every other AFL hitter Decker enjoyed the friendly confines in Arizona, posting an offensive line closer to his pre-2011 levels.

Much like Gyorko, Decker upped his perceived value on the defensive end.  Those who remember Decker during his high school days still see him as a pudgy, line-drive hitter but in the last few years he has slimmed down and become a very well rounded player.  He did manage to show an improved approach at the plate, but 24 games isn’t a large enough sample size to know if he has been able to shake his passive approach.

G R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BA OBP SLG
24 17 26 5 1 2 14 1 0 .289 .407 .403

Continue reading “AFL Wrap-up and Winter Ball Notes” »

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Padres Organizational Audit: Third Base

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Over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a look how the Padres’ organizational talent stacks up position-by-position.  Anyone included on a roster of any of the US affiliates will be listed.  Be sure to check out the entire Organizational Audit series.

Major League Situation –

Chase Headley

Coming off of a 2010 campaign were he graded out as one of the top third basemen in the league, Headley fought through a tough, injury filled 2011.  While he was long considered the third baseman of the future by the Kevin Towers led Padres regime, Headley is entering his second year of arbitration and should receive a healthy raise, which may cause San Diego to think twice about his value to the team with the positional depth at third in the minors.

James Darnell

It’s impossible to take too much from Darnell’s performance after being called up.  18 games is far from a sample size, but he was able to show that he can hit with a good approach against advanced pitching and that he will not be able to cut it at third base.  While that may not seem like a good thing for Darnell, it actually means that he should get more playing time with the left field position currently in a state of flux in San Diego.

Top Prospect – Continue reading “Padres Organizational Audit: Third Base” »

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Padres Prospect Mailbag: October

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

Why is Jason Hagerty barely playing in the Arizona Fall League? Are the Padres in charge of his playing time or does the team’s manager decide it? – Kevin

Hagerty is in an odd position as a Taxi Player in the AFL. This simply means that he is only eligible to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mostly this is a roster spot filled with pitchers who are only in Arizona for light amounts of work and position players who are either under-developed for the competition level or just there as a warm body.

While he has definitely been struggling – .200/.273/.267 – Hagerty is at the end of a very long season that saw the first real level jump of his career.  His sparse playing time has been most evident on defense where Hagerty has three throwing errors in six games.

Outside of Taxi Squad players playing time is divided up fairly evenly with top performers like Jedd Gyorko getting the nod over struggling players to make the game more appealing to the few fans in attendance.  The Padres and other organizations give the players certain things to work on while in Arizona but don’t necessarily have a direct say in playing time unless they explicitly express their preferences to the coaching staff – likely taking place behind the scenes.  Things like pitch counts are heavily monitored by the player’s parent organization.

What are your thoughts on Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod skipping town? – Tim Continue reading “Padres Prospect Mailbag: October” »

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Padres Organizational Audit: Shortstop

Posted by Jeff in AZL Padres | Eugene Emeralds | Fort Wayne Tin Caps | Lake Elsinore Storm | Organizational Audit | San Antonio Missions | Tucson Padres - (0 Comments)

Over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a look how the Padres’ organizational talent stacks up position-by-position.  Anyone included on a roster of any of the US affiliates will be listed.  Be sure to check out the entire Organizational Audit series.

Major League Situation –

Jason Bartlett

Bartlett was half of the duo – along with Orlando Hudson – brought in last offseason to help solidify the middle infield positions in San Diego.  After an All Star campaign in 2009 and a disappointing 2010 Bartlett scuffled with the Padres to the tune of a .245/.308/.307 slash line, making him one of the few players to have an on-base percentage higher than his slugging percentage.  The Padres have $7 million committed to Bartlett – covering his 2012-guaranteed salary and a 2013 buyout – and a $5.5 million club option for ‘13.

Alberto Gonzalez

Obtained just three days before Opening Day last March, Gonzalez offered San Diego a very versatile player who is able play average to above average defense at every infield position.  Unfortunately Gonzalez offers little with the bat – a career .262 wOBA – so all of his value lies in his defensive flexibility.  He is a second-year arbitration eligible player this offseason but shouldn’t receive a huge salary increase.

Andy Parrino

Parrino has been an invaluable asset to the Padres since coming into the organization in 2007.  In 2011 Parrino was Tucson’s shortstop and second baseman until Beemer Weems suffered a season-ending injury and Parrino was asked to be a utility player in San Antonio to hold down the defense on the prospect-rich team.  Accepting this demotion earned Parrino much praise within the organization and propelled him to a late-season cup of coffee in San Diego.  Although it was clear Parrino’s bat wasn’t ready, the patience he showed at the plate and defensive versatility in the field may have earned in him a spot on the 2012 big league roster.

Top Prospect – Continue reading “Padres Organizational Audit: Shortstop” »

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