2010 San Diego Padres Top 20 Prospects in Review
Here is a review of the 2010 Padres prospect list, originally published December 7, 2009. THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND PRE-SEASON GRADES. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST. The 2011 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.
1) Donavan Tate, OF, Grade B+: Hitting .227/.343/.352 in 24 games in rookie ball, 40 strikeouts in 88 at-bats. He's swiped seven bases in eight attempts and has drawn some walks, but his strikeout rate is unacceptably high. The tools are here, but he is very very raw, and the constant injuries haven't helped.
2) Simon Castro, RHP, Grade B+: 3.07 ERA, 87/31 K/BB in 106 innings for Double-A San Antonio, 87 hits. I wish his strikeout rate was a bit higher but overall he's having another good season.
3) James Darnell, 3B, Grade B: .242/.327/.377 in 73 games for San Antonio. Good plate discipline, 31/43 BB/K in 265 at-bats, but injuries and lack of power have hurt his stock.
4) Jaff Decker, OF, Grade B: .243/.349/.451 for High-A Lake Elsinore, 37/73 BB/K in 257 at-bats. I don't like the deterioration in his BB/K this year, but he's done better after a slow start, hitting .285/.413/.556 in his last 40 games with a 29/32 BB/K.
5) Wynn Pelzer, RHP, Grade B: 4.20 ERA, 83/56 K/BB in 94 innings for San Antonio, 102 hits. Traded to Orioles, being used in relief at Bowie, 5/1 K/BB in first four innings. I still like him despite some command troubles this year.
6) Everett Williams, OF, Grade B: .226/.324/.334 with 41/110 BB/K in 296 at-bats for Low-A Fort Wayne. Eaten up by strikeouts so far.
7) Logan Forsythe, 3B, Grade B-: .269/.394/.357 in 283 at-bats for San Antonio, 58 walks, 71 strikeouts in 283 at-bats, 12 steals. Steals and high walk rate are good to see, adapting ok to new position at second base, lack of power notable. Still see him as a possible Joe Randa.
8) Edinson Rincon, 3B, Grade B-: .259/.322/.395 for Fort Wayne, 35 walks, 73 strikeouts, nine homers, 27 doubles in 413 at-bats. Just 19 years old, I still think he has considerable potential.
9) Cory Luebke, LHP, Grade C+: 3.06 ERA, 70/22 K/BB in 88 innings between Double-A and Triple-A Portland, 67 hits allowed. Having a solid campaign.
10) Aaron Poreda, LHP, Grade C+: Has walked 58 in 49 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Unless that improves he'll never live up to his potential.
11) Lance Zawadski, SS, Grade C+: .231/.298/.298 in 61 games in Triple-A, .200/.300/.257 in 20 games in the majors. I still think he could be a very interesting player.
12) Rymer Liriano, OF, Grade C+: Hit .191/.234/.293 in 50 games for Fort Wayne, sent down to Eugene in June and has hit .292/.339/.404. 28 steals overall. Strike zone judgment is weak.
13) Sawyer Carroll, OF, Grade C+: .242/.323/.339 for San Antonio, 45 walks, 99 strikeouts in 384 at-bats. Other than drawing some walks he's not doing much.
14) Drew Cumberland, INF, Grade C+: .365/.404/.542 with 20 steals in 60 games for Lake Elsinore. Hurt his knee shortly after being promoted to San Antonio. Very promising player if he can avoid the doctors.
15) Kellen Kulbacki, OF, Grade C+: .215/.284/.319 in 39 games for San Antonio before hurting his shoulder again. Hasn't been healthy in two years.
16) Adys Portillo, RHP, Grade C+: 6.21 ERA with 36/29 K/BB in 38 innings for Eugene, 38 hits. Good strikeout rate, but command problems have been serious this year.
17) Keyvius Sampson, RHP, Grade C+: 3.10 ERA, 54/15 K/BB in 41 innings for Eugene, 29 hits. I love this guy; his stock is rising strongly with me.
18) Jonathan Galvez, SS, Grade C+: .239/.346/.359 for Fort Wayne, 48 walks, 15 steals. Strikeout rate is too high (97 in 88 games) but I still think he could turn into a good player.
19) Jerry Sullivan, RHP, Grade C+: 4.50 ERA, 78/25 K/BB in 94 innings, 103 hits for Fort Wayne. I thought he could do better than this.
20) Eric Sogard, 2B, Grade C+: Traded to Oakland, hitting .299/.385/.384 with 55/50 BB/K in 401 at-bats in Triple-A. A pretty decent season though he lacks power.
21) Jeremy Hefner, RHP, Grade C+: 2.76 ERA, 84/27 K/BB in 131 innings for San Antonio, 118 hits. A solid season with little to complain about, though I'd like more strikeouts.
The Padres got a lot of praise from traditionalists last year for drafting tools players Tate and Williams. Unfortunately both have been unimpressive this year. Of course, many of the more statheady players haven't had great campaigns, either. I thought this system was hugely underrated heading into the season, but it hasn't been a wonderful year.
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