San Diego Padres Top 20 2016 PRE-SEASON prospects in review

Moving forward with our series of pre-season prospect list reviews, we turn our gaze towards the San Diego Padres system.

Please remember, this is the PRE-SEASON list.

This is not a new list. These are pre-season grades.

Discuss current happenings and 2016 breakthroughs or disappointments in the comments section.

This list was originally published March 14th, 2016

1) Manuel Margot, OF, Grade B: Age 21, acquired from Red Sox in Craig Kimbrel deal,  nice season in Triple-A with .302/.350/.426 slash line, 28 steals, six homers, 34 walks, 58 strikeouts in 484 at-bats; excellent defensive performance, ready for a major league trial in my opinion.

2) Javier Guerra, SS, Grade B: Age 20, disappointing year in High-A with .202/.264/.325 with nine homers, 33 walks, 141 strikeouts in 391 at-bats; currently on disabled list; physical potential and tools are obvious but could not make sufficient contact against Cal League pitching.

3) Ruddy Giron, SS, Grade B: Age 19,  disappointing year in Low-A (just promoted to High-A last week to cover for injured Guerra) with total slash line of .227/.292/.319; three homers, 37 walks, 78 strikeouts in 414 at-bats; has played well with the glove but was overmatched in Midwest League.

4) Hunter Renfroe, OF, Grade B/B-: Age 24, very good season in Triple-A with .310/.342/.563, 28 homers, 34 doubles, 22 walks, 107 strikeouts in 497 at-bats; Pacific Coast League is perfect for his skill set (big power with aggressive approach); I wouldn't expect .310 average in the majors but power is genuine. Ready for a trial.

5) Colin Rea, RHP, Grade B-: Most of season in Padres rotation, was traded to the Miami Marlins in Andrew Cashner deal but was shipped back to San Diego after one Miami start due to elbow injury; 4.82 ERA in 103 innings, 80/44 K/BB, 102 hits; capable of being a solid number four starter if healthy

6) Logan Allen, LHP, Grade B-: Age 19, liked him a lot as a breakout candidate, has pitched decently with 3.21 ERA in 56 innings, 55/19 K/BB but spent much of the year on the disabled list; back in action now. Hard to assess due to injury but remains promising.

7) Jacob Nix, RHP, Grade B-: Age 20, third round pick in 2015;  23 starts for Low-A Fort Wayne with 3.99 ERA, 76/16 K/BB in 95 innings, 105 hits; very dominant early in the year but has had some rough patches; throws strikes, secondaries inconsistent but coming along in general; breakthrough candidate for 2017.

8) Michael Gettys, OF, Grade B-/C+: Split season between Low-A and High-A with almost identical numbers at both levels; hitting combined .304/.362/.431 with 10 homers, 33 steals, 34 walks, 143 strikeouts in 497 at-bats; tools are impressive and skills are improving though still needs work with strike zone, stock up in general.

9) Travis Jankowski, OF, Grade C+: Most of the year in the majors and has held his own, hitting .256/.359/.339, 28 steals, 37 walks, 75 strikeouts in 242 at-bats; speed, defense make him a very good fourth outfielder.

10) Enyel De Los Santos, RHP, Grade C+: Age 20, combined 20 starts between Low-A and High-A, 3.57 ERA with 87/37 K/BB in 111 innings, 100 hits; fastball into mid-90s but secondary pitches, command are erratic, normal for his age. Would like to see more whiffs.

11) Dinelson Lamet, RHP, Grade C+: Age 24, sleeper prospect with very impressive season between High-A and Double-A, 2.91 ERA in 139 innings with 145/57 K/BB, 113 hits; probably one of the best pitching prospects you've never heard of, a bit old but has lively stuff and dominant has held up in Double-A.

12) Jose Rondon, SS, Grade C+: 418 at-bats between Double-A and Triple-A hitting .280/.307/.378, 13 steals, 15 walks, 75 strikeouts in 418 at-bats; lacks power and patience but can run, field, bat may improve further at age 22.

13) Austin Smith, RHP, Grade C+: Age 20, 4.87 ERA in 87 innings in Low-A, 58/41 K/BB, 96 hits; throws hard but below average secondary pitches limit his performance at this time; second rounder from 2015 draft could still improve of course.

14) Jabari Blash, OF, Grade C+: Hitting .260/.415/.514 in Triple-A; has spent much of season on Padres bench hitting .160/.298/.324 with three homers, 11 walks, 34 strikeouts in 71 at-bats; big contact problems but also has big power when he connects. Running out of room on the age curve at 27.

15) Alex Dickerson, OF, Grade C+: Destroyed Triple-A at .382/.425/.622, has continued to hit well in the majors at .258/.310/.478 overall I think he's a .260-.270 hitter with enough power to be quite useful. Limited upside at age 26 but already solid producer.

16) Tayron Guerrero, RHP, Grade C+: Traded to Marlins in Cashner deal, 4.53 ERA in 46 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, 46/19 K/BB; classic short relief type with good stuff, inconsistent command. 

17) Luis Perdomo, RHP, Grade C+: Rule 5 pick from Cardinals system has spent season on MLB roster, hasn't done well with 6.24 ERA in 107 innings, 84/40 K/BB, 148 hits but that's to be expected making jump from A-ball and has pitched better of late; two years from now he could be quite good.

18) Jose Torres, LHP, Grade C+: 61 innings between High-A and Double-A, 2.19 ERA, 61/22 K/BB, just 41 hits; very good slider and has dominated over the last few weeks; could be nice fit in bullpen.

19) Yimmi Brasoban, RHP, Grade C+: Another bullpen option for the future, can hit 98; 2.20 ERA in 45 innings between High-A and Double-A with 46/13 K/BB, just 30 hits; gets lots of ground balls to go with the whiffs.

20) Carlos Asuaje, INF, Grade C: Another guy with a good year in Triple-A, hitting .319/.375/.454 with seven homers, 45 walks, 77 strikeouts in 502 at-bats; doesn't have the tools of Renfroe or Margot but could be solid role player who handles multiple positions.

OTHERS OF NOTE: Austin Allen, C; Bubby Baumann, LHP; Ryan Butler, RHP; Jose Castillo, LHP; Jean Cosme, RHP; Justin Hancock, RHP; Josh Martin, RHP; Phil Maton, RHP; Cory Mazzoni, RHP; Fernando Perez, 2B: Franmil Reyes; OF; Blake Smith, RHP; Juan Carlos Urena, OF; Luis Urias, 2B; Cesar Vargas, RHP

Discuss 2016 Padres events in the comments section.