After the first month or so of the baseball season, here is this humble blog's ranking of the top Padre minor league performers.Looking over the list, I'll make a few introductory comments:
1. I'll be surprised if Will Venable isn't starting in RF for the Padres by mid-July. I think the Padres will trade Brian Giles and give Venable a shot to earn the starting RF or CF job for Opening Day 2010.
2. The Logan Forsythe-James Darnell cage match to determine the Padres top 3B prospect will be epic this season. I've got Logan in the lead but I expect it to be a back-and-forth, bloody battle all season long.
3. A Padres team in, say, 2011 with Luis Durango and Everth Cabrera would be quick. Not necessarily good, but definitely quick.
Without further ado ...
Hitters
1. Logan Forsythe, 3B Lake Elsinore: Logan is batting .321 with 2 bombs and 9 ribeyes. He has also walked 22 times. His numbers aren't quite as good as Jimmy Darnell's but I'm putting Logan #1 for the first ranking of the season because he shares a name with Wolverine. And we all know what a beast Wolverine is.
2. James Darnell, 3B, Fort Wayne: Jimmy D is only hitting .273 but he has walked 26 times already for an .OBP of .467 and an OPS of 1.013 (second best in the Padres minor league system). He has 3 bombs and 11 ribeyes.
3. Craig Cooper, 1B, San Antonio: If I were Craig Cooper I would beg Grady Fuson to let me learn 2B or C or trade me (actually I would never ask for a trade from the Padres ... who do you think I am?) because with AGon and Kyle Blanks ahead of him, and Felix Carrasco, Allan Dykstra and Matt Clark behind him, Craig has little shot to make the bigs with the Drinos. That said, Craig can hit a little. He's currently hitting .402 with a bomb and 12 RBI's. His OPS is 1.010, good for third in the Padres minor league system. It's not like Craig came out of nowhere (he was a 7th round pick in the 2006 draft), but I doubt he is a top developmental priority for the Drinos.
4. Lance Zawadzki, SS, Lake Elsinore: Along with Everth Cabrera and Drew Cumberland, Lance's presence gives the Padres three interesting - if not sure thing - MLB prospects at SS. I'm not saying the Padres shouldn't draft Grant Green this June, but these guys can all play a little (and this is not even mentioning Beamer Weems who has been an OBP machine this season). Lance is smoking the ball to the tune of .333 5 14 in only 40 or so at bats this season. He was a 4th rounder in '07 so he's got some talent.
5. Kyle Blanks, 1B-LF, Portland: Kyle is rolling right along, hitting .298 5 17 this season. His Ks are a bit high but I get the feeling he hasn't quite hit his groove yet. Look for the batting average to rise to about .320 by the end of May. And for the bombs to continue.
6. Will Venable, RF, Portland: Will can play. I'd say the Padres should call him up now if I didn't also like Jody, Scott, Chase and Brian so much. Of course, as I note above, Brian could be on his last days with the Padres. Will is hitting .278 5 14 so far this season.
7. Eric Sogard, 2B, San Antonio: Better than Antonelli? Maybe. Eric is lacing to the tune of .311 1 6, and with 19 walks his OPS is at .911. Not to shabby for a second baseman.
8. Drew Macias, CF, Portland: .318 2 6, .922 OPS, with a short stint on the big league club already this season. Bud Black seems to love Drew's defense and competitiveness so that bodes well for his call up potential. Personally, it's not that I don't like Drew, I just like Will more.
9. Luis Durango, LF-CF, San Antonio: The Fall of Ced Hunter is being well documented (he could be this year's Antonelli) and Durango so far has been there to step in. Luis is currently working on a .341 average with 15 bags and a .423 OBP. He has hit at every level, including .431 in a 72 at-bat stint at Lake Elsinore late last season (after hitting .300 in the pitchers haven that is the Midwest League). The Padres felt he didn't need a full season at High A and it looks like they were correct. CF on the Padres in 2010? Right now I'd say the job is wide open. Why not Luis?
Tomorrow the pitchers ...
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