Life On The Farm: San Diego Padres (# 29)

The future has to be brighter right?

Graduated To Majors: Will Venable (OF, # 7), Luis Durango (OF, UR), Drew Macias (OF, UR), Kyle Blanks (1B/OF, # 1), Mat Latos (SP, # 2), Josh Geer (SP, # 13), Cesar Carrillo (SP, # 20), Ernesto Frieri (RP, # 29), Wade Leblanc (SP, # 12), Mike Ekstrom (RP, UR), Wilton Lopez (RP, UR, now with Astros), Greg Burke (RP, UR), Cesar Ramos (SP/RP, UR), Joe Thatcher (RP, UR), Everth Cabrera (SS, # 24)

The Rest Of The Top 10 (with quick commentary)
Hitters: BA-OBP-SLG, AB, HR-RBI, BB-K, SB-CS
Pitchers: G-GS, W-L, ERA, IP-H-HR-BB-K

3 - Jaff Decker: RF
Lo A: .300-.438-.515, 357, 16-64, 82-91, 9-6
Quick Take: Overall, a pretty strong debut to full season ball. Showed a little of everything, especially plate discipline.

4 - Kellen Kulbacki: LF
AA: .201-.257-.254, 134, 0-11, 9-23, 2-1
Quick Take: Best summed up in one word: UGH. Season was ended due to needing shoulder surgery on his non-throwing shoulder and will be ready for spring training according to Grady Fuson. Lost season.

5 - Adys Portillo: SP
R: 13-12, 1-9, 5.13, 52.2-67-2-28-44
Quick Take: Just 17 (not 18 until December), this isn't anything too out of line with what would be expected. Would like to see more K's, but doesn't dim his star much, if at all.

6 - Cedric Hunter: CF
AA: .261-.294-.331, 541, 2-54, 25-43, 13-3
Quick Take: Yuck. For an athlete, he didn't steal much. And he didn't get on base. Rough season, but at least he put the ball in play... weakly.

8 - Allan Dykstra: 1B
Lo A: .226-.397-.375, 411, 11-60, 104-103, 1-2
Quick Take: Wow. Those bolded numbers are 104 walks and 103 strikeouts. Let that sink in for a second... Honestly, I don't think anyone knows what to make of what he did in Lo A.

9 - Matt Antonelli: 2B
AAA: .196-.300-.339, 189, 4-22, 26-30, 1-1
Quick Take: Remember when he was supposed to be the 2nd basemen of the future? He missed the first 6 weeks with a leg injury and this is apparently an injury that nagged him all year. Can he bounce back after 2 terrible seasons at AAA?

10 - James Darnell: 3B
Lo A: .329-.468-.518, 222, 7-38, 57-51, 5-5
Hi A: .294-.377-.553, 235, 13-43, 30-38, 3-1
Quick Take: Strong season. One that is strong enough that likely merits consideration to start 2010 in AA. Has a shot at a cup of coffee in September.

AAA: Portland Beavers (PCL)
Breakout Hitter: Kyle Blanks (# 1): .283-.393-.485, 233, 12-38, 39-63, 0-0
Disappointing Hitter: Matt Antonelli (# 9): Line above.
Breakout Pitcher: Mike Ekstrom (UR): 42-1, 4-2, 1.73, 62.1-44-2-16-43
Disappointing Pitcher: Will Inman (# 18): 12-12, 1-4, 6.71, 63-83-15-25-41
Quick Take: Blanks and Ekstrom worked their ways into promotions. Antonelli needs a bounce back season maybe more then anyone else in the minors. Inman was once a bright star in the Brewers organization, but has struggled to continue that momentum with the Padres.

AA: San Antonio Missions (TL)
Breakout Hitter: Luis Durango (UR): .281-.390-.309, 456, 0-25, 81-70, 44-17
Disappointing Hitter: Kellen Kulbacki (# 4): Line above.
Breakout Pitcher: Ernesto Frieri (# 29): 27-26, 10-9, 3.59, 140.1-125-13-62-118
Disappointing Pitcher: Chris Britton (UR): 10-0, 1-1, 10.80, 15-28-3-4-5
Quick Take: Durango and Frieri worked their ways into the bigs with breakout seasons out of pretty much nowhere. Kulbacki struggles are well documented above. Britton (formerly of the Orioles and Yankees) was thought to be a contender for the major league pen, instead he is now looking for a job after a brutal showing.

Hi A: Lake Elsinore Storm (CAL)
Breakout Hitter: Logan Forsythe (# 11): .322-.472-.504, 236, 8-30, 61-48, 6-2
Disappointing Hitter: Felix Carrasco (UL): .252-.344-.394, 416, 9-69, 54-132, 6-6
Breakout Pitcher: Wynn Pelzer (# 16): 27-27, 11-8, 3.94, 150.2-134-6-59-147
Disappointing Pitcher: Drew Miller (# 26): 27-26, 10-7, 6.10, 134.1-172-19-46-100
Quick Take: Forsythe earned a promotion to AA at midseason while Pelzer barely out pitched Jeremy Hefner (# 27) for the honor of breakout pitcher. Carrasco got a lot of AB's and didn't do much but strike out and draw walks. Miller is looking for a way out of that hitter's paradise.

Lo A: Fort Wayne TinCaps
Breakout Hitter: James Darnell (# 10): Line above.
Disappointing Hitter: Allan Dykstra (# 8): Line above.
Breakout Pitcher: Simon Castro (# 14): 28-27, 10-6, 3.33, 140.1-118-9-37-157
Disappointing Pitcher: Dexter Carter (# 23 for CHW): 6-6, 1-4, 12.86, 21-34-3-15-23
Quick Take: Darnell earned a promotoin to Hi A while Castro put up a true under the radar exceptional season with good strikeout numbers and a strong WHIP. Dykstra has one of the most bizarre lines I have ever seen, not a good thing from a former 1st round pick. Carter was abysmal for San Diego since being acquired, which has to cause a little bit of nervousness.

TK's Early 2010 Top 10 Prospects:
1) Donovan Tate: CF
He is the toolsy of all toolsy who has an upside similar to that of Carl Crawford (who also had a football scholarship available when drafted).
2) Jaff Decker: RF
Strong debut to full season ball, can he continue to build on it?
3) James Darnell: 3B
He had such a good season and looks like he could start next year in AA.
4) Simon Castro: RHP
Strong debut to full season ball and will look to continue to build on it.
5) Adys Portillo: RHP
Despite a rough season, his upside remains enormous.
6) Logan Forsythe: 3B
Kevin Kouzmanoff has 2 guys coming up who really want his job...
7) Nick Schmidt: LHP
Lefty dominated Lo A (4-0, 2.79 in 11 starts) and got shelled in Hi A (2-8, 7.88 in 13 starts).
8) Eric Sogard: 2B
.293-.370-.400 line with 58 walks against 47 strikeouts in AA may have him jump Antonelli.
9) Cedric Hunter: CF
Still toolsy, can he bounce back from an off season?
10) Allan Dykstra: 1B
Former 1st round pick, more by default then by performance.

Dropped From Top 10: Kulbacki (# 4), Antonelli (# 9)

Final Overview: After the Top 6, I had issues with guys to select. The Padres have a system most sabermetrics would love, with a ton of walks and a bunch of guys who may hit for power. The downside to this is they strike out. They strike out ALOT. Tate is a welcome addition in regards to athleticism. The Matt Bush # 1 overall selection still haunts this team and blowing a pick like that really does set a system back for awhile. I would say this is the 2nd worst farm system, but one with some upside if their hitters stop striking out and maintain their walk percentages.