Score (7/26): SD @ WAS

1) John Lannan: 81 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 4 Fastballs (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)

• Lannan came from an over the top release and showed a 2-seam fastball with good run in on lefties with okay sink (also throws a cutter, but it is indistinguishable to my rookie eyes), a 11-5 slider with good bite, a change with some fade form righties with okay sink and a big breaking 11-5 curve with above average depth. Generates a lot of groundballs and if he was behind an above average defense, his #'s would be even better.

1st: FB (86-88), SL (81-83), CU (81)

2nd: FB (86-89), CB (71)

3rd: FB (86-90), CB (72)

4th: FB (87-89)

5th: FB (87-88), CB (71)

6th: FB (86-88), SL (79), CB (69)

7th: FB (84-87), CU (79)

8th: FB (86-88), SL (78-81), CB (70)

2) Chad Gaudin: 98 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. 5 Sliders (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th)

• Gaudin came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and good sink, a 2-7 slider with above average bite and a change with solid fade from lefties with a little sink that almost moves like a splitter.

1st: FB (87-93), SL (79-84)

2nd: FB (89-91), SL (77-82)

3rd: FB (86-92), SL (78-84)

4th: FB (85-92), SL (79-82)

5th: FB (86-90), SL (78-83), CU (82-83)

6th: FB (87-91), SL (80-82), CU (83)

7th: FB (85-91), SL (78-81)

3) Luke Gregerson: 26 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider.

• Luke came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with above average run in on righties and above average sink, a 2-7 slider that is sharp with above average bite and a change with some fade from lefties with sink.

8th: FB (90-92), SL (81-84), CU (83)

4) Mike Adams: 16 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, Changeup.

• Adams came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties with solid sink, a change with above average fade from lefties with above average sink, a cutter with good cut and a straight 4-seam fastball. He will throw changeups to righties and it appears to be his out pitch.

9th: FB (91-94), Cut (89), CU (82-83)

5) Mike MacDougal: 16 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• MacDougal came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and a 2-7 slider with okay bite.

9th: FB (94-97)

10th: FB (95-96), SL (87)

6) Joe Beimel: 7 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Beimel came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 11-5 curve with solid depth, a fastball with some run in on lefties and a change with good fade from righties.

10th: FB (85-87), CB (71), CU (77-78)

7) Greg Burke: 13 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Burke came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties with good sink and a 2-7 slider with good bite.

10th: FB (91-92), SL (81-84)

Chart Observations: SD @ SEA

1) Chad Gaudin: 113 pitches, 15 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs (3rd, 4th, 5th), 11 Sliders (1st, 2 in 2nd, 4th, 2 in 5th, 6th, 4 in 7th) and 1 Changeup (1st)

• He came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and good sink, a straight 4-seam fastball that he has better command of, a change with excllent fade and alte sink and a 3-8 slider that can have good late bite or can move like a cutter with little downward action. He spotted his slider very well and started it on the outside corner to righties and let the movement take it out of their swing path. Another 11 strikeout game that wasn't dominant.

1st: FB (90-92), SL (79-82), CU (86)

2nd: FB (90-93), SL (79-83), CU (87)

3rd: FB (91-92), SL (81), CU (87)

4th: FB (91-92), SL (81-82)

5th: FB (89-92), SL (79-83)

6th: FB (88-94), SL (80-83)

7th: FB (91-93), SL (78-82)

2) Garrett Olson: 82 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 1 on Curveball (3rd) and 1 on Fastball (5th)

• He is a 6-1, 205 pound lefty. The 25 year ol has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a drop and drive delivery. His fastball has some run in on lefties and flashes some late sink, but is inconsistent and most of the time is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a sharp 11-5 wtih good depth and late bite. His change is a straight change with a little sink that he will throw 2-0, but he doesn't have good command of it. He shows good command of his fastball-curveball combo, but doesn't have a true 3rd pitch. Swingman.

1st: FB (90-91), CB (80)

2nd: FB (88-90), CB (79)

3rd: FB (88-90), CB (79-81)

4th: FB (89-90), CB (80), CU (82)

5th: FB (88-91), CB (76-81), CU (82)

6th: FB (89-91), CB (79-81), CU (81)

3) Roy Corcoran: 35 Pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He is a 5-10, 185 pound righty. The 29 year old has a small frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball has above average run and sink in on righties. His curveball is a 1-7 pitch with solid depth, but it can hang and it can also flash slider like movement. He has zero command of his stuff and appears to try and nibble, living on the corners and at the knees. Not a major league pitcher.

6th: FB (90-93), CB (80-83)

7th: FB (90-92), CB (81-83)

4) Miguel Batista: 24 Pitches. 0 strikes swinging

• He came from a 3/4 release and showed a 2-seam fastball with some sink and run in on righties and a cutter with good cut and some late sink that will flash movement like a 2-7 slider.

8th: FB (92-94), Cut (86-89)

9th: FB (91-94), Cut (88)

5) Greg Burke: 18 Pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball

• He came from a high 3/4, almost 3/4 release. His fastball showed good run in on righties and some sink and his slider was a flat 2-7 with marginal bite.

8th: FB (90-92), SL (83-84)

6) Edward Mujica: 3 Pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a splitter with good dive and a 2-7 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (92), Split (86), SL (81)

7) Heath Bell: 29 Pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Both on Curveballs.

• He came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some late run and sink and a 12-7 curve with great depth. He was leaving his curve up and left his fastball in the middle of the plate, a terrible combination.

9th: FB (91-96), CB (79-83)

• Everth Cabrera is a 5-10, 175 pound 22 year old. The switch hitter/righty thrower has a small frame that can add a little more muscle, but not too much. As a righty, he leans back on his back leg with a slightly bent front leg that is similar to Gerardo Parra's stance but not as upright. His trigger is a slight cocking of the bat and a step to straighten himself out, as he is slightly open. From the left side, his stance is similar, but no leaned back as far or open as much. Shows a somewhat quick bat, but one designed to slap the ball around. Plus runner that will look to bunt for hits, he stole 2 bases back to back and was 3.0 from 2nd to 3rd on his steal and neither time was close to getting caught. Best case is a Chone Figgins like career. Worse case is Luis Ugueto. He probably settles in the middle as a super utility guy who can play SS and will hit for little power.
• Kyle Blanks is a massive 6-6, 285 pound righty hitter/thrower. The 22 year old has a big frame that is maxed out. He has a fairly straight on stance and he holds the bat in front of him and a little in front of his back shoulder. His trigger is a stride and a cocking of the bat. He looks like a guy that will struggle to hit plus fastballs and his swing can get a little long. He has a fly ball swing, a terrible fit for PETCO. He has a tendency to roll his wrists too early, causing would-be line drives to turn into groundouts to short. He showed better speed then I anticipated, as he was 4.3 and 4.4 down the line to first. He is in a bad situation, as he isn't going to beat out Adrian Gonzalez at 1st and is trying to play LF. He DH'd in this game. He should be a productive hitter down the road, but think Kevin Kouzmanoff type production, not Adam Dunn. PETCO will be a serious obstacle for him to try and overcome.

Chart Observations: SD Pitchers

• Josh Geer got the start and came from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a 2-seamer with excellent fade and sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering that is very loopy. His change shows good fade and sink. Geer likes to pitch backwards, showing sliders to lefties and changes to righties the first time through the order. He will mix in a straight 4-seam, but not too often due to his velocity on his pitches. He lost his command in the 5th and got knocked around a little bit. Geer's best case scenario places him as a 5th starter. He is attempting to be a right handed Jamie Moyer and we all know the success rates those types of emulators have.

1st: FB (83-87), SL (77), CU (75)

2nd: FB (84-87), SL (80), CU (74-76)

3rd: FB (84-87), SL (76-79)

4th: FB (84-87), SL (78-80), CU (74-75)

5th: FB (83-87), SL (77-80), CU (74-75)

• Joe Thatcher is a 6-2, 230 pounder left hander. The 27 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a sidearm, almost submarine release. His fastball has some natural cut as well as some sink. His slider is a sweeping 9-3 offering. His change shows some fade and a little sink. He is a LOOGY wannabe who needs better command and needs to tighten his slider to be consistently successful against lefties.

6th: FB (86-89), SL (76-77), CU (77)

• Greg Burke came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good fade and sink, a solid 2-7 slider and a change with similar movement to his fastball.

7th: FB (90-93), SL (83-85), CU (85)

• Cla Meredith is a 26 year old who stands 6-0, 190. The right hander has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He is a sidearmer and featured a fastball with good fade and sink and a sweeping 3-9, 3-8 type slider with decent bite. PETCO forgives a lot of his mistakes and is your protypical ROOGY.

8th: FB (85-86), SL (78-80)

• Luis Perdomo is a 25 year old who stands 6-0, 170. The diminuitive righty has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a max effort delievery. His fastball shows some fade and a little sink and is a pretty good looking 2-seamer. The slider is a sharp 2-7 that can be above average or can be below average, where it is flat. I like this kid and think he can be a solid middle reliever in the bigs. He needs to improve his command and refine his slider.

9th: FB (91-94), SL (86-89)

• Heath Bell comes from an over the top release with a fastball that has a little fade and natural sink and a big breaking 12-6 curve. His fastball's fade is late and allows him to avoid the barrel of the bat consistently.

10th: FB (90-95), CB (80-82)

11th: FB (93-95), CB (81-83)

• Edward Mujica is Bell's primary set-up man and came from a 3/4, almost high 3/4 release. His fastball shows good fade while his slider is a 2-7 pitch with good late bite and his splitter shows good fade and dive.

12th: FB (92-93), Split (86)

13th: FB (92-95), Split (88), SL (80-83)

• Luke Gregerson came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some fade and sink and a sharp 2-7 slider that generates a ton of swings and misses. I am starting to come around to the sinker/slider reliever and he has the ability to continue to succeed in the majors as a set-up man down the line.

14th: FB (89-91), SL (81-84)

15th: FB (89-90), SL (78-83)

• Chad Gaudin's day was up for bullpen work I guess and he got 2 innings in. The 5-10, 190 pound righty has a small frame that can add a little bit more muscle (maybe 5 pounds). The 26 year old comes from a 3/4 release. His fastball has some fade and sink and his change moves the same way. Gaudin's slider is a loopy 3-8 offering that can be sharp and flashes as above average. I think he is a better fit for the pen, but he can eat innings as a # 5 starter.

16th: FB (89-91), SL (76-79), CU (86)

17th: FB (88-93), SL (79-81), CU (83-86)

Josh Wilson also pitched (and took the loss) and he was FB-CB-CU, but why would you care?

Chart Observations: SD @ LAD

• Chad Gaudin was on the bump for the pitching-deprived Padres. Gaudin featured a low 90's moving fastball, a high 70's to mid 80's slider and a mid 80's changeup from a low 3/4 release point. He showed average command of his stuff, but none of his offerings are real plus (and he only occasionally threw a change). What you get with him is what you get. He has some value as an innings eater when he isn't getting hit, but that is the extent of his value as a starter. That being said, Petco is the best place for him to try and be more.
• Chad Billingsley is a strong # 2 at this point with a pretty good chance of turning into a legitimate ace. He features a mid 90's 4-seamer, low 90's 2-seamer, high 80's to low 90's cutter, mid 70's to low 80's curveball and a low 80's slider. Both the 4-seamer and curveball are plus pitches and his cutter is also close to being plus. His issue is that he has some command issues in games. He walked Gaudin on 5 pitches and had another time where he just struggled to find the plate. That being said, I fully anticipate for him to become a legitimate ace in the next 3 years, barring injury.
• Will Ohman allowed hits to both left handers he faced (including a home run to Jody Gerut). He showed an average fastball in the high 80's and an average slider in the low 80's. He is just an average LOOGY now.
• Ramon Troncoso has a quality 2-seam fastball that sits in the low 90's with good sink and a curveball in the low 80's that is an average big league offering. His 2-seam is plus and he pitches off of it very well. He has some mechanical issues, in that he opens up very early and also raises his hands above his shoulders, putting extra strain on the shoulder. Be very surprised if he doesn't go down to injury at some point this season.
• Arturo Lopez is another Mexican League guy (should Adrian Gonzalez just be named GM now?) who may have some tools. He throws a straight 4-seamer in the low 90's, a slider in the low 80's and a changeup in the low 80's. The 4-seam is just a major league average pitch, as it has no cut or anything to it. The slider and change appear to be average pitches stuff-wise, but are below average due to his inability to command them. He comes from a high 3/4 release and appears to favor his change over his slider.
• Luis Perdomo kind of popped up on the scene last season when he went to various teams in trades. He shows a plus 2-seam fastball sitting in the low to mid 90's and a below average slider in the high 80's or low 90's that moves like a cutter. His 2-seamer has tremendous fade and sink to it when it's on. He needs to work on his consistency, as sometimes the 2-seam will not have as much action on it or his slider just won't break and will be a hanging spinner. He could be a back-end guy, but I think he will be a solid 10th or 11th guy in a pen. I think a full year in AAA to work on that consistency would have done him wonders, but the Padres are desperate for arms.
• Chase Headley should be an above average bat from the corner outfield. He has a very quiet setup and has a good looking swing. As he begins to learn more on how pitchers attack him, he should be a .280-.360-.480 type guy with some big average years mixed in. Of course, who knows how we will adjust to the cavern that is Petco.
• Matt Kemp is having some serious issues. In his last 3 games, he is 0-10 with 7 strikeouts. He really struggled against Gaudin and his shoulder flew out very often. He is one of those funks where he tells himself to take a pitch and the pitcher throws a fastball right down the middle. Then, when he comes up thinking to be aggressive, he flails at a 1st pitch slider. This is just one of those things hitters get to go through. He will be fine.

Got the Twins-Tigers score tonight with a match-up of Francisco Liriano (3rd game of his I would have scored) and Edwin Jackson.