Looking back at the 2011 Emeralds
Under the tutelage of manager Pat Murphy the 2011 season was a much more successful one for the Eugene Emeralds than the 2010 campaign. The Ems saw a substantial improvement in their record and overall went 46-30.
While none of the players on the 2011 team have yet to make it to the Major League level, several of the members of the team have made significant strides through the Padres system in the past two years.
Justin Miller
Drafted in the 30th round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft out of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Miller arrived in Eugene later that summer and batted .308 in 35 games for the Ems.
His 2012 campaign was a busy one, splitting time between Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore. The Paris, Texas, native was much more effective in Lake Elsinore where he batted .311 in 92 games. He was promoted to AA San Antonio heading into the 2013 season. Through 19 games he is currently batting .195.
Kevin Quackenbush
Kevin Quackenbush was drafted by the Padres out of the University of South Florida in the 8th round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft. Following his selection he made his way to Eugene, where in 17 appearances he went 1-0 with a 0.44 ERA.
After the completion of the summer season he was sent to Fort Wayne and in the 21 games he appeared in, pitched 21.1 innings with a 0.84 ERA.
Quackenbush continued his successful pitching and was sent to Lake Elsinore in 2012 and appeared in 52 games, earning an overall record of 3-2 with a 0.9 earned run average.
The Tampa, Florida, native is currently in AA San Antonio, where after nine game appearances he is boasting a 0.66 ERA with 17 strikeouts.
Jeremy Rodriguez
Drafted out of California Sate University Bakersfield in the 16th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball amateur draft, the first stop Jeremy Rodriguez made after signing was in Eugene. Rodriguez appeared in 38 games in an Ems uniform and batted .211 in 128 plate appearances.
He departed Eugene at the end of the season and had a very busy 2012 campaign, splitting time between four squads. He was most successful in his final stop of 2012, which was AA San Antonio, where in the five games he appeared in he hit .600.
Rodriguez returned to San Antonio to start the 2013 season and has currently appeared in two games where he is batting .286.
Cory Spangenberg
A prospect that the San Diego Padres thought very highly of, Cory Spangenberg was drafted in the first round, number 10 overall, in the 2011 Major League Baseball amateur draft.
After being drafted by the Padres, Spangenberg split time in 2011 between Eugene and Fort Wayne. While donning an Emeralds jersey, he appeared in 25 games, batting .384 with 33 hits and 10 doubles.
Following the completion of the summer season, Spangenberg was sent to Fort Wayne where he batted .286 in 47 games.
The Pennsylvania native spent his 2012 in Lake Elsinore where in 98 games he batted .271 with a .324 on base percentage.
Spangenberg returned to Lake Elsinore for 2013, and through 26 games he is batting .298 with 13 RBI's and 13 stolen bases.
Jace Peterson
The Lake Charles, Louisiana native was drafted in the first round, 58th overall out of McNeese State University. His first stop after being drafted was Eugene, Oregon, and Peterson appeared in 73 games with a .243 batting average.
After taking off the Emeralds uniform, he was than sent to Fort Wayne where he played a little better, in 117 games he sported a .286 batting average.
Peterson began his 2013 campaign in Lake Elsinore, and through 28 games he is batting .275 with one homerun and 16 RBI.