Padres proving studious about future
After selecting high school prospects with their top three picks in the 2004 draft, the Padres switched gears entirely in '05, taking college players with each of their first 16 choices, and 19 of their first 20.
The top of the 2004 crop is still very young, but they've yet to produce much in their first couple of seasons. Most notably, top overall pick Matt Bush didn't do much to erase the bad taste left by his rookie season, in which he was arrested, suspended and held under the .200 mark. He hit just .221 with more errors (38) than RBIs (32) at Class A Fort Wayne.
It should be of some consolation that the Fathers' 2005 first-round pick looked good in his professional debut, as former Miami Hurricanes ace Cesar Carrillo went 5-0 -- including a 4-0 stint at Double-A Mobile -- before finally faltering in his last couple outings. But while there were other bright spots, like the John Kruk-like Paul McAnulty and top prospect Josh Barfield, all in all, it was a trying year for San Diego's affiliates. Only one full-season team (Lake Elsinore) finished above .500, and their combined winning percentage (.472) was fifth-lowest in the Minors.
| 2005 Organizational Record | ||||||
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LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A R R |
LEAGUE PCL SOU CAL MID NOR AZL |
TEAM Portland Mobile Lake Elsinore Fort Wayne Eugene Padres TOTAL: |
W 70 58 70 65 34 29 326 |
L 73 80 68 75 42 27 365 |
PCT .490 .420 .507 .464 .447 .518 .472 |
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| 2005 Organizational Leaders | ||||||
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Average Home Runs RBIs Stolen Bases ERA Wins Strikeouts Saves |
.314 25 83 23 1.27 13 139 34 |
Steve Baker Jon Knott F. Valenzuela, Jr. Kennard Jones Ernesto Frieri M.Ekstrom/J.Wells Sean Thompson Matt Varner |
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Complete MiLB statistics | |
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At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2005:
Josh Barfield, 2B
After hitting .316 in his first three Minor League seasons, the Padres' 2001 fourth-round pick dropped all the way to .248 in Double-A Mobile in 2004. So there was probably some concern when his average was languishing around the .225 mark in late May at Portland. But Barfield found his groove in June and stayed in it through the end of the season, hitting .333 in June, .388 in July and .333 in August to finish with a .310 mark. The 22-year-old saw only a slight decline in his power numbers in his first season at Triple-A and drove in 72 runs compared to his average of 109 over the past two seasons, but his OBP (.370) and SLG (.450) were impressive. He also regained his base-stealing form after a lingering hamstring injury limited him to just four swipes in 2004, taking 20 bags in 25 attempts in the Pacific Coast League. Barfield lived up to his reputation as a clutch hitter, batting .347 with runners in scoring position.
Video: Legging out his fourth hit of the day against the Sox
Freddy Guzman, OF
Freddy can fly. But after stealing 160 bases in his last two Minor League seasons, the 24-year-old Dominican was grounded by an elbow injury that required season-ending surgery in March. He was hoping to be available for pinch-running duties in September but instead made his return in the Dominican Winter League, where, through his first 13 games, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound outfielder was hitting .372. He'd also drawn 10 walks for an OBP of .491 and was a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. That kind of offensive spark could help Guzman land a spot in the Padres' outfield that now consists of Mike Cameron and Ben Johnson.
Tim Stauffer, RHP
Stauffer's second professional season can be divided into three distinct parts. The University of Richmond product went 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in his first six starts at Portland to earn a rotation spot in San Diego when Tim Redding was placed on the Disabled List. He won his Major League debut at Cincinnati on June 2, but went 2-2 with a 6.35 ERA over his next 14 outings before being returned to Triple-A, where he had a brutal August. Stauffer lost five of his six starts in August, allowing no fewer than four earned runs in any of them, while going more than five innings just once. He posted a 10.73 ERA for the month and PCL batters clubbed him at a .408 clip. The right-hander gave up four homers in those 27 2/3 innings, compared to just one in his other 47 1/3 innings at Portland. He did rebound with one of the best starts of his career in his final outing of the year, however, tossing a complete-game three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts against Tucson.
Video: Stauffer talks about his Spring Training experience
Travis Chick, RHP
Chick, we hardly knew ya. A week shy of the one-year anniversary of his trade from the Marlins to the Padres for Ismael Valdez, the 2002 14th-round pick was dealt to the Reds, along with pitcher Justin Germano, for third baseman Joe Randa. Combined, he went 4-11 with a 5.14 ERA between Mobile and Chattanooga.
George Kottaras, C
The Greek/Canadian international had his second straight solid season, hitting .299 with 11 homers and 65 RBIs in 120 games between Class A Lake Elsinore and Double-A Mobile. Kottaras' season was about as steady as they come, consisting of four months in which he hit .304 or better and reaching double digits in RBIs every month but May, when he drove in nine. His splits and situation stats were just about .300+ across the board, too, the only glaring exception being his lack of power against left-handers. The switch-hitting backstop managed just one homer in 117 at-bats against soutpaws while hitting 10 in 321 against right-handers. The 22-year-old went to the Arizona Fall League before and was supposed to suit up for Canada in the Regional Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but was ruled ineligible to play because he'd played for Greece in the 2004 Olympics.
Audio: Kottaras notches his first AFL homer
Cinderella Story
Paul McAnulty, OF
McAnulty's fourth season in the Padres system may have been his best, and that's saying something considering he lead the Pioneer League in hitting in 2002 and was the organization's Player of the Year in 2004. The 24-year-old Californian was hitting .301 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 67 games at Double-A Mobile before getting his first Major League call-up in June. He got a couple singles in nine at-bats with San Diego before returning to the Southern League, where he won the All-Star Game Home Run Derby. From there, he was promoted to Portland and was an absolute hitting machine while also transitioning to what is likely to be his Major League position, first base. McAnulty hit .344 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 38 games for the Beavers, posting an OBP of .405 and a SLG of .563. He didn't go consecutive games without a hit during his six-week stay in the PCL. He rejoined the parent team in September, going 3-for-15.
Video: McAnulty talks to Mayo prior to his Home Run Derby victory
Breakout year
Bobby Scales, 3B/OF
A longtime organizational-type player in the Padres system, Scales's offensive numbers bottomed out in 2004 to the point that he made some drastic adjustments prior to '05. Uncomfortable with his new spread-out stance and dropped hand position during Spring Training, he was prepared to resort to his old approach, only to be disuaded by Padres Minor League hitting coordinator Rob Deer. Fittigly, Scales went on to post career-highs in home runs (14) and strikeouts (98). The switch-hitter hit safely in his first eight games of the season, building a .448 average in that streak and finishing April at .375. He was hitting .300 as late as July 23 but dipped to his final mark of .274 when he hit .190 in August. Scales fared far better from the right side, batting .333 with eight homers and 24 RBIs in 141 at-bats compared to just .238-6-37 in 235 ABs from the left. He's a six-year free agent, so probably won't be back in the Padres organization, but his 2005 season should get the Michigan product a look elsewhere.
Jared Wells, RHP
Wells finally did not go 4-6. After posting that same record at each of his first three stops in the Minors, the hard-throwing right-hander went a combined 13-8 with a 3.69 ERA in 26 starts between High-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A Mobile. After a stellar performance in the hitter-friendly Cal League, where he went 11-3 with a 3.44 ERA and .257 average against, the 2002 31st-round draft-and-follow struggled a bit in the Southern League. His ERA ballooned to 4.40 while opponents hit .304 against him. He also walked 16 in 43 innings compared to just 26 free passes in 120 1/3 innings at Lake Elsinore.
Ryan Trytten, RHP
After spending the past season and a half in the independent Northern League, the former Brewers farmhand signed with the Padres and put together his best season since being taken in the 39th round of the 2000 draft. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in 10 games for Fort Wayne to earna promotion to High-A Lake Elsinore. There, he alternated between being very effective and just mediocre, but went 6-2 with a 3.73 ERA overall in the Cal League. Should be plenty enough to keep him out of the independent leagues, although there was some concern that an ulnar nerve problem may have caused the inflation of his numbers late in the season.
Clayton Hamilton, RHP
There weren't a lot of expectations for the 2004 17th-round draft pick coming into the 2005 season. He had losing records in two seasons at Penn St. to go along with an ERA in the upper fives. And as a 22-year-old rookie in the Arizona and Northwest leagues, he posted a 4.78 ERA in 11 games. His most notable accomplishment was an impressive spot start at Double-A, in which he held Montgomery to one run on two hits while striking out six in five innings. But none of that served as an indicator for the year he had at Fort Wayne, where he was 9-6 with the fourth-lowest ERA in the Midwest League, at 2.88. He wasn't overpowering, striking out just 86 in 122 innings, but held hitters to a .226 average while walking 36 for a WHIP of 1.12. His stats took a bit of a hit when he was promoted to Lake Elsinore in July, as he gave up 14 runs on 29 hits in his first three starts, but rebounded nicely to hold opponents to two earned runs on 14 hits over his last 16 innings. Overall, he was 11-8 with a 3.30 ERA.
2005 draft recap
1. Cesar Carrillo, RHP
Carrillo hardly ever lost at the University of Miami, where he went 25-3 in two seasons, and he looked like he might not lose a game in his first professional campaign until he got knocked around in his final two outings, inflating his numbers drastically. But by that time he had already thrown nearly 180 innings between college ball and the Minors, and late-season fatigue is hardly uncommon for college draftees. The lanky (6-foot-3, 175-pound) right-hander was 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in his first four starts at Lake Elsinore before being promoted to Double-A Mobile, where he was just as good, if not better, going 4-0 with a 3.23 ERA and 35 strikeouts against seven walks in 30 2/3 innings. He was returned to the Cal League late in August for the Storm's postseason. He went 0-2 with a 19.90 ERA in his final three regular season starts and 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two playoff appearances.
Video: Carrillo on a K binge
Video: Carrillo in command in his first Double-A start
2. Cesar Ramos, LHP
The second college pitcher taken by the Pads in the first round, Ramos came with far less fanfare than Carrillo, and a considerably cheaper price tag ($950,000 compared to Carrillo's ($1.55 M). Ramos was a veritable no-name compared to his Long Beach State predacessors, Jered Weaver, Jason Vargas and Abe Alvarez. Historically successful due largely to his command and accuracy, Ramos struggled a bit at Eugene (0-1, 6.53 ERA in six games) when he walked seven in 20 2/3 innings in addition to allowing batters to hit .303 off him. But a promotion to the Midwest League seemed to help, as the 21-year-old lefty went 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA in 38 2/3 innings, walking just seven vs. 32 strikeouts.
3. Chase Headley, 3B
Headley opened and closed his season at Euguene with seven-game hitting streaks, during which he hit .373. Unfortunately, he only hit .224 in the 43 games in between, giving him a season average of .268. He did show his trademark plate discipline -- he ranked second in the nation in walks his junionr year at Tennessee -- drawing 34 walks to help generate an OBP of .375. He also had 14 doubles and six home runs in 220 at-bats, slugging .441. Headley finished hte season with four games at Fort Wayne in the Midwest League, picking up three hits in 15 at-bats.
Audio: Chase banishes one
4. Nicholas Hundley, C
Often overshadowed by the other big catching prospect in the Northwest League, Texas' Taylor Teagarden, Hundley put up comparable numbers, hitting .250 with seven homers and 22 RBIs in 43 games while throwing out 37% of base stealers. At 21, the Tennessee product spent the final ten games of his rookie season in the Midwest League, batting .222 with five RBIs for Fort Wayne. His home run total ballooned from six in his first two years with the Volunteers to 15 in his junior year, and with seven longballs in 43 games at Eugene, it looks like his power has translated in the pros, too.
Audio: "This one is an atom bomb to left field!"
5. Joshua Greer, RHP
Like Ramos, Greer came from a college program (Rice) that has churned out some big-name pitchers lately (Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend). The fifth of 16 consecutive college players taken by the Padres, the 6-foot-3 right-hander put together a successful rookie campaign, going 4-2 with a 3.96 ERA between Eugene and Fort Wayne. He didn't strike out many (36 oin 61 1/3 IP), but he didn't walk many either (13).
2004 draft recap
How the top three from 2004 fared in their first full season of pro ball.
1. Matt Bush, SS
The Padres hoped Bush would start anew in 2005 after a rocky rookie season that included a sub-Mendoza batting average and a highly publicized arrest and suspension stemming from a bar fight in Arizona. The 2004 No. 1 overall pick didn't fare much better in his second season, however, hitting just .221 with two homers and 32 RBIs in 126 games at Low-A Fort Wayne. And though he was drafted largely on the strength of his defense, he also committed the fifth-most errors in the Minors with 38. Bush's best month was May, when he hit .253 with 14 of his 32 RBIs. His worst was August, marked by a .183 average and nary an RBI in 24 games. Still just 19, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound shortstop drove in runs in just five of his final 69 games.
2. Bill Killian, C
Killian's second season was strikingly similar to his first. In 2004, he collected seven doubles, two triples and 13 RBIs in 43 games, mostly in the Arizona Rookie League. This year, he added one double, one triple and one RBI to those totals in 46 games, again, mostly in the AZL. The 19-year-old catcher hit .287 with the AZL Padres before moving up to Eugene, where he managed just seven hits in 37 at-bats (.189).
Audio: Killian crushes a bases-loaded triple to give the Em's the lead
3. Daryl Jones, 1B
Jones' first full season didn't go as well as his pro debut. Just 18 years old until the final week of the season, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound first baseman hit .188 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 73 games at Eugene. The Los Angeles high schooler hit .295 in his rookie outing for the AZL Padres in 2004.
Audio: "One of the longest homers you'll ever see!"