Carrillo is cream of Padres' prospect crop

MOBILE, AL -- Cesar Carrillo made five starts with the Mobile BayBears in 2005, and his undefeated record was enough to impress Baseball America, which named him the 2005 San Diego Padres #1 prospect.

Carrillo, the first round pick out of the University of Miami, was 4-0 with a 3.23 ERA in the Southern League. He had 35 strikeouts, along with just seven walks. Carrillo split his first professional season between Mobile and Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore.

The second ranked prospect in the Padres system was the catcher for most of Carrillo's starts, George Kottaras. The Ontario native hit .287 with two home runs and 15 RBIs with the BayBears after his promotion from Lake Elsinore in August. Kottaras played in the Arizona Fall League, and is expected to be the BayBears catcher to start the 2006 season.

Two other 2005 BayBears cracked the Top 10 List. Pitcher Jared Wells went 2-5 with a 4.40 ERA for Mobile, and was ranked the seventh best prospect in the system. Wells was named Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the San Diego Padres organization. Southern League All-Star Paul McAnulty had two stints this year in the Major Leagues with San Diego, and hit .282 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 79 games with the BayBears. McAnulty was rated the eighth best prospect on Baseball America's list.

Along with the four players who played for Mobile in the 2005 season, Baseball America's Top 10 List included four players who were with Mobile in previous seasons: Josh Barfield, Ben Johnson, Clay Hensley and Freddy Guzman, all of whom played for the BayBears as recently as 2004.

The Top 10 Prospects List is published for each organization every year by Baseball America. This year's Padres list includes eight former or current BayBears, plus the two others -- Chase Headley and Nick Hundley -- who could see Mobile as early as the 2006 season. Headley and Hundley were both selected in the 2005 First Year Player Draft.

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects List for the San Diego Padres:

1) Cesar Carrillo -- BayBears, 2005
2) George Kottaras -- BayBears, 2005
3) Josh Barfield -- BayBears, 2004
4) Ben Johnson -- BayBears, 2002-2004
5) Chase Headley
6) Clay Hensley -- BayBears, 2004
7) Jared Wells -- BayBears, 2005
8) Paul McAnulty -- BayBears, 2005
9) Nick Hundley
10) Freddy Guzman -- BayBears, 2003-2004

Names in bold have already played in the Major Leagues with the Padres.

Several current and former BayBears made Baseball America's Best Tools List, which is released in conjunction with the Top 10 Prospects List:

Best Hitter for Average -- Paul McAnulty
Best Curveball -- Sean Thompson
Best Fastball -- Cesar Carrillo
Best Control -- Cesar Carrillo
Best Baserunner -- Freddy Guzman
Best Defensive Outfielder -- Freddy Guzman
Best Athlete -- Ben Johnson

For more information, log onto the BayBears official website at www.mobilebaybears.com.