The Padre Post

The Padres dealt rookie catcher Luis Martinez to the Rangers for right handed pitcher Ryan Kelly.  Kelly spent most of his time in the Pirates system and he has some solid numbers.  He’s never played above High-A though but he has 235 strikeouts and just 66 walks in 266 innings.

This was pretty much a give away because Martinez was designated for assignment after the Mat Latos trade.  The Padres now have too many catchers and Martinez was the odd man out. He made his debut in 2011 and was solid as a backup catcher.

This is an interesting deal.  We lose super pitcher Mat Latos but pick up three high level prospects from the Reds.  They also get the trouble Edinson Volquez who has shown some flashes of potentially being a solid pitcher.  I think he’ll benefit greatly from playing in PETCO.

The Padres also got Brad Boxberger, Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal.  The Reds seemed willing to give up so much because both Alonso and Grandal were both blocked by their big league counterparts.  Latos was good though and the Reds are getting an ace.  He struck out 413 and walked just 135 in 72 starts.

Alonso is also blocked by Padres prospect Anthony Rizzo so there’s some speculation that Alonso could end up in the outfield.    Volquez was an All Star in 2008 but he’s been hurt and he’s missed a lot of time since.

Kevin Goldstein put out his top eleven Padres prospects and his opening remarks said it best.  There’s not a lot of top notch talent but there’s plenty of solid depth here with seven four star prospects.  Topping the list is outfielder Rymer Liriano.  He had a solid season at Low-A but once he moved up to High-A he struggled.  He’s been in the system for a while but he’s still only 20 so there’s plenty of time for this young talent to develop.

Number three is Robbie Erlin, the top pitching prospect.  A third round pick in 2009, Erlin is close to making his debut.  He had solid showings at both High A and Double A and he should get bumped up to Triple A and the only thing that could keep him from making his major league debut is the fact that there’s plenty of competition at that level.

Number three is third baseman Jedd Gyorko.  A second round pick in 2010, Gyorko raked at High A and had a solid showing at Double A.  Cory Spangenberg (3b) and Joe Wieland (RHP) round out the top five.

Baseball America put out their list of the top ten Padres prospect.  Here’s a look at the list.

1)  Anthony Rizzo  1b
2)  Rymer Liriano  OF
3)  Casey Kelly  RHP
4)  Cory Spangenberg  2b
5)  Austin Hedges  C
6)  Jedd Gyorko  3B
7)  Joe Wieland  RHP
8)  Robbie Erlin  LHP
9)  Joe Ross  RHP
10)  Keyvius Sampson  RHP

As expected, the San Diego Padres offered arbitration to closer Heath Bell and starting pitcher Aaron Harang.  With Bell, my guess is the closer goes elsewhere and the Padres get a compensation pick.  Worst case, he takes arbitration and we have him for another year.  The compensation rules have changed though because instead of getting a regular first round pick from the team that signs him, the Padres will get a sandwich pick.

The Padres could have gotten Harang for $5 million but they choose to not pick up his option.  Harang is a Type B free agent so if he signs elsewhere, the Padres will get another pick.  And like Bell, I like Harang enough to where if he accepts, we just get him for another year.  Sounds like a win/win in both cases.

The Padres made one of their first deals of the offseason when they sent pitcher Wade LeBlanc to the Marlins for catcher Scott Baker.  Baker is coming off of elbow surgery so he’s kind of a wild card but the Padres needed a backup for Nick Hundley.  He’s only played in 39 games the past two season.

LeBlanc was the Padres second round pick back in 2006 and while he’s been decent, he hasn’t quite lived up to his billing.  The Padres had some arms coming up through the system so they must have thought LeBlanc was expendable.

Baker is arbitration eligible this year but it’s first year so his price tag shouldn’t be so high. It’ll be interesting to see if they lock him up but my guess is, they’ll wait to see if he’s got the goods and can come back from the injury.

The Padres finished second to last in runs scored in 2011 and it goes to show you how weak of an offense this team had when you team leader has just eleven home runs.  While you expect the offense to struggle in the pitcher’s park that is PETCO, you’d hope they’d do a little better then their NL worse OPS of .653.

Jesus Guzman led the team with an OPS of .847 and that was mostly due to the .312 he finished with.  Cameron Maybin finally made some strides and he finished with 82 runs and 40 steals, but he his .716 OPS put him right around league average with an OPS+ of 103.  Ryan Ludwick led the team with eleven home runs and he drove in 64.

Jason Bartlett really struggled.  He had an OPS of just .615 and he had just two home runs.  Chase Headley had four home runs.  It also didn’t help that none of the Padres players got into more then 140 games.  Most of their regulars were in the low 100 in games played.  So if the Padres want to spend some money, it’s time to begin shoring up this offense.

SAN DIEGO — In the last regular season game, the San Diego Padres crushed the Chicago Cubs 9-2 as both clubs finished the 2011 season with identical records, 71-91.

San Diego ended Ryan Dempster’s season on a sour note, hitting him eight times for nine runs in 5 2/3 innings.  The Cubs ace started the season with a loss and ended it with one too.

Wade LeBlanc of the Padres was wheeling and dealing the Cubs hitters all night.  He went seven strong innings, allowing just two runs on five-hits.

The Padres did something that is very hard to do at PETCO Park, hit big home runs.  They did this twice.  Already leading 1-0 in the third after Cameron Maybin doubled to score LeBlanc, Nick Hundley cracked a three-run home run for a 4-0 lead.

In the sixth, with a 5-2 lead in tact, Wade Venable ended things a positive note for the Padres, sending a grand slam to left center to increase the Padres lead at 9-2.

However, do not let all this positive stuff make you guess this team.  They still finished last and have a lot of problems to fix in the off-season.

San Diego does not have that bat in the lineup that strikes fear into a pitcher and that should be one of their main goals this season.  The other thing that is a concern is the rotation.  They had one double digit wins starter in Aaron Harang.  If the Padres want to compete again, they need some 15+ game winners and some guys to pitch over 200-innings for the season.

DENVER — No no-no for Cory Luebke and Co.  The 26-year-old was flirting with a no-hitter till the Rockies, Mark Ellis, ended such an accomplishment.

The young pitcher had retired seventeen batters before allowing the Ellis two-run shot to center; Eric Young scored as Luebke walked him earlier in the inning.  The Padres starter was pulled after seven as he struck out nine in the effort.

While the Rockies could not hit a beach ball, Kevin Millwood was throwing them to the Padres batters who compiled seven runs on nine-hits, sending Millwood to the showers after only 3 1/3 innings.

In the top of the second, Kyle Blanks led the Padres off with a nice single to right field with Orlando Hudson following with a single to center and advancing Blanks to third on the play.  Jeremy Hermida then got the Padres on the board with a second straight single to center for an RBI.

The very next inning, both Jason Bartlett and Blanks each hit RBI-groundballs as the Padres doubled their current run total, leading 3-0.  However, they would once again double the previous innings run total as the Padres put up a four spot in the fourth.  Both Aaron Cunninham and Maybin hit two run home runs to left and right field respectfully.

Leading 7-0 through five, the Padres added an insurance run, if it can even be called that, as Maybin’s one out triple led to San Diego’s eighth run of the night on Bartlett’s ensuing sacrifice fly to right.

Ernesto Frieri relieved the rest of the game for Luebke, pitching a perfect final two-innings as he struck out three batters for the victory.

SAN FRANCISCO — Where in the name of blah blah has this Giants offense been all season?

For the second day in a row, San Francisco scored eight runs against a divisional opponent while limiting the opposition to a combined total of four runs with the middle of their rotation pitching.

I’d like to say San Francisco could pull it out, and defend their title as they overrun the Diamondbacks in the West.  But, alas, I do not see this happening unless something horrific happens to that Arizona ballclub.  They really are playing as a team with no big named players as opposed to the rest of the division leaders.

But after finishing their series with the Padres, San Francisco heads on a ten-game road trip, ending with a weekend series against the D-backs.  By then I’m afraid to say, Arizona will more than likely than not, be NL West champs.

However, the bright side being, San Francisco is finally hitting and this is hopefully something they can take into the 2012 season.

Home runs were a problem for Aaron Harang in the early going.  Carlos Beltran unloaded for a two run blast in the first.  And Cody Ross followed with a leadoff solo shot in the third to grab a 3-0 lead.  The Giants tacked on another run as Jeff Keppinger scored on Aubrey Huff’s RBI-single to give San Francisco a 4-0 lead through three.

In the middle frames of the game though, San Diego climbed to within a run of tying the game.  Jason Bartlett and Jesus Guzman hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth with Bartlett advancing to third on the miss-throw by the Giants starter, Eric Surkamp.

With two quick outs in the sixth, San Diego followed with four straight singles to cut the deficit from three to one.

The Giants managed to put a big number in the seventh, a #4.  Andres Torres led things off with a single and Cody Ross drove him home after a wild pitch positioned him at second.  Following the Keppinger walk, Pablo Sandoval, the Giants most accurate power hitter, went deep for a three run blast to put the Padres out of contention as they have been for most of the season in this NL West.