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