Padres Press Clips Monday, February 01, 2016

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1 Padres Press Clips Monday, February 01, 2016 Article Source Author Page Rule V pitchers hoping to land on Padres map UT San Diego Sanders 2 3 Padres prospects crack 2016 Top 100 list MLB.com Brock 5 Five stellar San Diego southpaws Padres.com Center 7 Around the Horn: First base MLB.com Brock 10 Padres 25 th in Baseball America farm rankings UT San Diego Sanders 12 1

2 Rule V pitchers hoping to land on Padres map Blake Smith, Josh Martin, Luis Perdomo competing for spots in largely wide-open bullpen By Jeff Sanders 10 a.m. Jan. 29, 2016 A veteran of parts of seven minor league seasons, baseball s Rule V draft was nowhere near Blake Smith s radar as he absconded to a Pinecrest Lake cabin to celebrate his 28th birthday with his fiancé Mekila as he does each December. Why should it? The second-round Cal product began his career as a right fielder in He d moved to the mound four years later. He d already been traded once. He d even passed through previous Rule V drafts. Indeed, the converted pitcher wasn t exactly waiting for the phone to ring when the first storm of the season engulfed the pair in their annual winter haven. Some of the biggest news of his life awaited him as an onslaught of missed calls, texts and voic s finally found their way to Smith as he climbed the cabin roof to knock snow off the satellite dish the morning of the draft. All of the sudden my phone started blowing up Are these late birthday wishes? Smith recalled. Then I figured it all out. Rules of the Rule V The last time a Rule V draft selection stuck all year with the Padres, Everth Cabrera swiped 25 bases en route to an eighth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting in The following rules apply to any of the Padres Rule V picks hoping to carve out a major league role this spring: The drafting team must pay $50,000 to the team from which the player was selected. The receiving team must keep the drafted player on 25-man roster for entirety of next season, with the player remaining remain active (not on the disabled list) for at least 90 days. The rules apply to Rule V players traded to other organizations. If the player does not remain on 25-man roster, he is offered back to his original team for $25,000. At least his part in the Padres curious offseason plans. 2

3 With the second to last pick in the major league phase of the Rule V draft, General Manager A.J. Preller plucked Smith from the White Sox organization, giving the righthanded reliever an unexpected fast pass to big league spring training. Of course, Preller s grand scheme complicates the odds stacked against any Rule V player having to stick in the majors all year to remain with his new organization: The Padres not only selected Smith in the second round and right-hander Josh Martin in the first round, they acquired both the Rockies and the Athletics picks right-hander Luis Perdomo from the Cardinals and outfielder Jabari Blash from the Mariners in moves that don t exactly paint most promising picture for the organization or any of its newest members. After all, no team has ever carried four Rule V picks throughout a season. The last to carry three, the 2003 Tigers, lost 119 games. Like Smith, Martin the gist of all that trickled in only after learning he was moving from the Indians to the Padres organization. Also like Smith, the Rule V draft took a backseat to his offseason itinerary his bachelor party at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Miss. I guess I really thought it was a long shot, said Martin, a 26-year-old reliever in his first year of eligibility for the Rule V draft. I was really hoping that maybe it would happen. Nothing against the Indians I loved them but this is one step closer to the reason I'm playing. He s here because of incremental improvement since leaving Samford University as a 10th-round pick in Martin took a step forward when his focus shifted from long relief to short stints before the 2014 season. Then last year, a tick upward in velocity he touches 95 mph now and more reliance on his cutter-slider hybrid helped the 6-foot-5 right-hander fashion a career-best 2.27 ERA as he fanned 80 batters in 67 1/3 innings and limited the opposition to a.192 batting average. 3

4 While Smith s advancement has everything to do with finding his footing and confidence as a pitcher his ERA dropped from 7.78 in 2013 to 3.82 in 2014 to 2.89 in 2015 in Year 3 of his conversion the 22-year-old Perdomo is on the cusp of a major league job without having thrown a single pitch above A-ball. An invite to last year s All-Star Futures Game at least served notices that bigger games were around the corner. I felt like I was right on the verge of making it, said Perdomo, who fashioned a 3.98 ERA last year as a starter and will get an opportunity to both start and relieve this spring. It was a big step for me. The biggest have yet to come. To say nothing of the task facing Blash as he aims for a bench role as a fifth outfielder, the state of the organization and its bullpen in particular only adds hope to the numbers game stacked against the Padres trio of Rule V pitchers. The top two bullpen arms jettisoned to both shed payroll and stock a depleted farm system, the Padres seemingly had all seven spots up for grabs upon designating Brandon Maurer for rotation duty this spring. Even with Carlos Villanueva and Drew Pomeranz under contract and Fernando Rodney reportedly joining the mix as the initial ninth-inning option, big league roles await the four men standing at the end of a competition among man-roster pitchers with less than three years of service time. More to the point, Smith, Martin and Perdomo belong to a subset of eight pitchers whose Major League clock still sits at Fine by them. There's a chance, Martin said with a smile as he prepared for last week s mini-camp in San Diego. If there's a team for guys to stick with, this would be the situation. Added Smith: They obviously have some intentions on utilizing some Rule V guys. They didn t take us for no reason. That s a good feeling. 4

5 3 Padres prospects crack 2016 Top 100 list By Corey Brock / January 29th, 2016 SAN DIEGO -- The Padres' farm system, which took a hit a year ago when general manager A.J. Preller made a bevy of moves to acquire Major League-ready talent, is on the rise once again. The Padres have three players on the MLBPipeline.com Top 100 Prospects list for two of which weren't with the organization just three months ago. Outfielder Manuel Margot (No. 45) and shortstop Javier Guerra (No. 58), acquired from the Red Sox in November in the Craig Kimbrel deal, are among the top prospects in the game, as is outfielder Hunter Renfroe (No. 92). The annual ranking of baseball's Top 100 Prospects is assembled bymlbpipeline.com Draft and prospect experts Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callisand Mike Rosenbaum, who compile input from industry sources, including scouts and scouting directors. It is based on analysis of players' skill sets, upsides, proximity to the Majors and potential immediate impact to their teams. Only players with rookie status entering the 2016 season are eligible for the list. The rankings follow the guidelines laid out by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, in terms of who falls under the international pool money rules: Players who were at least 23 years old when they signed and played in leagues deemed to be professional (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba) are not eligible. Margot, 21, hit a combined.276/.324/.419 with six home runs, 50 RBIs and 39 steals between Class A Advanced and Double-A. He played in 64 Double-A games and could start there again, though many feel he can move quickly. He was regarded by many to be the best athlete in the Red Sox's system. Margot was the starting center fielder for the World Team in the Futures Game. "In Margot, you get a two-way player [offense and defense], tons of contact, up the middle, premium defender. That's something we needed to add to the organization," Preller said. Guerra, 20, hit.279/.329/.449 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs last season at Class A Greenville. His power showed up for the first time as a pro in he also hit 23 doubles. 5

6 "He's a shortstop who can flat-out play the position," Preller said of Guerra. In Margot and Guerra, the Padres' future, in terms of being strong up the middle, got a big boost. Renfroe, who pegs best as a corner outfielder, hit a combined.272/.321/.462 with 20 home runs, 27 doubles and 78 RBIs between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. He will likely begin the season in El Paso but might not be far off from reaching the big leagues. He turned 24 on Thursday. Last winter, Preller traded away many of the organization's top prospects, including pitcher Joe Ross and shortstop Trea Turner, in order to complete deals for Justin Upton and Wil Myers. Ross and Turner appeared in the big leagues last season with the Nationals. 6

7 Five stellar San Diego southpaws By Bill Center / San Diego Padres January 29th, 2016 I've identified my top Padres at every position. Now it's time to move my lists to the mound. And I'm going to change the rules a bit. I'm going to split pitching into four classes -- left-handed starters, right-handed starters, closers and midgame relievers. I'm also going to list 10 right-handed starters and five left-handed starters. Why the distinction between right-handed and left-handed starters? Honestly, it's a bit of a cop-out. I didn't want to face picking one pitcher over another for the top spot on my list. Hey, my lists, my rules. Here's a review of my top picks for the other eight positions. Remember, they are based on just what they did as Padres at their most-played position: 1B: Adrian Gonzalez 2B: Mark Loretta SS: Garry Templeton 3B: Ken Caminiti C: Benito Santiago LF: Gene Richards CF: Steve Finley RF: Tony Gwynn And now, my Top 5 left-handed starting pitchers: 1. Randy Jones ( ) The first of four Padres pitchers to win the National League Cy Young Award, Jones dominated hitters with his devastating sinker before an elbow injury shortened his career. Jones pitched eight seasons for the Padres during the club's formative years and went with a 3.30 earned run average. Jones' 92 wins are tied for second on the Padres all-time list with Peavy. He is the Padres' all-time leader in starts (253), innings pitched (1,766), losses (105), complete games (71) and shutouts (18). He holds franchise single-season records for wins (22), starts (40), innings pitched (315 1/3) and complete games (25) and fifth in ERA. En route to the Cy Young Award in 1976, Jones went with a 2.74 ERA in 40 starts, which included the 25 complete games and six shutouts. He also led the NL that season in wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched and had the lowest WHIP among qualifying starters, allowing only runners to reach base an inning. In addition to winning the Cy Young Award, he finished 10th in the NL Most Valuable Player voting. A two-time All-Star, Jones was the winning pitcher in the 1976 All- 7

8 Star Game while being the first Padre to ever start an All-Star Game. His 16 wins before the All-Star Game that season set an NL record. Jones had a 20.8 WAR as a Padre. 2. Bruce Hurst ( ) Hurst had a record and a 3.27 ERA with the Padres in 131 starts over just more than 4 1Ž2 seasons. His.591 winning percentage is the highest in Padres history and his ERA ranks third among qualifying starters. Hurst also ranks fourth on the Padres' all-time charts in shutouts (10), fifth in complete games (29), sixth in lowest opponents' batting average (.244), eighth in strikeouts per nine innings (6.08) and tied for ninth in wins. Hurst had 14 or more wins in three of his four full seasons with the Padres. He led the NL with four shutouts in 1990 and with 10 complete games in Hurst's WAR as a Padre was The Padres signed Hurst as a free agent on Dec. 8, 1988, and traded Hurst and pitcher Greg Harris to the Colorado Rockies on July 26, 1993, for pitchers Andy Ashby and Doug Bochtler and catcher Brad Ausmus. 3. Dave Dravecky ( ) Dravecky had a record and a 3.12 ERA in 199 games (119) starts in 5 1Ž2 seasons with the Padres. He was selected to the 1983 NL All-Star team during a season with a 3.58 ERA in 28 starts. During the Padres' 1984 NL title season, Dravecky was 9-8 with a 2.93 ERA with 36 of his 50 appearances coming out of the bullpen. He then pitched 10 2/3 scoreless innings in the post-season, allowing five hits and a walk against 10 strikeouts. Dravecky returned to the rotation fulltime in 1985 and won 13 games. Acquired from the Pirates in a 1981 trade for a Minor Leaguer, Dravecky's career ERA is second behind only Trevor Hoffman on the all-time Padres list among qualifying pitchers. He ranks fifth on the Padres' all-time lists in opponents' batting average (.243), sixth in complete games (23), tied for eighth in shutouts (six), ninth in winning percentage (.515) and 11th in wins. Dravecky had a 12.4 WAR as a Padre. Dravecky was traded to the Giants on July 5, 1987, with pitcher Craig Lefferts and infielder Kevin Mitchell for infielder Chris Brown and pitchers Mark Davis, Mark Grant and Keith Comstock. Dravecky's career ended tragically with San Francisco. In 1988, a cancerous mass was discovered in his pitching arm. A year later, the humerus bone in his arm snapped while pitching, the return of the cancer ending his career. 4. Sterling Hitchcock ( , 2004) Hitchcock was only with a 4.47 ERA in 122 games (106 starts) for the Padres. But his post-season play in 1998 puts him on this list. Hitchcock was voted the Most Valuable Player of the NL Championship Series, leading the Padres to their second NL pennant. Hitchcock was 3-0 in three starts in the NL playoffs. He allowed two runs on eight hits and eight walks with 25 strikeouts in 16 innings for a 1.13 ERA. He also made one start against the Yankees in the World Series and got no decision, allowing 8

9 two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over seven innings. During the regular 1998 season, Hitchcock was 9-7 with a 3.93 ERA in 39 appearances (27 starts). He was with the Padres in 1999 with a 4.11 ERA in 33 starts. The Padres acquired Hitchcock on Dec. 6, 1996, from Seattle in exchange for pitcher Scott Sanders. He was traded to the Yankees on July 30, 2001, for a pair of minor leaguers. Hitchcock had a 6.4 WAR as a Padre. 5. Dave A. Roberts ( ) One of three players named Dave Roberts to play for the Padres. I give Dave A. the nod as the No. 5 lefthanded starter in Padres history over Tim Lollar (36-42 with a 4.07 ERA and one of the top hitting pitchers in Padres history) and Fred Norman (13-30 with a 3.55 ERA in three seasons as a Padre). Roberts was the 20th player selected by the Padres in the draft to stock the Major League expansion team. In three seasons with the Padres, Roberts had a record and a 2.99 ERA in 102 games (60 starts). But he bordered on the sensational at times. In 1971, Roberts was with a 2.10 ERA in 37 games (34 starts) for a team that won only 61 games. The ERA remains the lowest single-season ERA in Padres history. Roberts allowed 238 hits and 61 walks in 269 2/3 innings for a WHIP. He finished sixth in the National League Cy Young Award voting and 24th in the Most Valuable Player voting. In three seasons with the Padres, Roberts had a 10.0 WAR. On Dec. 3, 1971, the Padres traded Roberts to Houston for three players, including starting pitcher Bill Greif and starting infielder Derrel Thomas. 9

10 Around the Horn: First base Myers moves from outfield to take on starting infield role By Corey Brock / January 29th, 2016 SAN DIEGO -- When the Padres traded Yonder Alonso to the A's in December, the move didn't leave general manager A.J. Preller unprepared for what the team would do at first base in Preller already had an option in mind -- the team's 2015 Opening Day starter in center field, Wil Myers. "It's definitely an attractive option getting Wil locked in at first base," Preller said. "Part of the move in moving Yonder [Alonso] was getting Wil locked into a spot." Hot Stove Tracker You can expect to see a lot of Myers at first base this season, which is funny considering that before last season he had played just five professional games at the position. But the Padres were impressed with Myers' footwork and different throws he had to make in a 22-game stint at the position. He was just starting to settle in at the position before injuring his left wrist in May. This offseason, Myers even went as far as to tell Preller he preferred to play first base. "I enjoy first base the most," Myers said in December. "If I had a preference, it would be first. I've told them that. I had never played first base at the professional level until last year, but I enjoyed it. I think I can play first base really well." The Padres opted to move Myers to first base on May 8 after Alonso suffered a bone bruise in his right shoulder. Myers wasn't a total stranger to the infield, playing 15 games at third base while in the Minor Leagues. But as Myers' promising season with the Padres began to take off, he hurt his wrist during a game against the D-backs. He was hitting.291/.340/.493 with five home runs and 19 RBIs at the time. Myers missed a month before returning, but went back on the disabled list four days later. At that point, he opted for surgery to remove a bone spur that was located on the back of the wrist. "Right before I got hurt, I was starting to get hot," Myers said. 10

11 The Padres will have some other options to look at if they want to spell Myers on occasion. Catcher Derek Norris appeared in 17 games at first base last season as the Padres sought to give his body a break from the rigors of being behind the plate. The team would like to give Norris more rest this season, but it remains to be seen how they will do so -- some work at first base, possible time as the designated hitter in the team's 10 Interleague road games. San Diego also used Brett Wallace at first in 17 games. Wallace, who was a Minor League free agent last spring, impressed the team with his bat so much -- he hit.302/.374/.521 in 64 games -- that the Padres signed him to a big league deal this winter. Wallace was especially good coming off the bench, batting.349 with four home runs in 43 pinch-hit appearances. His left-handed bat makes him an ideal piece late in games for a National League team. 11

12 Padres 25th in Baseball America farm rankings Kimbrel trade likely boosted organization from dead-last in baseball By Jeff Sanders 10 a.m. Feb. 1, 2016 Say what you want about A.J. Preller s offseason, the haul he received for Craig Kimbrel alone went a long ways toward beefing up the Padres depleted farm system. Nevertheless, the second-year general manager still has a long road to hoe. Even with the shortstop and center fielder of the future finally in hand (or so Preller hopes), the Padres farm system ranks 26th in the majors, according to Baseball America s justpublished Prospect Handbook. Though certainly improved via offseason trades, the organization comes in ahead of the Tigers, Orioles, Mariners, Marlins and Angels in its lowest ranking in at least the previous five years. Baseball America s assessment: The trade that brought Javier Guerra, Manuel Margot and Logan Allen to San Diego was a much-needed talent infusion that brought the Padres out of the talent rankings basement. Before San Diego s Craig Kimbrel trade and the Angels trade that sent Sean Newcomb to the Braves, San Diego would have likely ranked 30th. That sentiment isn t exactly flying in the face of earlier valuations. Though three Padres farmhands landed on MLB.com s top-100 prospects list, the organization was shut out of the site s top-10 positional rankings and only had one player center fielder Manuel Margot at No. 45 land in the top 50. Shortstop Javier Guerra ranked 58th and outfielder Hunter Renfroe a rare prospect holdover from the Josh Byrnes regime sits at No. 92 after an inconsistent 2015 campaign. He, too, ranked third among Baseball America s assessment of Padres prospects behind Guerra and Margot. A breakdown of the organization s top 31 prospects follows (the early bird gets the supplement), including a telling write-up on the since DFA d Rymer Liriano at No. 23: At his best, Liriano has plus bat speed and above-average raw power. Though he was far more 12

13 selective in 2015, he still strikes out too much with a long and hard swing that doesn t produce enough power to justify the whiffs. Baseball America on Padres' top prospects Rk Player Comment 1 SS Javier Guerra The organization's shortstop of the future 2 OF Manuel Margot Profiles as an everyday center fielder, if not an impact bat 3 OF Hunter Renfroe A reputation for running hot and cold 4 SS Ruddy Giron Above-average hitter with swing geared for line drives 5 SS Jose Rondon Has glove to be a regular but the bat of a utility player 6 OF Travis Jankowski Ceiling of a table-setting regular or possible reserve 7 RHP Colin Rea Projects as a back of the rotation option 8 LHP Logan Allen Command-over-stuff, back-end starter 9 RHP Austin Smith 3 pitches that have flashed at least average; fastball projects to be plus 10 OF Michael Gettys Plus defender... double-plus speed... double-plus arm 11 RHP Jacob Nix Easy fastball up to 95 mph, but secondary offerings are fringy at best 12 RHP Cory Mazzoni Stuff ticked up after being moved to the bullpen 13 2B/3B Carlos Asuaje A bat-first utility player who could be ready in RHP Ryan Butler An improved slider will help Butler miss more bats 15 RHP Enyel De Los Santos Sits mph, has touched 97; average curve and changeup that flashes plus 16 RHP Tayron Guerrero Fastball touches 100 mph and slider that flashes plus 17 RHP Dinelson Lamet Could move quickly as a reliever because he lacks a developed third pitch 18 OF Nick Torres Best tool is his above-average raw power, but also has feel for hitting 19 RHP Yimmi Brasoban Fastball shot from as a starter to with late sink in bullpen 20 2B Fernando Perez A potent offensive second baseman as a ceiling 21 2B/3B Jose Pirela High-energy presence, versatile rolep layer going forward 22 OF/1B Alex Dickerson Big league option in a part-time role at first base or left field 23 OF Rymer Liriano Strikes out too much with long swing that doesn't produce enough power 24 OF Jose Urena Plus raw power generated by quick hands 25 RHP Justin Hancock Lacks breaking ball to have a regular rotation spot 26 RHP Phil Maton Nees to reintroduce changeup to make it in the rotation 27 LHP Jose Castillo Lack of reliable changeup might relegate Castillo to the bullpen 28 LHP Jose Torres Still learning how to pitch as opposed to just throw 13

14 29 SS/2B Luis Urias Contact-oriented approach; will always have below-average power 30 RHP Emmanuel Ramirez Curveball rates as the best in the organization 31 1B Brad Zunica Carrying tool is double-plus raw power 14