Sean Burroughs ran the fastest timed mile the other day in camp. Came in at just over 5 minutes.

The Baseball America Prospect Handbook showed up on Saturday. Among the comments on #11 ranked Ben Johnson was this interesting nugget: "His numbers were boosted by The Diamond at Lake Elsinore, where he hit .332 as opposed to .221 on the road…" What I find fascinating about this is the fact that The Diamond is one of the more extreme pitcher’s parks in the Cal League. Last year, 8.2 runs per game were scored there, while 9.1 were tallied in Storm road games. Of course, some of their road games were at High Desert and Lancaster, which are off the charts for offense. My guess is that Johnson wasn’t helped all that much by his home park and this was just a fluke.

Guys who made their Padres Top 30 but not mine, along with my comments:

• 17. Jeremy Fikac, RHP — I like him but have a bias against reliever prospects. He could be a better version of Donne Wall.
• 19. Andy Shibilo, RHP — Another reliever but with better stuff than Fikac. Think Dan Miceli with control.
• 20. Mike Nicolas, RHP — Another reliever. This one is interesting. He has absolulely electric stuff and apparently is a tireless worker. His command is wobbly. Think Marc Kroon.
• 25. Ryan Baerlocher, RHP — Rule 5 draftee from the Royals’ organization. Has a good chance to stick with the big club as a long reliever. His upside is pretty similar to that of Brett Jodie, whom I ranked 23rd.
• 27. Pedro de los Santos, 2B — I have to come clean on this one: I’d never heard of him but there’s a good reason. Assuming the birth certificate is accurate, he is just 18 years old and has 46 North American at-bats to his credit. May move to the outfield.
• 28. Kory DeHaan, OF — Could be a useful big-leaguer but I don’t consider him a prospect at this point.
• 30. Todd Donovan, OF — Positives: Runs well, knows the strike zone. Negatives: Injury prone, no power. He might be a safer bet than guys like Doc Brooks and Marcus Nettles, but his upside isn’t as high.