Here’s an interesting look back on history. In 1995, two catching prospects put up the following numbers:

             Age Lvl(Lg)   BA  OBP  SLG
Catcher A:    19  A(MdW) .321 .398 .564
Catcher B:    22 AA(Sou) .224 .340 .361

Both were switch-hitters. In his 1996 book, John Sickels assigned Catcher A a letter grade of A, Catcher B a letter grade of C minus. Catcher A is Minnesota’s Javier Valentin, Catcher B is Boston’s Jason Varitek.

This isn’t a shot at Sickels by any stretch; I admire his work a great deal. It’s just another indication of how inexact the science of prospecting is. Interestingly, that same year Baseball America had Valentin rated as its #58 prospect and Varitek as its #51 prospect. So even among experts, there can be significant differences of opinion.

Meanwhile, Back in Padre Land…

Xavier Nady is coming on strong. He singled, homered, and doubled twice in five at-bats Monday night at Sacramento. Homered again last night. He’s now hitting .280/.329/.412 at Portland. Adam Eaton worked five innings in yesterday’s game. Assuming they’re still playing games, Eaton is scheduled to start for the Padres this coming Tuesday.

Brad Baker spun eight innings of shutout ball Monday at Birmingham, allowing just two hits. He struck out 10 and walked five.

Mark Phillips had another solid outing last night. Three runs on four hits and just one walk over six innings. He struck out seven. Khalil Greene doubled twice in four at-bats. He’s at .299/.348/.508 and looking ready for Double-A. In his Cal League debut, Josh Barfield went hitless in four trips to the plate. Barfield replaces Jake Gautreau, who has been shut down for the season due to colitis.

At Ft. Wayne, Javier Martinez, whom I spotlighted a couple days ago, also threw eight shutout innings Monday night. He allowed three hits and a walk while fanning six.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Padres beat Houston, 11-6. Woo-hoo! I try to maintain my enthusiasm for the big club but sometimes it ain’t easy. Nice to see ‘em win once in a while…