Is it just me, or is the Padres’ strategy of building through trade rather than via free agency this winter starting to make a lot of sense? Omar Vizquel at 3 years for $12.25M? Cristian Guzman at 4 years for $16.8M? (And aren’t you glad we have Khalil Greene!) The Phillies re-signed Cory Lidle yesterday at 2 years for $6.3M. Lidle was one of the guys I thought would have been nice at the back end of the Padres rotation. Had I guessed he’d sign for that much, I wouldn’t have put him on my wish list.

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, we’d just finished looking at several key position players and were about to turn our attention to the pitchers…

Andy Ashby: Turned a big corner last season, and I expect him to get even better. The strike probably helped him by not putting undue strain on his arm. When he’s on, he will throw very few pitches in a game; has learned to throw strikes early in the count… (Another part of Randy Smith’s heist of the Rockies, Ashby did improve on his breakthrough 1994 performance (164.1 IP, 3.40 ERA) by spinning a 2.94 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. This turned out to be his best season in the big leagues, although he did pitch very well en route to 17 victories for the Friars in 1998.)

Andy Benes: Not clear at this point where he’ll end up. Cardinals are wooing him with the added inducement of brother Alan, who is a hot prospect in his own right…. I tend to think he’s a bit overrated, but he’s shown some flashes of brilliance that may yet come together. (Coming off a 3.86 ERA over 172 1/3 innings, Benes made 19 starts for San Diego in 1995 before being shipped to the Mariners for Ron Villone and Marc Newfield (both of whom later were part of the deal that brought Greg Vaughn to the Padres). After the season, Benes signed with St. Louis, where he turned in two of his better campaigns. Arguably peaked at age 23. Won 155 big-league games and is viewed by many as a disappointment. Such is the nature of baseball.)

Mark Davis: What a long, strange trip it’s been–right, Marky Mark? But as the Stones and several other wannabes put it, “…I used to love her, but it’s all over now. You may supply your own rock ‘n’ roll lyrics to eulogize this mondo bizarro career. (To say nothing of this mondo bizarro comment. At any rate, Davis didn’t pitch for the Pads in 1995. After spinning an 8.82 ERA over 16 1/3 innings in his second tour with the club (the first, you will recall, netted him a Cy Young Award), Davis didn’t pitch for anyone until 1997, when he worked 16 1/3 innings of equally forgettable baseball for the Brewers before calling it a career and becoming one of the least deserving candidates among the entrants on the 2003 HOF ballot.)

Donnie Elliott: Will still need to be nursed along in the big leagues for at least another year, until he can learn to get lefties out. Pitched extremely well at Jack Murphy. Needs to cut down on the bases on balls if he’s going to become more than muddle relief. (Elliott came over with Mel Nieves in the Fred McGriff trade. After posting a 3.27 ERA in 33 innings as a rookie, worked two more scoreless innings in 1995 but never pitched again in the big leagues after age 26. Sometimes you turn Gary Sheffield into Trevor Hoffman. Other times you turn McGriff into Elliott and Nieves.)

Bryce Florie: Was wild as hell in the minors, but looked good in his nine innings with the big club last year. Probably needs at least a year starting at AAA, but stranger things have happened, let me tell ya. (Florie was the Padres’ most consistent reliever in 1995, working 68 1/3 innings and finishing with a 3.01 ERA. Dealt to Milwaukee the following year in the Greg Vaughn trade. Bounced around a bit before having his career ended by a line drive to the face while with the Boston Red Sox.)

Joey Hamilton: All of the indicators point to Hamilton being a first-rate starter. Intelligent and poised, he rises to the occasion (hitters managed only a .177 BA with men in scoring position) and does all the little things that help pitchers win games. Draft him. (Hamilton is the guy people should think of when they start talking about Benes as a disappointment. In his first full season, Hamilton fashioned a 3.08 ERA over 204 1/3 innings. That marked the only time he finished with an ERA better than league average over a full season.)

Sterling Hitchcock: …I think that we have a 50% chance of seeing a real star pitcher emerge. It is only his command that is keeping him from becoming a dominant starter; the other elements of his game have fallen into place. Highly recommended as a sleeper pick. (Hitch posted a 4.70 ERA in 168 1/3 for the Yankees in 1995, then was traded to Seattle, where he notched a 5.35 ERA over 196 2/3 innings before coming to the Padres. Had an otherworldly post-season in 1998. Career high of 13 wins came with the Mariners. Like Hamilton, made 20 or more starts five times in his career. Like Hamilton, finished with an ERA better than league average in just one of those five seasons (4.11 over 205 2/3 innings in 1999 for the Pads). Like Hamilton, retired with 74 career victories.)

Trevor Hoffman: …a bonafide monster, allowning opponents a .193 BA, and doing something I’ve never seen in the splits: holding hitters to under a .250 BA when behind in the count. If he improves any more, they might have to invent a new game for him. (Hoffy did improve. He improved a lot. After a solid 1994, Hoffman slipped a bit in 1995 (3.88 ERA over 53 1/3 innings) before morphing into one of the most dominant closers in the game over the next five seasons. All time record for most saves by a pitcher for a single team (391 and counting). A future HOFer and one of the reasons Randy Smith isn’t held in as low regard in these parts as he is elsewhere..)

Scott Sanders: I like this guy’s arm, but he’s simply got to make better pitches when men are in scoring position and when he’s behind in the count. If he can improve these areas, he’s got a shot to be a #2-level starter. (Sanders was always a favorite of mine, and I hated it when he was traded to Seattle for Hitchcock. Sanders showed steady improvement with the Padres (4.78 ERA in 1994, 4.30 in 1995, 3.38 in 1996) before heading to the Mariners, where his career effectively ended. Last pitched in the big leagues with the Cubs in 1999. Still kicking around, though, compiling a 7.90 ERA over 98 innings at Albuquerque last year.)

Fernando Valenzuela: Fernando is taking a tour of the worst of major league manglers. Tommy Lasorda, Johnny Oates, and now Jim Fregosi? What’s next? Is Roger Craig going to come out of retirement?… Now a Padre, which is geographically apt, at least. What will rookie skipper Bruce Bochy do to him? (Bochy had Fernando split time in the rotation and out of the ‘pen. Finished with a 4.98 ERA in 90 1/3 innings, compiling an 8-3 record in the process. Valenzuela won 13 more games for the Pads in 1996 before falling apart the following season and calling it a career. Final numbers aren’t that far from those of Benes.)

Woody Williams: Pitched pretty darn well last season, and probably has got the right-handed setup job locked up for awhile. Has to watch out for the gopher ball, as he’s a pronounced flyball pitcher (0.59 G/F). (Williams is a large part of the reason I’m withholding judgment on the acquisition of Darrell May this off-season. When Kevin Towers acquired Williams following the 1998 season for Joey Hamilton, I thought Towers was out of his mind. Hamilton had enormous promise, while Williams looked like a generic #4 starter at best. Williams is 75-50 since the trade and hasn’t had a losing season in six. He’s still going strong at age 37. Hamilton is 19-29 and looks to have thrown his last pitch in the big leagues at age 32.)

Tim Worrell: Todd’s younger brother, built along similar lines…. Was off to a promising start with the Padres last year when he went out after just three starts with an elbow injury that cost him the rest of the year. Has the stuff to be a solid starter if–if–he can get healthy. (Worrell never could get healthy as a starter. He worked just 13 1/3 innings in 1995, before enjoying success as a swingman the following year (121 IP, 3.05 ERA). Eventually became very effective as a full-time reliever, most notably for the Giants during 2001-2003.)

There are a couple other items of interest in the 1995 Big Bad Baseball Annual. We’ll check those out tomorrow.