Excellent chat with Kevin Goldstein yesterday to follow up on his Top 10 list. I strongly encourage you to read the transcript if you haven’t already, but here are a few highlights:

• Likes Paul McAnulty’s bat but questions his glove. Also notes his ranking at #10 is an indictment of the Padres system.
• Mentions that some in Pads’ front office see Freddy Guzman’s upside as Juan Pierre and think that Guzman is their best prospect. [Ed note: He draws more walks than Pierre, and I see him as more of a cross between Pierre and Quilvio Veras. That's his best case, and it's not an impact player. Sorry, it just isn't.]
• Sees Josh Barfield’s 2003 season as more representative of his abilities than last year’s showing: “His batting average was really the only dip in the road last year — he made progress in many other aspects of his game — most importantly power and defense.” [Of course, Ducksnorts readers already knew that. ] Calls him a “legitimate .270-.290 hitter with 20+ home run power.” Included Barfield in his personal top 50 prospects.
• Mentions J.J. Furmaniak as a possible future utility guy at the big-league level.
• Likes Tagg Bozied’s power and indicates that his fast start last year was due to a change in approach at the plate, resulting in better bat speed. Also notes that he, Jon Knott, and Xavier Nady pretty much have no place to go in the San Diego organization. [Must resist urge to bring up contracts of Ryan Klesko and Phil Nevin.]
• Mentions pitcher Ben Kroschell as one to watch. Also Jared Wells, whose numbers have yet to match his stuff.
• Defends the pick of Matt Bush, whom he envisions as a “very good defensive shortstop who hits 6th or 7th in the lineup.” Says his arm is a “true 75-80.”
• Nobody seems too excited about Tim Stauffer: “Fantastic control and a deep arsenal project him as a starter, but he’s not a blow them away guy than makes one think of him as a one or a two.” [I'm thinking Brian Lawrence with more oomph and less movement on his fastball.]
• On Brad Baker: “I don’t see Baker as a closer, and that might just be because i see closers as fireballers.” [Fortunately, the Padres don't seem to share this sentiment; see Hoffman, Trevor.]
• Notes that the Padres “seem to get more talent from non-traditional areas than most.”
• David Pauley would have been in the 11-15 range if he hadn’t been given away to the Red Sox. [Given the paucity of talent in the system, this comes as a shock to me; I'd have guessed around 6-10. Maybe Kevin Towers saw something in Pauley that gave him pause?]
• Calls U2 “utter frauds.” [They're not for everyone, but "frauds"? I'm no great fan myself, but those cats can flat-out play.]
• USD alum Greg Sain doesn’t make the top 30.
• On Travis Chick: “I have no clue what the Marlins were thinking, and from everyone I talked to, neither does anyone else. I think Chick is an outstanding prospects and some compare his total package to that of Curt Schilling, which is high praise indeed, but also far too much to expect at this point from a 20-year-old with about 1/2 of a great season.” [Did beer come shooting out of your nose, too? Schilling. Oh my. Keep an eye on him.]
• Mentions OF Ben Johnson and LHP Fabian Jimenez as sleepers.

That’s the quick and dirty. Seriously, go read the whole thing over at BA. Good stuff…