The Padres lost on Sunday, and I have surprisingly little to say about it. They didn’t really do anything wrong other than run into Jason Hirsh, who is pitching very well right now. I liked what I saw from Greg Maddux. Again.
Actually, I like what I’m seeing from a lot of the new guys: Marcus Giles has a bizarre approach to batting leadoff, but it seems to be working so why fight it? Jose Cruz Jr. is playing well on offense and defense; he looks like a solid fourth outfielder to me. Heath Bell? Kevin Cameron? Yes, please.
About the only newcomer that hasn’t contributed yet is Kevin Kouzmanoff. There’s a huge disconnect between the way he’s swinging the bat right now and his minor-league track record. He simply cannot continue to hit like this all season long. Yeah, .133/.220/.222 is pretty brutal, but it’s way too early to panic or even think about giving up on him. Seriously, remember this guy:
| PA | BA | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thru 6/11 | 108 | .198 | .262 | .427 |
| 6/12 onward | 333 | .293 | .381 | .561 |
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference. | ||||
Nevin was 28 at the time, Kouzmanoff is 25 now. Obviously, every case is different; the point is, we don’t yet have enough information to make a solid judgment regarding his ability.
The best we can say is that Kouzmanoff is struggling at the plate in a big way and needs to make an adjustment. Hopefully Merv Rettenmund can help him figure out how to recognize breaking pitches.
Meanwhile, the kid is playing better-than-advertised defense, and Russell Branyan is doing a nice job in limited opportunities. The situation will work itself out one way or another over time.
by Peter Friberg
You will not see all the notable performances from the night before, but you will see the notable performances from those who are actually prospects.
Friday, April 20, 2007
AAA
Luke Carlin: 3 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; 2 2B, 2 BB
AA
Chase Headley: 3 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 3B, BB
Cesar Ramos: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR
High-A
Kyle Blanks: 5 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 4 SO
Wade LeBlanc: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Low-A
Tom King: 7 AB, 2 R, 3 H, RBI; 3 2B
Cedric Hunter: 3 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 2B, 3 BB
Nathaniel Culp: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
The Beavers scored 17 in a route of Oakland’s Triple-A team, Sacramento. The Beavers have exactly ZERO real hitting prospects, but Carlin will probably be at least an MLB backup.
Ramos is intriguing. This is his second straight solid strikeout performance.
I don’t really believe in King as a prospect (I left him off my top 25 and BA left him off their top 30). But that’s one heck of a game. I could write the same thing for Culp.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
AAA
Mike Thompson: 2.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR
AA
Will Venable: 5 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; SO
Chase Headley: 3 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; BB
Joshua Geer: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; BB
Nic Crosta: 5 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 4 RBI; 2 HR
Chad Huffman: 5 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 2 RBI; HR
Yordany Ramirez: 5 AB, 1 R, 4 H, 1 RBI; 2B
Manny Ayala: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR
Low-A
Cedric Hunter: 3 AB, 2 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; BB, SB
Kyler Burke: 3 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 3B
Aaron Breit: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR – nice bounce-back start
Ernesto Frieri: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
Thompson didn’t react well to being demoted.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
AAA
Jared Wells: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR
AA
Chase Headley: 3 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; HR, 2 BB
Tim Brown: 5 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 3 RBI; 2 HR
High-A
Matt Antonelli: 6 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 1 RBI; HR, BB, 2 SO
David Freese: 6 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 1 RBI; 2 SO
Nic Crosta: 6 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 3 RBI; HR
Matt Bush: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 4 RBI; 2B, HR, SO
Matthew Buschmann: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR
Low-A
Jeremy Hunt: 5 AB, 1 R, 4 H, 1 RBI; HR
Andrew Underwood: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR
Commentary:
It’s nice to see Lake Elsinore go off for 15 runs, but I have to believe the wind was blowing out there in the High Desert… [Ed note: High Desert ranks among the most extreme hitters' environments in baseball.]
I don’t really consider Hunt to be a prospect, but you can’t help but love a 4-for-5, two-homer performance.
I was looking at organizational depth charts today (Sunday) and this organization has serious holes at shortstop and could use more upper-tier pitching.
There you have it. No game today; feel free to take the discussion wherever it needs to go…