Doing some research for an article, flipping through Baseball America’s 1989 Almanac. The book doesn’t list top prospects by team, but it does list them by league. Here are some familiar (and not-so-familiar) names for you:
Triple-A
- Gary Sheffield, 3B, Denver (Brewers): American Association #2 (behind Mike Harkey, ahead of Randy Johnson).
- Steve Finley, OF, Rochester (Orioles): International League #4 (behind Dave West, ahead of Greg Jefferies).
- Sandy Alomar Jr., C, Las Vegas (Padres): Pacific Coast League #1 (ahead of Ramon Martinez). Alomar also was BA‘s Triple-A player of the year.
- Greg Harris, RHP, Las Vegas (Padres): Pacific Coast League #6 (behind William Brennan, ahead of Mike Devereaux).
- Jerald Clark, OF, Las Vegas (Padres): Pacific Coast League #8 (behind Devereaux, ahead of Lance Johnson and Matt Williams).
Double-A
- Tom Lampkin, C, Williamsport (Indians): Eastern League #7 (behind Chuck Malone, ahead of Joe Girardi).
- Chris Hammond, LHP, Chattanooga (Reds): Southern League #7 (behind Mark Lemke, ahead of German Gonzalez).
- Gary Sheffield, 3B, El Paso (Brewers): Texas League #2 (behind Ramon Martinez, ahead of Todd Zeile). Sheffield also was BA‘s Double-A player of the year.
- Greg Vaughn, OF, El Paso (Brewers): Texas League #5 (behind Juan Bell, ahead of Kevin Brown).
- Kevin Brown, RHP, Tulsa (Rangers): Texas League #6 (behind Vaughn, ahead of Mike Munoz).
Class-A
- Paul Faries, 2B, Riverside (Padres): California League #4 (behind Colin Charland, ahead of Mark Leonard). Faries also was league MVP, ahead of some guy named Griffey.
- Dave Hollins, 3B, Riverside (Padres): California League #9 (behind Eric Gunderson, ahead of Adam Brown).
- Ray Lankford, OF, Springfield (Cardinals): Midwest League #6 (behind Andres Santana, ahead of Jarvis Brown).
- Jarvis Brown, OF, Kenosh (Twins) Midwest League #7 (behind Lankford, ahead of Reggie Jefferson)
- Derek Bell, OF, Myrtle Beach (Blue Jays): South Atlantic League #1 (ahead of Moises Alou).
- Jose Valentin, SS, Charleston, S.C. (Padres): South Atlantic League #9 (behind Wilson Alvarez, ahead of Brian Lane).
Short-Season/Rookie
- Woody Williams, RHP, St. Catharines (Blue Jays): New York-Penn League #5 (behind Luis Gonzalez, ahead of David Proctor).
- Luis Lopez, SS, Spokane (Padres): Northwest League #4 (behind Victor Cole, ahead of Bob Hamelin). Nothing to do with the Padres, but Cole is one of a select few born in Russia ever to play in the big leagues.
- Kelly Lifgren, RHP, Spokane (Padres): Northwest League #9 (behind Lee Hancock, ahead of Lee Tinsley). Not to be confused with Kerry Livgren.
- Melvin Nieves, OF, GCL Braves (Braves): Rookie League #10 (behind Angel Martinez). This was the inaugural season of the Arizona League, which fielded only four teams (including one shared by the Mariners and Red Sox), so BA combined prospects from it and the Gulf Coast League into one list.
Also, Andy Benes was named College Pitcher of the Year. San Diego selected him with the first pick overall in the ’88 draft. Other Padres draftees from that class to reach the big leagues include Ray Holbert (3rd round), Bryce Florie (5th round; part of the July 1996 deal that brought Vaughn to San Diego), Nikco Riesgo (8th round), A.J. Sager (10th round), and Mike Humphreys (15th round).
Speaking of minor leaguers, Drew Macias cleared waivers and was sent outright to Portland.
1: That’s good to hear. I’m glad we didn’t lose him.
A couple UT articles today for our perusal. Guevara hurt his leg and the most the Padres offered KG was 4 years/29 million. It’s looking more like 4/36 to 4/40 will be what it takes. http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20080220-9999-1s20padnotes.html
Chase is doing all he can to get ready for LF. Oh, and a Sean Burroughs reference! Yay! http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20080220-9999-1s20padres.html
Seriously though, how nice is it to have good third-base candidates in the system?
One other note about Alomar that year: His backup was Bruce Bochy, and one of his pitchers was Kevin Towers.
Phantom…I think your numbers are low. I bet that he gets 4/$44 or more as a FA. Think Tejada’s contract.
4: You’re assuming that he’ll go FA with those numbers. To stay with the Padres, I believe he signs for the range I suggested.
In the past three days, he has unequivocally said a couple things:
- “Ideally, I could stay here for the rest my career as a major league baseball player.â€
- “There is nowhere else I’d really rather play than San Diegoâ€
- “I don’t think you really look forward to arbitration . . . I think I’m definitely anti-confrontation.â€
- “It’s the best in the league, by far,â€
Given all of his comments (and I’ll probably get flamed for even analyzing them this much, but whatevs), it certainly appears that means to stay a Padre. I think his comments about arbitration could logically be extrapolated to include FA, though the FA is somewhat less adversarial.
I know people might think that he’s just being patronizing with his comments about staying here and the field, but PETCO’s pristine reputation for fielding has been a draw for at least a couple people now (Edmonds and Iguchi).
So, I think if he stays with the Padres, he’ll go for an Edgar Renteria-type (4/40) deal or lower. He knows that PETCO kills his offense, so I think he’ll be reasonable. I think a lot of this also hinges on how he performs this year.
I guess I don’t put to much value on his quotes…most guys will say that about where they are playing. Carlos Beltran said that about KC just before he was traded, Giambi had quotes like that before he left Oakland, Carlos Lee said the same thing before he left Wisconson (easier to spell).
I guess I am just saying that while I appreciate his comments, they don’t really hold much weight in baseball parlance.
And since we are on the topic, I will say that if he stays longer, bully for the Padres. There are not any other good options available and if we can keep him around at a reasonable number, than we can feel comfortable with that. I guess the big question will be how much is reasonable…if he is looking for $10mm or more, I don’t see that as being a wise investment on a guy that has an OBP below .300.
1 … I think Macias’ clearning waivers is lose-lose … if he is not good enough to be claimed by any other team, then doesn’t that mean he’s not good? I understand he’s potentially a “good fit” for the Padres, a team that’s very likely to have a need for CF-er during the 2008 season … I just don’t see how this sequence of event (Padres deciding to DFA him, no other teams claiming him) is anything but an indication that he’s not likely to be able to fill the void …
6: If two years from now there’s no good option besides paying Greene 9-10 million a year for 4 years, that’s a lack of diligence by the Padres. He might still end up as the best option, but if the team finds itself backed into a corner it’ll be their own fault.
4/36 for Greene, if he stays the same player, doesn’t seem wise.
7: Agree on what it says about his valuation. A no-power CF with unspectacular on-base skills isn’t too attractive.
The Padres may have timed it so that most teams already have full 40 man rosters and couldn’t claim him, but the Padres didn’t seem too concerned about it.
The waivers thing can be played and rigged to “slip” guys through…maybe the timing worked out perfectly, like Tom said.
A thought on comps…do you think Aaron Rowand’s 5/$60 is a comp for KG? I know, different positions and all, but his offensive numbers and defensive reputations are similar.
Re: 8 – I completely agree with you. I hope that we can find a replacement over the next 12-24 months b/c commiting salary north of $10mm p/y for KG just does not seem to be the best use of our resources.
8: If KG replicates his numbers from 07 over the next few years, do you think 4/36 is still too much? The problem is that there haven’t been many SS that have reached FA lately, because they are either locked up, or done. SS seem to have longevity problems, moreso than many other positions in the game.
I posted like a week or two ago some analysis of recent SS deals, as well as their average OPS+ from 04 – 07. Renteria signed a 4/40 in 06, and KG has posted a better OPS+ than him from 04 to 07.
10: I would be pretty surprised if Rowand’s deal serves as the benchmark for anyone. He came off a career year in the most hitter-friendly park in baseball and signed for way too long. I guess it could happen, but I’d be surprised.
My biggest concern about Khalil is that at the end of 2009, he might just decide that he’s done with baseball. I definitely agree that the organization needs to figure out a way to address SS for the future. Cumberland seems to be our best option (who is likely three years away), and it seems that there are concerns about his ability to stay there.
Using my estimation of Greene’s value, Tango’s salary scale, and discouting for his arb. years, I think something like 4 yrs, 32-38m is “fair.” … of course this is off-the-cuff and leaves a lot of things out.
11: Renteria was down in 04 and 05 but his peak years dwarf anything KG has done to this point. He signed his deal in December 04, but your point still stands, he was coming off an 88 OPS+. The two years before that he’d gone 113 and 130, though.
It’s not at all that 9-10M wouldn’t be fair. It seems eminently fair if he’s still a 100 OPS shortstop with good defense. Unless the budget expands, the Padres can’t afford to be fair to very many players.
14: That’s indeed a great point. What’s the biggest positional priority for the team going forward?
Along these lines, I think it’s going to be really interesting to see what happens with Kyle Blanks and Adrian. Adrian might well price himself out of the Padres’ payroll, and Blanks might be good enough that the Padres let Adrian walk.
1989 is one of my favorite Padre years (89-73) –they came from no where to give the Gints a run for their money.
I don’t see how Greene is going to stay here. Playing here just kills his perceived value. If he went somewhere else, people would be talking about him as one of the best shortstops in baseball. I can see how that would interest him, regardless of what he is saying now.
The problem with the Padres is that just haven’t developed any hitting talent in a long time. Greene hasn’t really improved at all since his rookie year (his power is better now but his OBP is way worse), Burroughs got worse, is there anybody else recently. Other then Tony Gwynn, I’d say the only others in the past 20 years are Bip Roberts and Roberto Alomar. Am I leaving anyone else out? I hope that Headley and Antonelli can break this trend.
17: I guess we can really only go off of what he has said and either take that with a grain of salt (a la CM), or trust it. I’m inclined to put some stock in what he’s saying, but everybody spins PR, so who knows?
I totally agree about our hitting prospects. I hope that Headley performs well this year (and by extension, makes the team). Antonelli seems to be the real deal as well.
Well it depends on what you mean by developed, Derrek Lee seems to be a good hitter just never reached SD…
Take a break, gents.
I’m LOL over this, best to get ready for ST:
http://tinyurl.com/2wymyy
#20
That was brilliant, thanks for the link.
8: I agree. There is really no reason that Padres should be in a position where KG is their only option in 2 years. 2 years is plenty of time to find someone to replace KG. At 10 m/yr he is not worth the chunk of our payroll his salary will demand especially if he OB skills do not improve. Even with his recent fluff comments I cant imagine KG wouldnt be happier playing in a home park that doesnt completely destroy his game.
Re#15. Great point about Adrian and Blanks.
The way Khalil hits in the day as well as on the road if I’m him I’m counting the days until I can call Wrigley home.
Here’s an interesting article about pitchers similarity scores derived from pitch types and ball motion. Kevin Cameron comes across as the most unique pitcher in baseball, and his most comparable pitcher is Mariano Rivera.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/pitcher-similarity-scores-part-ii/
25, I hope Josh is getting paid for that.
John Sickles did a “all questions answered” session recently … check out this one …
Top 5 or 10 prospects in 2009?
by Galt on Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 09:56:36 AM PDT
[new] 2009
Assuming that people aren’t promoted ahead of schedule, and NOT including potential 2008 draftees.
Hitters:
Wieters
Teagarden
Lars Anderson
Elvis Andrus
Triunfel
Pitchers:
Kershaw
Price
McGee
Tillman
Latos (sleeper to move forward)
… hmmm, I like it!
Heath Bell answered some questions at the NC Times yesterday and was hilariously honest in some of them. He wouldn’t want the team to acquire Bonds, but he says it would have one benefit for him: “But at least I wouldn’t throw strikes to him and have the umpire call it a ball.”
http://nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/19/sports/alerts/doc47bb0f37c3278513162184.txt