While we’re all anxiously awaiting the official signing of Yorvit Torrealba, here’s something that caught my eye: Gaslamp Ball informs us that Tony Gwynn’s daughter recently got married to former Padres farmhand Kennard Jones. That got me to wondering what I’d said about Jones back in the day.

The Padres selected Jones out of the University of Indiana in the third round of the 2002 draft. That’s the year they ended up with Khalil Greene, Paul McAnulty, George Kottaras, and a whole lotta nothing (wouldn’t it have been nice to sign 21st round pick Andy LaRoche?).

In December 2003, Baseball America ranked Jones as the #8 prospect in the Padres system. My comment at the time:

Jones is [Freddy] Guzman without the base-stealing technique or infield experience. His upside is Juan Pierre. How many guys with Pierre’s skill set have regular gigs in the bigs nowadays?

Well, I can think of at least one guy who doesn’t (although a GLB commenter has a suggested remedy: “I’m surprised Kennard didn’t change his last name to Gwynn. Automatic spot on a 40 man roster.”). Anyway, enough about Jones; a few items from a Jim Callis chat mentioned at the end of that post are worth rehashing:

• In discussing the 2004 draft and what the Padres might do with the first pick overall, Callis mentioned Jeff Niemann, Wade Townsend, Jered Weaver, and Jeremy Sowers as possibilities, noting also that “Local high school product Matt Bush, a SS/RHP, might be pretty tempting as well.” Not that this absolves anyone of anything, but it’s good to remember that Bush was well regarded before he turned into a steaming pile of crap.
• Callis also envisioned Josh Barfield hitting for a .300-plus average, with 40 doubles, 25 homers, and 110 RBIs in his prime, comparing him favorably to Nomar Garciaparra. Hey, I adored Barfield. I thought he’d be another Orlando Hudson. So much for that.
• And Callis on Greene: “I’m not sure he’ll hit much this year, maybe around .250 with 8-10 homers, but can see him becoming a .275 hitter with 12-15 homers and 30-plus doubles in time.” For the record, Greene hit .273 with 15 homers and 31 doubles in 2004.

Whatever. I’m ready to talk about actual baseball. When do the games start?

Tagged as: failed prospects, freddy guzman, george kottaras, jeff niemann, jered weaver, jeremy sowers, jim callis, josh barfield, juan pierre, kennard jones, khalil greene, matt-bush, nomar garciaparra, orlando hudson, paul mcanulty, wade townsend