Lots to cover here. First, how about Brian Lawrence. No, he doesn’t blow the ball by people, but he doesn’t give up many hits or walks either, and he induces an obscene number of ground balls: 48 ground outs to 16 fly outs so far this season, following a tidy 2.42 G/F ratio in his rookie campaign.

It was good to see the Padres win Saturday night, but what’s up with people cheering when Kevin Brown injured himself? That’s just embarrassing. Yeah, he said some things that made him look like a hypocrite when he left San Diego, but we knew he wasn’t going to sign here — that’s why Kevin Towers was able to pick him up for so little — and the guy took the Pads to only their second World Series. I was as upset as anyone to see him leave, but it’s not like it was a huge surprise to see him take more money elsewhere and he did a lot for this ballclub while he was here. Just embarrassing.

On to my initial impressions of some of the 2002 Storm players…

Marcus Nettles

I rated Nettles as the Padres #27 prospect coming into the season. From the strikeout totals he’s tallied as a pro, I didn’t expect his swing to be as short as it is. He has zero power and basically slaps at the ball, hoping it finds a hole somewhere. If he does get on base, he has the potential to be dangerous. Think Tom Goodwin.

Jason Bartlett

Bartlett, rated #16 in my preseason rankings, didn’t show much at the plate or in the field on Opening Day (although he did hit the ball well on Saturday at Qualcomm). His swing looks a tad long to me for a guy without much power. At shortstop he has decent range but an erratic arm. Bartlett is relatively new to the shortstop position, and I figured he’d start the season at Ft. Wayne, so I’ll cut him considerable slack. He looked a lot better on Saturday than on Thursday. This is why you need to see a guy play several times before making a solid judgment on him.

Xavier Nady

Nady, ranked #4 on my list of Padres’ prospects, homered to right-center in his first home at-bat in 2002. Best swing I’ve seen him take. He then walked in his next two trips to the plate. Nady still reminds me a little of Edgar Martinez at the plate. As soon as his elbow is healthy, he’ll be competing for a big-league job.

Taggert Bozied

Bozied (pronounced Bo-ZAYD) checked in at #14 on my list. Having seen him a couple of times now, I’m convinced that was too low. Like Nady, he drives the ball to all fields and has a good idea of the strike zone. Bozied moves well around the bag at first but it’s his bat that will get him to the Show. And judging from the early returns, it will get him there pretty quickly.

Bozied showed more life in his lower body than I’d remembered from the one time I saw him at USF. He walked and stole second in his first trip to the plate on Opening Day. Homered to left-center his next at-bat, then just got under a pitch in the fifth that was hit at least as hard as the home run. Laced a single to right in his final at-bat and advanced to second on a wild pitch, thanks in part to a great jump. Runs better than I’d expected and shows good instincts on the basepaths, though I wouldn’t mind seeing him abandon the headfirst slide.

Jake Gautreau

Gautreau, ranked #7 on my list, looks very comfortable at second base. On Opening Day he made a couple of routine plays in the first two innings, then wasn’t tested again until the seventh, when he made two nice plays. First he barehanded a slow roller and made a strong throw to first. Then he ranged to his right and made a diving stop on a grounder hit back up the the middle. He wasn’t able to make a throw but he did keep the ball on the infield. Gautreau also looked good on an around-the-horn double play in the eighth. Received the ball, turned, threw, got out of the way. It may not have been beautiful but it was effective.

At the plate, Gautreau has looked a bit overanxious. On Opening Day he struck out all three times he faced southpaw Derrick Van Dusen (Mariners’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America and owner of a pretty nifty slider) and wasn’t particularly close to making contact in any of the at-bats. In the two games I’ve seen him in, he appeared to be opening up a little too early. The one time I saw Gautreau hit the ball hard was on Saturday at the Q. He drove a ball to the gap in right-center off a lefty for a double. On that pitch, his hips opened early but he kept his hands back and hit the ball with authority.

Jason Wiedmeyer

Wiedmeyer, ranked #28 on my list, showed an 84-86 MPH fastball and decent secondary pitches. He’s a finesse lefty who will live and die by his command. Think Scott Schoeneweis or John Halama. Showed good poise pitching at Qualcomm.

Closing Thoughts

Again, these are only initial impressions I’ve gotten from watching a couple games early. For another perspective on the Storm’s talent, read what Bruce Bochy has to say (North County Times).

Before I go, I just wanted to mention one kid on the San Bernardino squad who caught my eye. Right-hander Clint Nageotte (ranked #5 by BA among Mariners’ prospects) looked real sharp at the Q on Saturday. Nageotte was dealing, fanning nine against just one walk and two hits in five innings. His fastball was running 90-93 MPH, and he featured a sharp-breaking slider. Good command. He reminds me a little of the Padres’ Jake Peavy. Someone to keep an eye on.