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TopProspectAlert.com Minor League News & Autograph Blog HomeTop Prospect Alert - Jake Gautreau By Schuyler DombroskeDOB: 11/14/79, Age: 23, Height: 6’0’’,
Weight: 185, Bats: L, Throws: R. Acquired: Padres - Drafted in the 1st
Round of the 2001 Draft (Tulane). 2002 Stats: (High-A - Lake Elsinore)
.286 AVG, 371 AB, 20 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 2 SB, 42 BB, 86 K, .358 OBP, .426
SLG. 2003 Stats: (AA - Mobile) .256 AVG, 207 AB, 8 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 1 SB,
30 BB, 59 K, .356 OBP, .396 SLG.
Jake Gautreau is one of
the young sluggers that the Padres have moved around the infield in hopes
of having a potent offensive lineup by 2005. Gautreau is one of the few
players that I will cut some slack (temporarily) on their actual
statistics, as he is dealing with a strength-sapping condition called
ulcerative colitis. I won’t speculate on how this will affect his progress
except to say that a friend of mine that suffers from the same condition
says that once diagnosed, the condition should be able to be dealt with in
a somewhat reasonable fashion. Gautreau has a smooth, line-drive stroke
from the left side of the plate. Some players just look like hitters, and
Gautreau is one of them. He hasn’t hit for a tremendous average since his
illness was discovered, but he has the capability, as evidenced by his
.309 average at Eugene in 2001 and his .292 average in his first 73 games
last season. He hasn’t shown a lot of home run power just yet either, but
with the amount of doubles he is hitting (47 in 756 AB), he projects to
have more than just double-digit HR power in the majors. One of Gautreau’s
best attributes is his plate discipline. He has 94 walks already in his
professional career, and has actually reduced his BB/AB ratio from 1:9
last year to 1:7 this season. Once his full strength returns, his
combination of patience and hand-eye coordination should result in a
second baseman that is far above average offensively. On the bases,
Gautreau is not a speedster, but he has enough mobility for the Padres to
move him around the infield, so he won’t be a base-clogger. As long as no
one expects him to steal 10-15 bases a year, he will be fine. On defense,
well, he is going to have to improve to become an average second baseman,
but he is not horrible. His arm is better suited for second than third,
and his quickness is adequate for the position, but not great. If his
offense improves as expected, his defense will be good enough to complete
the total package.
The Padres’ system has
lost a bit of its luster the past year or so with the subpar performance
of Sean Burroughs and the various pitching flameouts (Tankersley being the
prominent example), but there are still plenty of quality prospects in the
system, and Gautreau is one of them. With Nady, Burroughs, Peavy, Eaton,
and Perez already up to go with Klesko, Nevin, and Kotsay (and with
Greene, Bozied, Howard, Gautreau, and Barfield en route), the Padres still
look to be in better shape for the future than many teams in the NL.
Gautreau does have to fend off Barfield from behind, but he is probably
more likely than Josh to stay at second if they both progress as expected.
Gautreau’s best comp is probably the player that the Padres like to
compare him to the most, Jeff Kent, although it will take similar dramatic
improvements for him to get to that level of play. I would expect Gautreau
will play out this season at AA, and should probably get a crack at AAA
next year before the Pads think about bringing him up to San Diego. He is
still on track to be their starting 2B in 2005.
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