Tag Archives: James Darnell

2012 San Diego Padres Top 15 Prospect Rankings

By: J.P. Schwartz
@Jaypers413 on Twitter
JP’s FreedomCardboard Blog

2012 San Diego Padres Top 15 Prospect Rankings

Every year at this time I like to rank each team’s top prospects. My criteria is based upon both past performance and future potential to his parent team. This is my ranking of the 2012 San Diego Padres Top Prospects. If you have any questions about my rankings, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify, a prospect must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings in MLB

#1 Yonder Alonso 1B
Born: 4/8/1987
Highest Level Reached: MLB Cincinnati Reds (Traded From Reds)
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: .296, 24(2B), 4(3B), 12HR, 56RBI
MAJORS: .330, 4(2B), 5HR, 15RBI (29 hits in 88 at-bats)

#2 Keyvius Sampson RHP
Born: 1/6/1991
Highest Level Reached: Low-A Fort Wayne Tin Caps
2011 Combined Stats: 12-3, 2.90ERA, 118IP, 49BB, 143K, .192BAA

#3 Cory Spangenberg 2B
Born: 3/16/1991
Highest Level Reached: Low-A Fort Wayne Tin Caps
2011 Combined Stats: .316, 17(2B), 1(3B), 3HR, 44RBI, 25SB (1st Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#4 Casey Kelly RHP
Born: 10/4/1989
Highest Level Reached: Double-A San Antonio Missions
2011 Combined Stats: 11-6, 3.98ERA, 142.1IP, 46BB, 105K, .278BAA

#5 Rymer Liriano OF
Born: 6/20/1991
Highest Level Reached: Low-A Fort Wayne Tin Caps
2011 Combined Stats: .298, 31(2B), 9(3B), 12HR, 68RBI, 66SB

#6 Yasmani Grandal C
Born: 11/8/1988
Highest Level Reached: Triple-A Louisville Bats (Traded From Reds)
2011 Combined Stats: .305, 31(2B), 14HR, 68RBI

#7 Robbie Erlin LHP
Born: 10/8/1990
Highest Level Reached: Double-A San Antonio Missions
2011 Combined Stats: 9-4, 2.99ERA, 147.1IP, 16BB, 154K, .227BAA

#8 Austin Hedges C
Born: 8/18/1992
Highest Level Reached: Short-A Eugene Emeralds
2011 Combined Stats: .231 (6 hits in 26 at-bats), 1(2B), 1HR, 4RBI (2nd Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#9 Jedd Gyorko 3B
Born: 9/23/1988
Highest Level Reached: Double-A San Antonio Missions
2011 Combined Stats: .333, 47(2B), 2(3B), 25HR, 114RBI, 12SB

#10 Joe Wieland RHP
Born: 1/21/1990
Highest Level Reached: Double-A San Antonio Missions
2011 Combined Stats: 13-4, 1.97ERA, 155.2IP, 21BB, 150K, .234BAA

#11 Joe Ross RHP
Born: 5/21/1993
Highest Level Reached: Rookie League AZL Padres
2011 Combined Stats: 0-0, 0.00ERA, 1IP, 0BB, 0K (1st Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#12 Bradley Boxberger RHP
Born: 5/27/1988
Highest Level Reached: Triple-A Louisville Bats (Traded From Reds)
2011 Combined Stats: 2-4, 2.03ERA, 11 Saves, 62IP, 28BB, 93K, .152BAA

#13 James Darnell 3B
Born: 1/19/1987
Highest Level Reached: MLB San Diego Padres
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: .310, 29(2B), 1(3B), 23HR, 79RBI
MAJORS: .222 (10 hits in 45 at-bats), 2(2B), 1HR, 7RBI

#14 Jaff Decker OF
Born: 2/23/1990
Highest Level Reached: Double-A San Antonio Missions
2011 Combined Stats: .236, 29(2B), 2(3B), 19HR, 92RBI, 15SB

#15 Reymond Fuentes OF
Born: 2/12/1991
Highest Level Reached: High-A Lake Elsinore Storm
2011 Combined Stats: .275, 15(2B), 9(3B), 5HR, 45RBI, 41SB

Disclaimer – I did not attend any minor league games this year, nor do I claim to have any scouting experience. These lists are the product of my own research of statistics and online scouting reports.

2011 San Diego Padres Top 15 Prospects Post Season Report Card

With the 2011 minor league season complete we check in on the progress of each of the San Diego Padres preseason Top 15 prospects as ranked by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. The post season grading report was done by the publisher of Top Prospect Alert, not Mr. Schwartz, and reflects only the 2011 season and not future upside or downside of the individual prospect. Our 2012 preseason rankings will be published in the coming months.

#1 Casey Kelly GRADE: B-
Kelly went 11-6 with a 3.98ERA for the Double-A San Antonio Missions. He walked 46 and struck out 105 in 142.1 innings. Opposing batters hit .278 off Kelly on the season.

#2 Simon Castro GRADE: C
Castro went a combined 7-8 with a 5.63ERA between Double-A San Antonio and the Triple-A Tucson Padres. He walked 34 and struck out 94 batters in 115 innings. Opposing batters hit .286 off Castro.

#3 Anthony Rizzo GRADE: A-
Rizzo batted .141 with 8 Doubles, 1 Triple, 1 Home Run and 9 RBI’s for the big league Padres. He walked 21 times and struck out 46 times in 49 games. Rizzo was a monster at Triple-A Tucson batting .331 with 34 Doubles, 1 Triple, 26 Home Runs and 101 RBI’s in just 93 games.

#4 Cory Luebke GRADE: A
Luebke went 6-10 with a 3.29ERA for San Diego. He walked 44 and struck out 154 in 139.2 big league innings. Major league hitters batted just .209 against Luebke.

#5 Donavan Tate GRADE: C
Tate batted a combined .288 with 10 Doubles, 4 Triples and 22 RBI’s between the Short-A Eugene Emeralds and Low-A Fort Wayne Tin Caps. He also stole 19 bases. Tate played in just 39 games due to injury and a 50 game suspension for a second failure of a drug test. If he can ever stay healthy and away from issues, he showed glimpses of what he could be.

#6 Rey Fuentes GRADE: B
Fuentes batted .275 with 15 Doubles, 9 Triples, 5 Home Runs, and 45 RBI’s for the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm. He also stole 41 bases. Fuentes walked 44 times and struck out 117 times in 124 games.

#7 Jedd Gyorko GRADE: A+
Gyorko batted a combined .333 with 47 Doubles, 2 Triples, 25 Home Runs and 114 RBI’s between High-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. He also had 12 stolen bases on the season. Gyorko walked 64 times and struck out 114 times in 140 games.

#8 Jaff Decker GRADE: B
Decker batted .236 with 29 Doubles, 2 Triples, 19 Home Runs and 92 RBI’s for Double-A San Antonio. He also stole 13 bases. Decker walked 103 times and struck out 145 times in 133 games.

#9 Edinson Rincon GRADE: A-
Rincon batted .329 with 24 Doubles, 1 Triple, 8 Home Runs and 50 RBI’s for High-A Lake Elsinore. He walked 32 times and struck out 59 times in 74 games.

#10 Matt Lollis GRADE: C
Lollis went 4-8 with a 5.35ERA for High-A Lake Elsinore. He walked 45 and struck out 114 in 119.1 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .285 against Lollis on the season.

#11 James Darnell GRADE: A
Darnell batted a combined .310 with 29 Doubles, 1 Triple, 23 Home Runs and 79 RBI’s between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Tucson. He walked 68 times and struck out 78 times in 111 games. In the big leagues with the Padres, Darnell batted .222 with 2 Doubles, 1 Home Run and 7 RBI’s in 18 games.

#12 Everett Williams NO GRADE
Williams tore his ACL 6 games into the season at Low-A Fort Wayne and missed the remainder of the 2011 season.

#13 Zach Cates GRADE: C+
Cates went 4-10 with a 4.73ERA for Low-A Fort Wayne. He walked 53 batters and struck out 111 in 118 innings. Opposing batters hit .244 of Cates on the year.

#14 Juan Oramas GRADE: B+
Oramas went a combined 10-6 with a 3.49ERA between Double-A San Antonio and one start at Triple-A Tucson. He walked 29 and struck out 106 in 108.2 innings. Opposing batters hit .255 against Oramas on the season.

#15 Drew Cumberland RETIRED
Cumberland retired due to complications from concussions and a rare inner ear disease. You can Follow This Link to learn more about Cumberland’s condition.

James Darnell To Make His Major League Debut With The San Diego Padres Monday

The San Diego Padres have called up top third base prospect James Darnell after Chase Headley was placed on the 15 day DL with a fractured finger. The 24 year old was a second round pick of the Padres in the 2008 draft out of the University of South Carolina. 2011 has been a breakout season for Darnell. He started the year with the Double-A San Antonio Missions where he hit .333 with 25 Doubles, 17 Home Runs, and 62 RBI’s in 76 games. Since being promoted to Tucson, Darnell has hit .272 with 4 Doubles, 6 Home Runs, and 13 RBI’s. Darnell hit over .300 in each of his four seasons in the minors with the exception of 2010 when he hit .271 during an injury plagued season. Look for Darnell to get a number of at-bats for the foreseeable future.

Friday’s Notable Minor League Home Runs

AAA:

Bryan LaHair Chicago Cubs – Home Run #26

Ryan Lavarnway Boston Red Sox – Home Run #8

Brandon Moss Philadelphia Phillies – Home Run #16 & #17

Chris Davis Texas Rangers – Home Run #21

James Darnell San Diego Padres – Home Run #4

Ryan Flaherty Chicago Cubs – Home Run #1

Jai Miller Oakland Athletics – Home Run #22

Mike Carp Seattle Mariners – Home Run #21

Alex Liddi Seattle Mariners – Home Run #18 & #19

AA:

Paul Goldschmidt Arizona Diamondbacks – Home Run #27

Johermyn Chavez Seattle Mariners – Home Run #11

J.D. Martinez Houston Astros – Home Run #10

Wes Hodges San Francisco Giants – Home Run #4 & #5

Bill Rhinehart Washington Nationals – Home Run #20

Zack Cox St Louis Cardinals – Home Run #3

Blake Tekotte San Diego Padres – Home Run #15

Wilin Rosario Colorado Rockies – Home Run #13 & #14

Brandon Short Chicago White Sox – Home Run #11

High-A:

Kyle Jensen Florida Marlins – Home Run #19

Aaron Hicks Minnesota Twins – Home Run #4

Robbie Grossman Pittsburgh Pirates – Home Run #6

Francisco Soriano Washington Nationals – Home Run #3 & #4

Low-A:

Marcell Ozuna Florida Marlins – Home Run #13

Jake Marisnick Toronto Blue Jays – Home Run #9