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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 2007 DRAFT UPDATE (Rounds 1 thru 10) by Jason Martinez posted 5/27/08 1 23 Nick Schmidt lhp Arkansas AR: Pitched 7 innings at Fort Wayne last season before being shut down with a sore throwing arm. He gave up five runs and eight hits, walked six and struck out six. After Tommy John surgery, he's been out of action since but is hoping to start pitching again before the season is over. Look for the 22 year-old lefty to start the '09 season in Lake Elsinore but could move fast if he can show that he is healthy. 1s 40 Kellen Kulbacki of James Madison VA: Started off slow at Eugene but came on strong during the second half of the season, batting .360 with 6 HR and 21 RBI over his last 28 games. He's off to another slow start this season, batting a combined .172 with 2 homers and 15 RBI's between Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore. 1s 46 Drew Cumberland ss Pace HS, Milton, Fla. FL: This toolsy 19 year-old has a .247 BA and 12 stolen bases in 41 games for Fort Wayne but he has also made 12 errors. There's still a chance he could end up at 2B or CF. 1s 57 Mitch Canham c Oregon State OR: The Padres were aggressive with Canham, starting him in Lake Elsinore, but he's handled it just fine. He's batting .294 with just 2 HR's but he sports a .436 OBP with 35 walks and 26 strikeouts. The 23 year-old switch-hitter is on track to make the big leagues by the end of the 2010. 1s 63 Cory Luebke lhp Ohio State OH: After a very impressive debut (5-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 58.2 IP, pitching on three different levels; struck out 61 batters with only 8 walks) the 23 year-old left-hander has struggled terribly in Lake Elsinore this season with a 6.27 ERA through his first 10 starts. The encouraging news is that his walk-to-strikeout ratio is still very good (14 BB, 41 K) but he's given up 63 hits and five homers in 47.1 innings. 1s 64 Danny Payne of Georgia Tech GA : Nice debut last season, when he posted a .444 OBP and 17 SB in 54 games with Eugene. He looks to be putting up similar numbers this season (.333 BA, .484 OBP, 7 BB, 5 K) at Fort Wayne but injuries have limited him to just 8 games played. 2 81 Eric Sogard 2b Arizona State AZ: Sogard made a name for himself after an amazing April for Lake Elsinore, in which his OBP was over .500. He hasn't shown any HR power thus far, although he has hit plenty of doubles and has walked 40 times in 49 games. There has been talk of a promotion to San Antonio, but the 22 year-old has come back down to earth in May so he might have to wait. 2 87 Brad Chalk of Clemson SC: With the lack of CF depth in the Padres' system, the 22 year-old Chalk has an opportunity to move up quickly. He's hitting just .254 for Fort Wayne but he has a very solid .362 OBP and is seven-for-seven in stolen base attempts. 3 117 Tommy Toledo rhp Alonso HS, Tampa FL: Did not sign; playing at the University of Florida 4 134 Corey Kluber rhp Stetson FL: This 22 year-old right-hander is takin his lumps in Lake Elsinore, as he has posted a 6.29 ERA through 10 starts. Like Luebke, he has good stuff but pitching in the Cal League can be tough on a young pitcher. He does have 45 strikeouts in 48.2 innings. 4 147 Lance Zawadzki ss Lee (Tenn.) TN: The 23 year-old switch-hitter is struggling at the plate in his first season at Fort Wayne. Through 40 games, Zawadzki, who has split his time between 2B and SS, is batting .221 with 2 HR's and 41 K's. He is 8-for-8 in SB attempts. 5 177 Jeremy Hefner rhp Oral Roberts OK: The right-hander has been a solid starter for Fort Wayne, with a 3.99 ERA. More impressive is the fact that he's walked only 13 and struck out 47 in 47.1 innings pitched. 6 207 Emmanuel Quiles c Delgado HS, Sabana Hoyo, P.R. PR: Batted just .171 in 16 games with the Rookie League team. Just 18 years old, he will likely play another season of Rookie Ball. 7 237 Justin Baum 3b Pacific CA: His impressive debut season probably made the Padres a bit more confident that they could move third base prospect David Freese in the offseason. Although his 2008 average is nothing special (.257), he has 15 extra base hits (10 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR's) to go along with 20 RBI's. 8 267 Matt Teague lhp Carson-Newman (Tenn.) TN: Teague is another low-ceiling, left-handed pitcher, projected to be a future back-of-the-rotation starter. In 44.1 innings for Fort Wayne, the 23 year-old is 4-2 with a 4.06 ERA. He has 10 walks and 20 strikeouts. 9 297 Wynn Pelzer rhp South Carolina SC: After not pitching last season as he recovered from a broken kneecap, Pelzer has been very good in 11 games for Fort Wayne. The 22 year-old right-hander is 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA over his last nine games. 10 327 Christian Colon ss/2b Canyon HS, Canyon Country, Calif. CA: Did not sign; playing at Cal State Fullerton *Players in red are currently out of professional baseball |