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PADRE PROSPECT POWER RANKINGS, 4th Edition posted 5/29/08 by Jason Martinez 1. CHASE HEADLEY, LF (PORTLAND): The Padres' left fielder of the very near future is batting .348 with 7 HR and 17 RBI's in May, although his 27 strikeouts during the month are a bit of a concern. GM Kevin Towers has all but guaranteed that the 24 year-old will be called up in June, which makes it likely that there will be a new #1 on this list in the next edition, coming mid-June. (LAST EDITION RANK - 1) 2. CHAD HUFFMAN, LF (SAN ANTONIO): Huffman's rise continues. He has been even better than Headley has been in Portland this month. In 25 games, the 23 year-old left fielder is batting .378 with 4 homers and 17 RBI's. And unlike Headley, he is having no problem at all making contact, with just 10 strikeouts and 18 walks in May. (LAST EDITION RANK - 6) 3. MAT LATOS, RHP (FORT WAYNE): He will maintain a high ranking on this list based on his potential, but another injury has him out of action again. The 20 year-old right-hander is 0-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 23.2 innings. He's struck out 20 and walked seven. (LAST EDITION RANK - 2) 4. CEDRIC HUNTER, CF (LAKE ELSINORE): After failing to homer in any of his first 40 games, the 20 year-old Hunter homered in three straight. That should keep the critics that have been looking for more power, myself included, off of his back for a few weeks. Now, how about boosting those stolen base numbers (3 SB's in 5 attempts). (LAST EDITION RANK - 4) 5. WILL INMAN, RHP (SAN ANTONIO): After dominating in his first eight starts, he's had three stinkers in a row. He's allowed 4 ER's in 4 IP's in each start, boosting his ERA to 3.40. The 21 year-old right-hander is still on target to reach the big leagues by the end of 2009, at the latest, when he'll be just 22 years old. (LAST EDITION RANK - 3) 6. WILL VENABLE, OF (PORTLAND): The 25 year-old has missed time because of a shoulder injury and has mostly been limited to DH duty when he has played. But the injury is apparently not affecting his swing, as he's batting .322 with 4 HR's and 26 RBI. His five walks and 20 strikeouts is a concern but if Venable can stay healthy, he's doing enough to warrant a late-season callup to the big leagues. (LAST EDITION RANK - N/A) 7. ERIC SOGARD, 2B (LAKE ELSINORE): While the 22 year-old second baseman has struggled mightily with the bat this month (.242 BA, 7 RBI, 1 double), he's still managed to walk nearly twice (17 BB's) as many times as he's struck out (9 K's). On the season, his OBP is .434. (LAST EDITION RANK - 7) 8. MITCH CANHAM, C (LAKE ELSINORE): The left-handed hitting catcher has quietly had a very good month. Although he hasn't homered and has hit just four doubles, he's batting .344 with an OBP of .494 and 15 RBI's. He has also walked twice as many times (20) as he has struck out (10) in May. (LAST EDITION RANK - 9) 9. WADE LEBLANC, LHP (PORTLAND): The left-hander hasn't been fooling many hitters this season but his last two appearances could be a sign that he's making adjustments. After beating Tuscon with a 6 IP, 4 ER performance, he pitched five scoreless innings on Tuesday to beat Sacramento. The 23 year-old allowed just one hit and struck out five. (LAST EDITION RANK - 8) 10. MATT ANTONELLI, 2B (PORTLAND): Things have continued to get worse for the 23 year-old. After batting just .195 in April, he's batting just .163 in May, including a measly .104 BA over his last 37 at bats. There's still plenty of time to turn it around but it's looking more and more like the Padres will be looking for another veteran stop-gap going into 2009. (LAST EDITION RANK - 5) |