The 2011 season for the minor league affiliates of the San Diego Padres promises to be the most interesting in the last several years. There are several promising prospects at each level and each team has the possibility of showing well in the upcoming season. Spring training is into full swing and there will probably be a few changes made before the regular season begins but much of the placement of players has already been decided.

As a preview to the season, we will provide an overview of the prominent prospects at each level and those we will be tracking as the season progresses. One of the goals of the Friarhood is to educate the Padres fans about the players working their way up through the organization to the major league level and help you become familiar with them to the point that you will be excited to see them make their major league debut. The writers covering each level will be covering these teams in depth. This is meant as a quick overview of the system.

Low Single A Fort Wayne Tin Caps have a history of fielding a contending team. Hopefully this year will be no different.

High draft picks that will be with FW this season include: OF/CF Everett Williams, who needs a strong season in 2011 to put questions about his desire to rest, has great tools but did not show a strong work ethic or commitment last season.

Australian OF Corey Adamson had a strong fall league showing and displays an ability to hit along with some defensive skills. He will be joined by CF Donovan Tate as the most athletic of the OF’s for FW.

RHSP’s Alessio Angelucci, Johnny Barbato and Tyler Norwood have shown strong ability but all 3 need to show further development of their pitches to work their way into starting rotations.

RHSP Zach Cates is intriguing to me and will be someone to watch this season.

LHSP Josh Spence, an Australian native, was a highly prized pitcher coming out in the draft and was drafted in the 3^rd round by the Angels 1 yr earlier but choose to return to ASU to finish his scholarship and was drafted by the Padres in the 9^th round in 2010 secondary to an arm injury that lowered his draft slot.  He pitched in the Cape Cod League before joining the Padres to play short season last year. If he does well he should rise quickly through the system and could be at the major league level sooner rather than later due to his well developed pitches and ability to mix his pitches. He was in 7 games for FW last year.

2B Chris Bisson and C Jhonaldo Pozo have flown under the radar so far but have attracted our attention and both may be sleepers on this talent-laden team.

Single High A Lake Elsinore seems to be shaping up to be a powerhouse this season. I admit bias on this subject as this is the team I follow most closely but our fearless leader, Steve Adler, agrees that this lineup, in theory, packs a lot of talent.

SP’s Adys Portillo, Keyvius Sampson and Adam Schrader bear watching. All have great arms with Portillo being the most interesting prospect at the age of 19 (won’t be 20 until Dec). He has been working with the LE team during the spring but still might end up in low A due to his age. Sampson is highly regarded and only slightly older than Portillo at 20 yrs old. If they can both stick with LE it will be a huge advance for both. LHSP Mark Hardy is a sleeper to watch.

IF’s Nate Freiman, Jonathon Galvez, Jeudy Valdez and Jedd Gyorko or Eddie Rincon all have terrific bats with advanced defensive skills up the middle.

OF’s Rey Fuentes, Rico Noel, Rymer Liriano and Everett Williams (if he is not playing in Fort Wayne), will compete for playing time in this highly athletic and gifted outfield.

C Jason Hagerty has the most advanced skills of any of the Padres catching prospects. He is the most likely to stick at catcher and develop the defense needed to be a front line major leaguer.

AA San Antonio Missions inherit the majority of last year’s Lake Elsinore lineup. There will also be a few added promotions from last year’s low A team and this equals some excellent talent at the double A level.

SP has to start with trade recipient Casey Kelly, a projected 1-3 starter that will have a pivotal season this year at the age of 21. Further development to his breaking pitches and improved command of the fastball would both be welcome developments. Some increased velocity is not out of the question as it is felt an increase last season might have been the cause for some of his control issues. Other starters include last year’s excellent, but largely overlooked, Anthony Bass. “Big Country” Matt Lollis will also bear close attention this year. Not known for an overpowering fastball for his size, Matt has advanced quickly with great mound presence and advanced control. He is only 20 and can still develop velocity on his fastball. Lollis could also start with the Storm but was working with SA at spring camp. LH Juan Oramas was an impressive performer last year but kept under a strict pitch count. Hopefully we will get a better look this season. My sleeper in this group might be RH Chris Fetter and LH Josh Spence also bears watching, as he will most likely end up in AA before the end of the season. Closer Brad Brach, the 2010 Cal league Pitcher of the Year, set a record for most saves for a single A season and hopes to prove he can repeat his success going forward in his pro career.

IF’s Drew Cumberland, Vince Belnome, Cody Decker and Beamer Weems come together from single A with last year’s holdover James Darnell joining the infield. Cumberland has advanced skills but needs to stay healthy to prove himself as a true major league prospect.

OF’s Jaff Decker, Dan Robertson and Blake Tekotte advance from Lake Elsinore with Wande Olabisi, the 23 yr old Nigerian, as an intriguing player to keep an eye on this year.

As a side note I want to mention UT player Andy Parrino, who appears to be headed to SA this season. Fleet of foot with quickness and a good arm, he has played all IF and OF positions over 4 seasons of minor league ball at the age of 25. Playing all of last season with SA, he can be moved up to AAA but should be kept in mind as a possible major league utility player in the near future.

AAA Tucson Padres will be celebrating their inaugural season in AZ with the most talented AAA team in the Padres system in many years. This team will actually carry some major league prospects for the organization, to go along with the usual array of major league backups/ minor league career players.

SP’s Matt Buschmann, Simon Castro and either Cory Luebke or Wade LeBlanc are all available to the major league team during the course of the season but both Buschmann and Castro will get added seasoning before being called into duty. There are also some relief pitchers available for the big club that have proven themselves almost ready for the major leagues (namely Rob Musgrave, Evan Scribner, Colt Hynes and, possibly, Aaron Poreda). Poreda remains the enigma here as he possesses great stuff but poor command and is highly erratic.

IF’s Matt Clark, Anthony Rizzo and Logan Forsythe will be joined somewhere during the first couple months of the season by IF/OF Kyle Blanks to provide the Padres with front line prospects and solid backup help for this season and next. As we all know, Rizzo figures to be the future first baseman and only requires a little more seasoning to be ready. That statement is hard to justify as he has hit like a madman this spring, both in the major league spring training games and the minor league games (12 games, 19 AB -.421/.476/.737 with 1 HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI and 2 SB in early March). He also possesses solid defensive skills and only lacks speed as a prospective tool.

OF’s Cedric Hunter, Aaron Cunningham and Luis Durango are also solid backups for the major league team with Cunningham and Hunter as solid prospects. Durango might also prove to be a good situational player as a major leaguer. Sawyer Carroll, who was once a true prospect, is also an able backup in the outfield.

A wild card for the 2011 season will be former top prospect Kellen Kulbacki. Due to a series of injuries, Kulbacki has never had a complete season and is no longer considered even a fringe prospect. But his skill set and especially his advanced bat impressed most all scouts through his career. If he could get back to a stable health status he would bear watching, as he is still only 25. He has been working with the Tucson team during the spring.

This coming season promises to be very exciting for all the minor league teams of the Padres organization. We hope you will join us in following it with the enthusiasm we all feel for the season ahead.