The short-season Eugene Emeralds finished in first place in the Northwest division of the Northwest league. Their 46-30 record was good for a 7 game lead over second place Vancouver for a season that ended on Sept. 3^rd. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to Vancouver 2 games to 1 with the Vancouver team going on to win the championship.

The Ems were the recipients of the majority of the 2011 draft signees for their first professional season. With the exception of late signees Ross, Kelly and Hedges, the Ems boasted a lineup including high picks Matt Andriese, Cody Hebner, Kevin Quackenbush and Jace Peterson. As well as many picks from 11^th round and above. Of the new Padres making their debuts, many had good starts to their seasons and were exposed to playoff baseball in their first pro season.

Shortstop Jace Peterson (58th overall pick in 2011- comp round) started slow in his 73 games and 276 AB for the Ems but finished strong. He totaled 9 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR and 27 RBI for the year and was first on the team with 39 stolen bases. His August was the most impressive with a .287/.353/.376 line.

OF Justin Miller (30^th round 2011) played in 35 games with 130 AB with 12 2B and 14 RBI for a .308/.429/.451 line but displayed limited power with no triples or homeruns.

2B/SS Casey McElroy (35^th round 2011) played in 19 games and 73 AB with 6 2B, 2 HR and 11 RBI for a .301/.406/.381 line.

2B Travis Whitmore (35^th round 2011) played in 62 games with 209 AB with 15 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR and 32 RBI for a .297/.373/.431 line and finished first on the team in doubles and triples.

1B Zach Kometani (21^st round 2011) played in 56 games with 192 AB and 13 2B, 4 HR and 39 RBI for a .250/.319/.380 line. His was tops in RBI for the team.

Homerun leader for the Ems was OF Lee Orr (13^th round 2011) who struck 8 bombs along with 13 2B and 2 3B to total 35 RBI but also struck out 88 times and finished with a .219/.364/.414 line.

There was also some very good pitching from the new Padres with starters and relievers both pitching well to start their pro careers.

Starter Matt Andriese (3^rd round 2011)  5-1,   1.51 ERA  in 12 games/8 games started for 41.2 IP with 10 BB and 42 SO. He was 3-0 and 1.13 ERA as a reliever, 2-1,  1.60 ERA as a starter.

Colin Rea (12^th round 2011) 3-4,  2.21 ERA in 53 IP with 21 walks and 43 strikeouts.

Cody Hebner (4^th round 2011) 2-2,   3.35 ERA in 37.2 IP with 15 walks and 39 strikeouts.

Of note, John Barbato played his first pro season for the Ems in 2011. He was a 2010 draft pick in the 6^th round but was a late sign as pulling him away from his commitment to Florida was thought to be almost impossible. He did sign, however, and might be a better prospect than the first round pick of last year that didn’t sign. Barbato possesses a 96 mph fastball, a 12-6 curve and a change. He has decent control of all his pitches but will need seasoning to see what the Padres actually have with this high school draftee who has great potential. His 57 IP resulted in a 1-4 record and 4.89 ERA with 31 walks and 50 strikeouts (most for the team). He has earned comparisons to a young Josh Beckett and bears close watching.

Reliever Matt Stites (17^th round 2011) finished with a 4-0 record and 1.93 ERA in 32.2 IP over 40 games allowing only 14 hits with 8 walks and 36 strikeouts.

Reliever Kevin Quackenbush (8^th round 2011) was drafted as a closer and is being used in that role in his early minor league career. He started with the Ems but only pitched in 17 games and 20.2 IP with a 1-0 record and 0.44 ERA with 4 saves, 6 BB and 33 SO before being promoted to Fort Wayne.

The pitching staff for the Eugene Emeralds finished with an ERA of 3.79, which was good for third best in the NWL.

Of note, Catcher Austin Hedges (2^nd round 2011) signed late and reported to the Ems for 4 games after playing 5 games for the AZL Padres. He had a season (9 games) line of .231/.412/.385 with a double and a HR with 4 RBI.

The oft injured and 50 game suspended Donovan Tate had another disappointing season and may be close to the end of the prospect list for this next season. He has yet to show much baseball production but continues to be unimpressive with his swing and lack of maturity. The Padres organization claims to be willing to show patience with his development. But his inability to stay on the field will catch up to him soon.