Texas League Preview- San Antonio Missions

Posted on 18 March 2010 by daveabarr - Hot Corner Radio

The San Antonio Missions ended 2009 at 70-70 under former Padres catcher Terry Kennedy. This season, the Missions have a new manager in Doug Dascenzo  who moves up from Single-A Fort Wayne (Kennedy was promoted to Triple-A to guide the Portland Beavers) and a full cupboard of prospects.

Steve Adler, the founder of The Friarhood (friarhood.com) helps give us an inside look at some players to watch this summer in San Antonio.

Let’s start with the arms-and man are they impressive.

Highly regarded lefty Cory Luebke

Cory Luebke may be the best prospect that the Missions put on the field all season and that’s saying something considering that San Antonio might have as many as six of the Padres top 10 prospects in 2010. A guy from the Midwest (Ohio State) who is tall and at Lake Elsinore last year. He doesn’t throw hard but knows how to pitch-he’s what the Padres call a “pitchability” guy. The San Diego front office views Luebke as a middle of the rotation guy who they would like to see in the big leagues in 2012. There’s no thought of rushing the 6-4 lefty so Missions fans might get a chance to see him on the mound at Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium for much of the upcoming season.

Missions fans will get to see Simon Castro, the No. 2 prospect in the Friars organization but it probably won’t be at the beginning of the season. Last year, the 6-5 22-year old dominated for the Tin Cups of Ft. Wayne and should start the season in the Cal League and Lake Elsinore. Castro, however, depending on how things progress could be on track for a season much like Matt Latos had last year and move quickly through the system.

Anthony Bass

Anthony Bass is another pitcher that Missions fans will see this season-the question is when. Another “pitchability” guy like Luebke, Bass is a 6-2. 190-pound control pitcher that Padres and San Antonio faithful should keep and eye on in 2010.

The Padres scouting department has assembled quite a basketball team with guys that are 6-2, 6-4 or 6-6 in the farm system. Steve Garrison is one of those guys. Garrison, who was acquired in the Scott Linebrink trade is a lefty that was injured most of 2009-but should be ready to go in San Antonio this season.

Craig Italiano has a mid-90's fastball

Another pitcher wearing a Padres uniform via a trade. A one time draft selection of the Oakland A’s, Italiano was sent to San Diego along with Sean Gallagher and Ryan Webb as part of the Scott Hairston deal last season. Immediately, the Padres made him a reliever and changed his arm slot. The Flower Mound, Texas native is 6-4 with a mid-90’s fastball and closed on occasion for the Padres in spring training but the San Diego front office envisions him as either a middle rotation guy or a set-up man long term.

Typically, a guy that is Wynn Pelzer’s age (25-years old) is in Triple-A, but Pelzer has taken longer than expected to turn it on. As the Padres continue to build depth within the farm system – and starting pitching is one of those positions that is deep right now- Pelzer could get lost in the mix. After 57-starts in two seasons at Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore-San Diego wants to see exactly what they have in the former South Carolina Gamecock in 2010.

Schmidt looks for a big 2010 now that he's healthy

Another player that the Padres want to see exactly what they have- is Nick Schmidt. The left-hander from Arkansas is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery with something to prove. San Diego believes there is something special about Schmidt after not dealing him to Tampa Bay last year in a proposed trade for Jeff Niemann. Very soon the Padres will have to make a decision about Schmidt who struggled at Lake Elsinore last year, on whether or not to put him on the 40-man roster or leave him unprotected for the Rule 5 draft. You never want to lose a first-round pick in the Rule 5.

That’s a look at the pitchers. Now let’s get to the pop and the leather.

Jaff Decker is the most exciting hitting prospect in the Padres organization and could get to San Antonio this season. San Diego has treated Decker with kid gloves as a young, talented player straight from high school and have no plans of rushing their 20-year old outfielder. Last season at Ft. Wayne, Decker crushed the ball to the tune of 16-homeruns, and 64 RBI while hitting .299 and walking 85-times. Decker is a long-term corner outfielder who will begin the season with Lake Elsinore in the Cal League, be an All-Star there and get to San Antonio at the break. But again, Decker is another young prospect (20-years old) that the big club has no intention of rushing.

Could anchor the middle of the Missions line-up in 2010

One of the positions where the Padres have built depth is at third base which brings us to the No. 3 prospect James Darnell. Darnell has awesome tools, drives the ball and should anchor the middle of the Missions line-up all of 2010. We mentioned the depth at the hot corner earlier. With former Mission Chase Headley finally getting his opportunity to play third in the big leagues, Logan Forsyhte at Triple-A Portland and No. 9 prospect Edison Rincon waiting in the wings – Darnell has a real chance to develop and mature in Double-A. The only way that that changes is if Forsythe gets enough time on the back fields at second base in spring training and the Padres feel comfortable enough to move him there so that he and Darnell are in the same infield in Portland sometime this season.

Lance Zawadski is a very intriguing player. After coming up to San Antonio halfway through the 2009 season, Zawadski hit .289 with 14-stolen bases. The leather is all there for the Lee, Tennessee native but he might not translate into a major league shortstop and may be moved to second. The Padres think that Zawadski could be a 20-homerun, 20-steals guy who must cut down on strikeouts (74 K’s compared to 44-walks in 2009).

Carroll will be among a talented outfield in San Antonio

San Antonio could have a very talented outfield with Kellen Kulbacki, Corey Hunter and Sawyer Carroll who could be the best of them all. Carroll still needs to develop power but has great plate discipline. Carroll, because of the depth in the organizations outfield should get the chance to progress in San Antonio for most of 2010.

At 21-years old-Cedric hunter has something to prove to himself and the San Diego Padres in 2010. Last season, Hunter struggled in San Antonio on the field and with injury. This season, Hunter will again start with the Missions. Hunter doesn’t run a lot or hit for power and that’s a dilemma  for a center fielder in Petco Park. The Padres lead the majors in stolen bases in spring training and without much depth in center aside from Luis Durango-Hunter has an opportunity but time maybe catching up with him.

Kellen Kulbacki looking to bounce back from injury in 2010

The difference between Hunter and Kulbacki is age. Both have much to prove in 2010 but Kulbacki-a first-round supplemental draft selection in 2007 out of James Madison is 24-years old and should be in Triple-A. But because of injury, Kulbacki could begin the season in San Antonio where in limited action in 2009 hit just .201 in 36-games. All of this after a monster season in 2008 at Lake Elsinore in the Cal League that saw the former Duke hit .332 with 20-homeruns and 66RBI. Realizing that the Cal league is a hitters league and things are much more difficult in the Texas League-still that is the kind of season that the Padres want to see out of Kulbacki in 2010.

No one talks abut Matt Clark much. He’s the son of Rangers pitching coach Terry Clark and the No. 29 prospect in the Padres organization. That could change this season in San Antonio as Clark has all of the tools to get to the big leagues. At LSU, Clark led the NCAA in homers along with the White Sox Gordon Beckham and has hit for power at all levels so far in his professional career (11 HR, 55 RBI in Ft. Wayne and 13 HR and 46 RBI with Lake Elsinore-all in the 2009 season). Without a doubt, Clark is the most underrated hitting prospect in the San Diego organization and a guy to keep an eye on this season in San Antonio.

Special thanks to Steve Adler, the founder of The Friarhood for his help previewing the San Antonio Missions. For the best Padres coverage from the minors to the majors log on to www.friarhood.com