With the recent trade talks, including those involving the Padres’ starting left fielder Ryan Ludwick—it brings up the questions; who will the Padres play in left field if/when he is dealt before the July 31^st deadline, and who will be the Padres outfield future? The Padres seem to have shifted away from looking at Will Venable as a long-term solution, and have not shown that they are very high on Aaron Cunningham (.313 .395 .517), who has had a nice bounce back year in AAA-Tucson this year after a disappointing 2010 season in AAA Portland. However, the Padres have a plethora of outfield options throughout the system. They Padres have Matt Clark, who has played some OF and first base and prospect Cedric Hunter, who was called upon early in the year when Cameron Maybin had some injury problems. However, Hunter is a CF who is blocked by Cameron Maybin. The same can be said about Blake Tekotte, (.290 .419 .502), another outfielder that was brought up because of injuries and also added to the 40-man roster. How he continues to produce will indicate if Tekotte will bode well in Petco.

Although Jaff Decker (.248 .410 .459) went through a slump this year after starting off on fire in AA-San Antonio, he has recently looked better. However, he is still probably a year away from being Major League-ready; and it remains to be seen if he fits the mold of the Padres philosophy of trying to "play Petco Park into an advantage" using pitching and athletic-speedy outfielders with plus defense that can cover Petco's spacious confines. Having said that, does that rule out 3 of the Padres’ top prospects (James Darnell, Kyle Blanks and Decker) from advancing and staying with the Padres on the Major League level, considering the Padres current players and the players who are likely to be retained going into 2012?

Among the aforementioned players, the Padres have James Darnell (.335 .434 .601) who has played 4 games (blocked by Chase Headley at his natural position, 3B) in the OF as of late in San Antonio, the Padres AA affiliate. The Padres are looking for their players to get more versatile; possibly to get their bats in the lineup advancing to the major league level, but probably also to raise their value as potential trading chips if they do not fit the Padres’ philosophy moving forward. While Darnell's bat should play anywhere on the diamond, he is 24 and has only played four games in the OF.  As the Texas League All-Star MVP this year, he started at his natural position (3B) but moved to the OF later in the game. I have heard mixed reviews regarding Darnell's defense at third, and it is very early to judge him in the OF. He did play some OF in college, but if the Padres are serious about the notion of having Darnell play the OF in the big leagues in order to get his bat into the lineup, he should start playing the OF everyday in preparation of handling Petco Park’s spacious outfield. In the next few days there will be some promotions, and Darnell should be moved up to AAA-Tucson.

That brings me to Kyle Blanks. Blanks (.315 .388 .571) looked decent in the outfield in Petco and demonstrated above average speed for anyone, not just for his size. However, with injuries to his foot and his arm, the question arose whether the injuries had anything to do with his body type transitioning with the move to the outfield. In the outfield, Blanks is making longer throws and moving in a much different way than he was accustomed to being a natural first baseman. To me, Kyle Blanks is very interesting because of his power. His power will translate in any park, even Petco. However, you can't help but wonder if he can withstand the everyday grind day in, day out after his injury problems. I do believe Kyle will be a legitimate offensive force on the MLB-level, I am just not sure it will be for the Padres for many years to come, given the Padres’ emphasis on defense. Having said that, Kyle Blanks has looked very good in Tucson. The internal scouting reports on him I have heard are very positive, and he should be promoted in direct correlation with a Ryan Ludwick trade. So, while I do not question if he will be up here as early as this year, I do wonder if he (Blanks) can stay in the OF permanently now that the Padres have their future first baseman in Anthony Rizzo. I still consider Blanks a prospect because of his limited time—Kyle Blanks has played nine games in the OF this year between AA-AAA and has also played 13 games at first.

While question marks remain for Decker, Darnell and Blanks (all top prospects in terms of bats) moving forward, I believe all of these players’ bats will translate well at the MLB level. I can see an outfield of Blanks (LF), Maybin (CF), and Darnell and or Decker in right field, if those younger players can handle the defensive load of Petco Park. I just hope the ballpark the Padres play 81 home games in doesn't have a negative impact on those players being able to handle the workload health-wise or defensively. Petco Park is a different animal, and I want to see all three of these guys blossom as Padres for years to come. I hope the ballpark does not influence the Padres to deal top bats in the organization, although they could play much better in other parks or possibly at different positions; to bring in potentially better defensive—but weaker offensive—players who can play better defense in order to fit the Padres’ philosophy.