Aaron R. Cunningham (born April 24, 1986, in Anchorage, Alaska) is a Major League outfield "prospect" for the San Diego Padres.

Cunningham was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the sixth round of The 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. After two years in the White Sox Organization, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Danny Richar on June 16, 2007. On December 14, 2007, he was acquired by the Oakland Athletics in the trade that sent Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks.

Over two seasons in AAA Cunningham in 103 Gm's and 410 AB had 29 2B's, 3 triples, 16 HR with 62 RBI with 14 steals 41 BB and 90 K to go along with a very impressive .317 BA .389 OBP, 510 SLG, and a .899 OPS; Cunningham had 11 HR and 24 doubles in AAA-Sacramento last season.

Scouting report:

At the plate, Cunningham had drawn comparisons to Eric Byrnes while with the A's, minus Byrnes, "Johnny hustle" like approach. He's a line drive hitter built for Petco, nothing in his repertoire is outstanding but he is solid all the way around, doing all the small things that should make him a legit big league ball player. Aaron takes a ferocious cut but stays on-top of the ball nicely. Cunningham's power is more of the 15-25 homer varieties than that of a prolific power hitter.

Cunningham had very limited sporadic looks while in Oakland on the MLB level, he struggled, but what would you expect from a rookie with spot starts, pinch hitting and in a platoon situation at times?

Aaron Cunningham was called up from the minors for his first "cup of coffee" On August 30, 2008. With only a 133 AB in the majors from 08-09, This guy has raked in the minors, at every level. Cunningham's may not have the highest ceiling as some of the highly touted "5 tool prospects" to break camp in other organizations however, I think Cunningham can have a very productive MLB career. I could see him hitting .275 to .315 at his peak, I believe that is a very likely projection with him getting every day AB. It comes down to maintaining his swing balance and staying on top of the ball, hitting line drives, which he should flourish doing in Petco, tailor made for a line drive hitter with speed. Cunningham has good speed, nothing special, not a "burner" by any means but is a smart base runner that could steal 20 bags.

Defensively, Cunningham can patrol any outfield spot, but some scouts say he's best utilized in left field, where he's an above-average defender.  He is average in right, but his merely average arm makes him better fit for left field. From what I have personally seen in AZ. in spring training he would fair well in either LF or CF. Cunningham also had two assists in the outfield, this kid can play!

In 21 Spring training games and in 42 AB's, Cunningham had two doubles, one triple 6 RBI with 7 stolen bases while only getting caught twice. Aaron also hit .286 and played a very impressive outfield. Ted Leitner (the Padres play by play radio announcer) was on the radio saying on a particular broadcast that two of the best plays of the spring both came from the impressive outfielder. With a combination of speed, power and athleticism goes hand in hand with what Jed Hoyer and the Padres are trying to do in Petco Park, as Hoyer said, "build a team to play to an advantage at Petco".

Cunningham, acquired along with Scott Hairston from Oakland for. Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard. Cunningham looks like if Adrian were dealt, he would be ready to be taking over in the outfield. How is that possible with the "#88 office building" in left field Kyle Blanks? Easy answer is Kyle would take over for Adrian at first base his natural position.

Last year Cunningham was the 55th best over all prospects in all of baseball ranked by the most respected prospect handbook, Baseball America.  My initial thought about the trade for Kouz and Hairston was, the main piece is going to be Aaron and people will see why very soon and he is proving just that this spring.