Padres Farm Report

Monday June 8, 2009

There are many people in the blogosphere that do a better job at covering what is going on in the minor leagues than I can in my limited time, but there are a few players I wanted to talk about so here goes.

Two of the 4 play the same position, which should make the coming years fun in the Padres organization.

1st - James Darnell. Darnell has hit .467/.610 over the last 10 games for the Low A Fort Wayne Tin Caps. That is right. Darnell has gotten on base more than 6 of every 10 PA. During that stretch 8 of his 14 hits were for extra bases including 2 home runs and he walked 11 times vs 3 strike outs.

I really don't know how much better he can get than that stretch, but I will watch his progress closely in the months to come. Overall for the season he is hitting .296/.460/.503/.962 with 7 hr and 55 walks in 179 AB.

2nd - Logan Forsythe. This kid started the season hot with the High A Lake Elsinore Storm hitting .309/.460 in April and has gotten better as the season has progressed. Over the past 10 games he has hit .394/.500 to raise his BA to .330 on the season and his OBP to .480. His .543 slugging and 1.022 OPs are simply outstanding. I cannot wait to see how he does as he progresses up the ladder.

With Seth Johnston and Bryan Joynt struggling in San Antonio, it may not be long before we see Forsythe, a 2008 draft pick, in a Missions uniform.

3rd - Nick Schmidt. After missing all of the 2008 season due to elbow surgery, Schmidt has pitched well for the Fort Wayne Tin Caps so far this season and has not allowed a run in 14.1 IP over his last 3 starts and has recorded 16 SO. His fastball has been clocked at up to 93 and sits at 90-91 and he has a devastating changeup.

While he is still gaining arm strength, the 6'5" lefty is looking better in each succeeding start and is starting to live up to the hype when he was taken with the 23rd pick in the 2007 draft. If he can stay healthy he should move quickly through the Padres system.

4th - Mike Baxter. A 4th round pick in 2005, Baxter has been pretty much overlooked as an OF prospect in the Padres organization until 2009. With names such as Drew Macias, Will Venable, Cedric Hunter, and Yefri Carvajal garnering much of the attention, Baxter has quietly went about his business.

This year he has started to make some noise and was recently called up to the AAA Portland Beavers after hitting an amazing .376 in 202 abs for the AA San Antonio Missions. We may be seeing Baxter in a Padres uniform in September if he can continue to show progress with the bat in AAA.

I have had my say. Now what do you think?