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Ben Howard did not fare very well in his
brief tenure with the San Diego Padres earlier this season, but
fellow right-hander Dennis Tankersley has more than held his own
in the big leagues both on the mound and at the plate. Over the
weekend, Tankersley belted his first big-league home run and
collected his first win.
No organization in the game has stockpiled as much young and
talented starting pitching as the Padres have, and San Diego
fans should see the fruits of the organization's labor very
shortly.
Right-hander Jake Peavy should be next in line in San Diego, if
general manager Kevin Towers and farm director Tye Waller follow
their protocol of promoting players directly from Double-A
Mobile to the big leagues.
Most never thought that Peavy, selected in the 15th round of the
1999 draft, would ever wear a Padres uniform. The 6-1, 180-pound
right-hander slipped that far in the draft only because most
teams were scared off by his strong commitment to Auburn
University. When the hard-throwing Peavy -- he has touched 98
mph with his fastball -- elected to sign with the Padres, it
shocked even members of his immediate family.
Pitching in his hometown of Mobile this season, the 21-year-old
Peavy has shown no ill effects of the everyday pressures of
pitching in front of his family and friends. His ERA at home
(2.17) is even better than it is on the road (2.77). Peavy's 65
strikeouts rank just one behind Carolina's Jason Young for the
league lead.
While Peavy may not remain in Mobile for long, there is a
newcomer to the talented starting staff in left-hander Oliver
Perez.
Still just 20 years old, Perez won 10 games between two Class A
stops in 2001 while pitching for much of the season as a
teenager. It took Perez just nine appearances -- eight starts
-- at high Class A Lake Elsinore this spring to convince the
Padres that he was ready for Double-A.
Perez, who fanned 66 batters in 48 2/3 innings in Class A,
yielded three runs in his first 11 innings with Mobile and
fanned 13 batters. Perez, however, will need to display better
control of his mid-90s fastball and hard slider (31 BB in 59 2/3
IP this season) in order to continue his ascent up the ladder.
Team notes
New York Yankees: Double-A second baseman Andy Phillips is
quietly having one of the best seasons of any farmhand in the
organization. Phillips, who turned 25 two days after Opening
Day, is in a real make-or-break season. He began last year in
Class AA but was sent back to Class A Tampa in June after
hitting .268 in 51 games. The former University of Alabama star
hit .302 with 11 homers and 50 RBI in a half-season in the
pitcher-friendly Florida State League and has carried that
success into this year (.316, 13 HR, 32 RBI). He ranks among
Eastern League leaders in batting average, is tied for tops in
homers and leads the loop with a .684 slugging percentage and 28
extra-base hits.
Oakland Athletics: If he were like most, then Jeremy Bonderman would be finishing
up his senior year of high school right about now. Instead, the
19-year-old right-hander, who was declared eligible for the 2001
draft after he received his GED, is surviving as one of the
youngest players in the high Class A California League. The
26th overall pick last June, Bonderman is 2-5 with a 4.80 ERA
thus far. He has walked 24 hitters in 50 2/3 innings.
"We felt like he was more mature than the average high school senior,"
remarked an A's executive last week when questioned why the
organization had sent Bonderman to a league full of
college-level players to start his pro career. "We gave him over
a million bucks (actually $1.35 million), and we wanted to see
what he could do." Bonderman fanned a career-best 11 hitters in
Modesto's 4-2 loss to Stockton on Thursday night.
Seattle Mariners: The Mariners have practically been using Double-A San
Antonio as their top farm club -- and not Triple-A Tacoma -- in
the early going. Already, outfielder Chris Snelling and
right-hander Rafael Soriano have made the leap to the big
leagues, with Snelling making the jump over the weekend after
just 23 games at the Double-A level (.326, 1 HR, 12 RBI).
Righty reliever Julio Mateo started the year with San Antonio
and made just two appearances with Tacoma before joining the
Mariners.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Double-A third baseman Chad Tracy didn't
stay under .400 for long. Tracy had his average drop from .409
to .396 with an 0-for-5 performance in a 7-6 victory at Midland
on May 23, one night after his 22nd birthday. But, Tracy came
right back the next night. He pounded out four hits --
recording the first multi-homer game of his brief pro career --
in an 8-6 triumph over Midland. With 10 hits in his last 19
at-bats, Tracy had his average back up to a minor league-best
.410 through Monday.
Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Devil Rays: In a terrific pitching matchup involving two top prospects, Matt
Belisle (Atlanta Braves) got the best of Dewon Brazelton (Tampa
Bay Devil Rays) in a Double-A Southern League contest on Friday
night in Greenville, South Carolina. Belisle threw eight
shutout innings, allowing only four hits -- two of which were
infield singles -- in a 2-0 win. Belisle also struck out a
season-high eight batters without issuing a walks. The win was
Belisle's first since August 5, 2000, when he was with Class A
Myrtle Beach. Belisle, still just 21 years old, missed all of
the 2001 season due to surgery to repair a ruptured disc in his
lower back.
San Diego Padres: The Padres promoted designated hitter/outfielder
Xavier Nady from Class A Lake Elsinore (.278, 13 HR, 37 RBI) to
Triple-A Portland. The 23-year-old Nady, who underwent
reconstructive elbow surgery over the offseason, spent the first
two months in the California League, where he was the league's
MVP last season (.302, 26 HR, 100 RBI). A second-rounder from
the 2000 draft out of the University of California-Berkeley,
Nady's first at-bat as professional was in the big leagues in
September 2000, when he became the first player since John
Olerud in 1989 to make his pro debut in the big leagues. Nady
is expected to serve as Portland's designated hitter for the
next two weeks before beginning play in the field when the
Beavers open play against National League opponents. He played
110 games at first base for Lake Elsinore last season and has
played just one professional game as an outfielder.
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