San Diego Padres: Spring Training Information

By Myron
Location: Peoria Sports Complex Stadium – Peoria, Arizona
Pitchers and Catchers Report: Feb. 14th
First Game: Feb. 28th
Schedule

Projected Opening Day Lineup

1. Brian Giles (RF)
2. Tadahito Iguchi (2B)
3. Kevin Kouzmanff (3B)
4. Adrian Gonzalez (1B)
5. Khalil Greene (SS)
6. Jim Edmonds (CF)
7. Josh Bard C
8. Scott Hairston (LF)

Projected Rotation

1. Jake Peavy
2. Chris Young
3. Greg Maddux
4. Randy Wolf
5. Justin Germano/Mark Prior

Projected Bullpen

Spare parts: Carlos Guevara/Jared Wells/Mauro Zarate/Clay Hensley
7th Inning: Kevin Cameron/Joe Thatcher
8th Inning: Heath Bell/Cla Meredith
Closer: Trevor Hoffman
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Key Battles: The Padres are pretty well set as we head into spring training. In general, they come off as an organization that would have most things decided regardless of spring performance, but there are still some things to sort out, and this will be as good a time as any to get them squared away.

Second Base: Tadahito Iguchi, signed this off season as a free agent, is expected to start at second base. However, top prospect Matt Antonelli could make some noise with a great spring. Antonelli had somewhat of a breakout year last season, as he blasted 21 homers and 51 extra base hits overall, between high A and AA ball. The situation is reminiscent of 2006, when Mark Bellhorn and Geoff Blum were expected to split most of the playing time at second, but Josh Barfield tore the cover off the ball in Spring Training and went on to be named starter.

Catcher: Michael Barrett is coming off one of his worst season yet, with a 68 OPS+ splitting time with the Padres and Cubs. Josh Bard will likely be the starter, but Barrett could use an impressive spring to reestablish himself and win some early regular season playing time. Bard and Barrett will likely split time all season and be utilized to their specific strengths on a day by day basis.

Left Field: Scott Hairston finally broke out with a fine performance in his play with the Padres (he put up a ridiculous .287/.333/.644 line in San Diego). However, that only came in 95 plate appearances and the rest of Hairston’s major league career is much less impressive. He’ll be expected to regress back toward his past performance and that could still be enough for the Padres in left field. But top Padre third base prospect Chase Headley might have something to say about that. Headley’s been taking some balls in the outfield in preparation for a possible switch there. If he excels both offensively and in the field this spring, he could definitely overtake Hairston for the left field job.

Back of the Bullpen: The Padres have a bunch of possible candidates for the last couple spots in the bullpen, including guys like Carlos Guevara (Rule 5 pick), Clay Hensley, Mauro Zarate, Jared Wells, Michael Gardner, and a few other guys. Spring Training will certainly be a time for the Padres to see what each of these guys brings to the table and sort out that back end of the pen.

Closer: The ageless Trevor Hoffman is the closer, unless something unexpected happens. That said, a quick glance at the projection systems reveals that Bell projects to have a similar, if not better, season. Combine that with better power stuff, more durability, and a 10 year difference in age, and Bell may garner some save chances as the season progresses.

What to expect: Like I Mentioned up top, internally the Padres probably have made most of their decisions based on years of data and their scouts' evaluations. But Spring Training is certainly a valuable time to get polished for the upcoming season. The Padres have several players coming off injuries, including Jim Edmonds, Mark Prior, Randy Wolf, Chris Young, and Brian Giles (Trevor Hoffman is also coming off minor surgery on his right elbow) This will be a good time for these players to get back in the groove and hopefully prove their injury troubles are in the past. Like many teams, I'm sure one of the main goals for the Padres in Spring Traning is getting through it with everyone healthy and ready to go.

Look for the battles mentioned above to possibly unfold, as well as plenty of scrambling for the last couple of spots on the Padres' bench. It will also be a time to look for younger players to play well and perhaps impress the scouts. Premeier guys like Antonelli and Headley, as well as lesser players like Callix Crabbe, Colt Morton, Paul McAnulty, Jared Wells, and Carlos Guevara could have a lot to gain in March. It should be a fun spring, with multiple stroy lines developing and numerous things being sorted out before opening day.

Myron covers the Padres on his blog Friar Forecast.

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