Truth be told, the 2014 Padres look like a last place team. That said, there is a reason they play the games.

Maybe it's their location, but the San Diego Padres seem like one of the more forgotten franchises in baseball. Unlike the Seattle Mariners -- baseball's other franchise tucked away in a western corner of the United States -- the Padres have not sported the type of star power that garners headlines. Sure, they have a distinguished history that includes one of the best pure hitters of all-time, but even Tony Gwynn did not receive the type of fanfare that was bestowed upon peers with lesser talent and numbers.

In recent seasons, the "forgotten" aspect seems to have permeated further. The team has not made the playoffs since 2006 and has not won a playoff series since 1998. They only have two winning seasons during Bud Black's tenure and do not seem to be any closer to contention in 2014.

Manager: Bud Black (8th year)

2013 record: 76-86, t-3rd in NL West

SB Nation blog:Gaslamp Ball

Other Padres coverage:U-T San Diego, MLB.com

First series vs. Tigers: April 11-13 @ Petco Park

Lineup

The Padres were a decidedly below average offensive squad in 2013, finishing in the lowest third of the National League in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging average, and wOBA. While this is nothing new for a team that makes its home in spacious Petco Park, Chase Headley's precipitous drop-off in the middle of the lineup did not help matters. Headley's .747 OPS was his worst mark since 2010, but an early season thumb fracture limited his effectiveness. He hit .280/.371/.458 in the second half, indicating that 2012 was not a one-year spike in production. On Headley's left will be shortstop Everth Cabrera, who made the first All-Star appearance of his career before being suspended as part of the Biogenesis scandal. Cabrera has 81 stolen bases in 210 games over the past two years.

Second baseman Jedd Gyorko flew under the radar in 2013, but his .249/.301/.444 line and 23 home runs in 525 plate appearances would have won him the Rookie of the Year award in most seasons (or the American League). Both Steamer and Oliver project him to put up over 3.0 WAR in 2013, a conservative estimate if his batting average improves. Rounding out the infield is first baseman Yonder Alonso, who the Padres received in the Mat Latos deal two years ago. Alonso turned heads by hitting .273/.348/.393 with 39 doubles in 2012, but fractured his hand in late May of 2013 and put up a .655 OPS afterward. He won't ever be the power threat that Adrian Gonzalez was before him, but a few more home runs would help. Massive individual Kyle Blanks will see time at first and in the outfield, but a slugging percentage north of .400 is a necessity for him to hang around this year.

Former Tigers prospect Cameron Maybin was expected to anchor the outfield in center, but suffered a biceps injury when making a diving catch on Sunday. The underrated Will Venable will see a healthy amount of time in center, just as he did when Maybin missed time in 2013. Venable put up a career-best .796 OPS and 22 home runs last year, largely thanks to a torrid two months in July and August. Alexi Amarista saw more innings in center than Venable did in 2013, but a healthy Carlos Quentin and Chris Denorfia -- among others -- will shuttle Amarista into a utility role. Quentin put up an .855 OPS last year, but only logged 320 plate appearances. Denorfia put up his fourth consecutive above average offensive season (according to OPS+) and led the team with 3.9 WAR. Former Oakland A's outfielder Seth Smith may not force a strict platoon with Denorfia, but this offense needs another productive lefty bat -- something that Smith can be for stretches, but has not proven consistently.

Nick Hundley handled most of the catching duties in 2013, and will likely be the Opening Day starter again in 2014. He is a serviceable backup, but his abilities are stretched as a full-time starter. Luckily, he will have help this year. Yasmani Grandal is recovering from a late season ACL tear (and subsequent surgery) last year, but should be ready to go early in the season. The Padres need him to produce 2012-esque numbers offensively, but staying on the field for an extended period of time would be a solid start. Rene Rivera will be in the picture until Grandal is healthy enough to return.

Rotation

Left-hander Eric Stults was the only Padres starter to log over 200 innings in 2013, and one of three returning players to have pitched over 100 innings. His 2.6 WAR led the team, but he struck out fewer than six batters per nine innings and allowed a 3.93 ERA. Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross are the other two returning starters, though Ross may continue to be used as a swingman. He did put up the best FIP on the staff, at 2.92 in 94 innings as a starter. He also has the strikeout potential that neither Stults nor Cashner have, fanning over a batter per inning in 2013.

Rounding out the rotation will be a pair of (relative) newcomers in Ian Kennedy and Josh Johnson. Kennedy was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline last year and allowed a 4.24 ERA in 57 1/3 innings. He is quickly distancing himself from his excellent 2011 season, having posted consecutive years with an ERA and FIP above 4.00. Both his walk and home run rates have risen in each of the past two years. Johnson is also a rebound hopeful, but has a few more factors working in his favor. His 2013 season was awful on the surface, but he still struck out a batter per inning and put up a 3.58 xFIP. Getting him out of the homer-happy AL East and into a pitcher's park could result in a return to his productive days with the Marlins.

Despite losing Luke Gregerson and his career 2.88 ERA, the Padres' bullpen looks like it could be an above average unit in 2014. Right-hander Huston Street will be joined by former Tiger Joaquin Benoit to form one of the more experienced setup-closer combos in baseball. Street shirked his homer problems to post a 2.70 ERA and 33 saves in 2013. Lefty Alex Torres will look to prove that last year's 1.71 ERA and 2.32 FIP were no fluke. Nick Vincent and Tim Stauffer will be pushed down the totem pole despite productive seasons last year. Stauffer's ERA was not quite as pretty, but his 3.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio and homer troubles indicate that improvement could be in store.

The Walking Dead

No team has been bitten by the injury bug as hard and often as the Padres so far this spring. Cory Luebke received the worst news of the bunch; after recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2013, Luebke will need a second surgery on his pitching elbow. He is out for the entire season. Cameron Maybin will also miss significant time -- two to three months is the current estimate -- after rupturing a biceps tendon. Huston Street pulled a groin, Chase Headley strained a calf, and prospect Max Fried was shut down with forearm soreness. Yasmani Grandal and Casey Kelly are recovering from ACL and Tommy John surgeries, respectively. For good measure, Alex Torres is having visa issues and has not yet reported to camp. But hey, at least they could have had that floating stadium, right?

Player to watch: Andrew Cashner

Cashner was a bright spot for the Padres in 2013, allowing a 3.09 ERA and 3.35 FIP in 175 innings. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Anthony Rizzo prior to the 2012 season, Cashner missed most of the 2011 and 2012 seasons with shoulder problems. He throws too hard for someone who only struck out 6.58 batters per nine innings in 2013, but features a legitimate out pitch in his slider. His career 52.1% ground ball rate and Petco Park's ample dimensions will also help. If he can stay healthy, expect Cashner to put together another great season.

Outlook

There does not seem to be a large difference between second and fifth place in the NL West, but the Padres arguably have the furthest to go to reach the upper echelon of the division. They posted the worst pythagorean win-loss record in the West last year and are already behind the eight ball in 2014 with their extensive injury report. They don't have the game-changing talent of the Rockies, Giants, or Diamondbacks, and therefore need more to go right in order to contend. The pitching staff isn't bad, but the lineup is a big step away from being league average, let alone a true asset. If the injuries don't let up soon, a return to the cellar could be in store for the Padres in 2014.

With Starlin Castro sidelined, the calls for "MORE BAEZ" are getting even louder. He and the other prospects are trying to be patient while showing good attitudes. Meanwhile, Dale Sveum has no regrets, Mike Olt wants a shot, and we remember Harry.

I dislike the Oscars and other big award shows. Why? Because sports writers think they are witty when they do show tie-ins.

From Comcast SportsNet

• The Royals say they know Dale Sveum can develop young players.
• The team's former manager has no regrets with the Cubs or Starlin Castro.
• Speaking of the Cub's shortstop, his injury puts Javier Baez in the spotlight. Like he wasn't before?
• Mike Olt wants a shot to win the starting job at third base. Don't we all?
• Would Rick Renteria let one of the Cubs attend the Oscars like Adam Dunn?
• Jeff Samardzija thinks the team has the right building blocks in Javier Baez and Kris Bryant. So, then, Jeff... about that extension...
• Jason Hammel knows how the Cubs operate at the trade deadline. Rent, Jason.

From Cubs Den

• A "new" pitcher may be entering the conversation near the top of the 2014 draft board. The problem I see is an extra letter in that first name.
• The Cubs struggled seemingly forever to find a third baseman. Now the future of the position looks good.
• One of the best traits the Cubs' big prospects are showing is patience.

• (Video) Chris Bosio talks about the rehab of reliever Kyuji Fujikawa.
• (Video) In a follow-up to Sunday's edition of Cub Tracks, Aaron Cunningham talks about selling socks.
• Rick Renteria is a student of all phases of the game.
• The manager also gave some words of encouragement to James McDonald after his rough first outing.
• Could Theo Epstein top a Casablanca script?
• (Video) Jason Hammel talked about knocking off the rust.
• (Video) Darwin Barney talks about moving back over to play some shortstop.

From the Chicago Sun-Times

• Edwin Jackson wants to put his 18 loss season behind him.
• Darwin Barney is sticking with his day job and giving up acting, for now.
• George Kottaras' dog has become the team's unofficial spring mascot.
• Starlin Castro's injury has increased the clamor for more Baez.

From the Daily Herald

• The team's starting rotation should be good from the start of the season, but how long can that last?

Miscellaneous

• A little ways down in this Fangraphs notes column, Jason McLeod talks about "missing" on Javier Baez when he was with the Padres.
• Apparently, at least according to a Kansas City TV station, the Cubs didn't lose to the Royals on Sunday after all.
• Note from Al: SB Nation support says this should hopefully clear up the issues people are having about not staying logged in on phones: "Go into preferences and reset your cookies and cache and make sure "do not track" is not on as we require some cookies for the login. Restart your phone and see if it works." Please let me and SBN know if this works.

Today's food for thought

• This is what it looks like when Saturn's rings disappear from view.
• This infographic tracks all of the deaths in Shakespeare's works.

In honor of Mardi Gras, we parade through the Reds news of the day.

Ben Lindbergh took a look at Billy Hamilton over at Grantland. If the Reds and/or Hamilton had hoped to sneak into 2014 under the radar and without a spotlight, that's just simply not going to happen.  Hamilton isn't a perfect ballplayer, nor does he project to be a perfect ballplayer, but he does project to be better at one thing than every other player who currently exists...and that's always going to be a story.  Even if some of his performance stumbles out of the gate, Hamilton has a very, very marketable skill that will always be on display.  He's got the kind of speed to make him the leg-portion of any Baseball Voltron created for years.  It's akin to if Aroldis Chapman was penciled in to throw 105 mph fastballs at least once every single game.  Grantland, it appears, has taken notice, too.

Remember when ESPN wrote that semi-crap article that made Chapman seem like one part Rick Ross and one part retired Grandpa?  Well, Mark Sheldon detailed some of what Chapman's been through in the last year, and it paints a pretty different picture. There are several things that worry me about the 2014 Cincinnati Reds, but Aroldis making batters look completely stupid about two hundred times isn't one of them.  Not at all, actually.  In fact, there's a part of me that thinks this whole affair will piss him off enough to bring out a whole new level of dominance.  Mike Bauman of mlb.com gives his own corroboration of Sheldon's story, too.

C. Trent Rosecrans spoke with Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers about a former player of his - current Reds SP David Holmberg.  Holmberg, acquired in the the three team trade that saw Ryan Hanigan depart Cincinnati for Tampa Bay, gets some pretty high praise from Towers, and he even gets a David Wells reference.  I truly hope Holmberg materializes the way that Towers and Jeff Pico project despite my druthers.

C. Trent also glanced at the early returns of Alfredo Simon's attempt at being a starter. Simon's got a history of being a starter thanks to his time in the Baltimore Orioles organization, but a quick glance at his pitching repertoireshows that he's a much, much different pitcher now than he was the last time he was asked to throw the first pitch of a game.  He's reduced the number of four-seam fastballs significantly, he's added a cutter and a two-seam fastball, and he's nearly completely cut his change-up from his game plan.  Yeah, his .236 BABIP last season isn't sustainable, but there is a lot to like about his transformation under the tutelage of Bryan Price.  Hopefully, we won't have to watch the situation develop, but it's nice to know there's additional depth.

Here's an article that features a Reds manager talking about percentages and defensive shifts. WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE...TO THE NEW AGE...WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE.

Happy Mardi Gras, RRs.

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With their first win of the Spring in their back pockets, our Padres are back in Peoria today to face off against another NL West opponent, the Diamondbacks. In his second start of the Spring, Eric Stults will try to have a better outing than he did last Thursday, when he gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in two innings of work. As last season's innings workhorse and team pitching leader in wins (11), Stults is looking to once again make the rotation going into the regular season. Consensus seems to be that he will likely take up the last available spot in the rotation (otherwise filled by Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Josh Johnson, and Ian Kennedy), but there are differing opinions as to where in the rotation he will fit. As the only southpaw in the group, some think Buddy will fit him into the 3rd spot, behind Cashner and Ross, but others place him at the tail end of the rotation.

Opposing Stults on the mound for the Dbacks will be right-hander Randall Delgado. Bronson Arroyo was scheduled to start today, but was scratched with stiffness in his lower back. San Diego State Aztec-for-life Addison Reed, who was traded to Arizona from Chicago last December, will also get some mound time.

In non-pitching news, Carlos Quentin will make his Spring debut today. The oft-injured outfielder has come into camp this year feeling really optimistic and in good health, so hopefully that will keep up. I think he'll be avoiding the crazy diving catches, at least until the regular season Q will be batting cleanup against the Dbacks, with Everth Cabrera, Chris Denorfia, and Yonder Alonso making up the top of the order. We'll also see more of Jace Peterson, whom Buddy is a big fan of, at third base, hitting 8th in the lineup. Spring Training standout Tommy Medica isn't in the starting 9, so if he is to add to his 8-for-11 average, it will be off the bench.

As usual, you can catch the game via free audio webcast on padres.com or MLB.com, as well as through MLB At-Bat, and first pitch is set for 12:05.

Hopefully all the alkaline water Carlos Quentin has been guzzling will help him lead our Friars to a second straight victory today.

It's Fat Tuesday (or as I like to call it, Gaslamp Balldi Gras!) so grab some afternoon beers/sodas/water/whatever you fancy and a delicious lunch and report back to us while listening to the greatest indulgence of all: BASEBALL.

GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!! WHACK THE DBACKS!!

#Padres lineup vs. @Dbacks Carlos Quentin makes his #PadresST debut. 12:05pmPT, listen in on http://t.co/mh3kEsWSVQpic.twitter.com/SDidyPjP6e

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 4, 2014

With everyone finally under contract, a couple of players won't be getting as much as they did in 2013.

The players on the roster that haven't made it to their arbitration years, let alone their free agent years, don't get many headlines when they sign their contracts. The teams do not even announce the signings until after Spring Training is underway and the news gets mostly lost in the shuffle. The San Diego Union Tribune's Dennis Lin tweeted this today:

Yonder Alonso will make $980,000 and Yasmani Grandal will make $792,000 this season. Rest of Padres' pre-arb players will make around $500k.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) March 4, 2014

Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal were known to be special cases. When the Reds drafted and signed each of them they signed each of them to Major League contracts. That meant that each were put on the 40 roster from the day they were drafted and had specific salaries assigned to them. For example, here is Alonso's contract according to Baseball Prospectus (who acquired Cot's Contracts a while back):

5 years/$4.55M (2008-12)

• signed Major League contract with Cincinnati 8/15/08
• $2M signing bonus
• 08:$50,000, 09:$0.4M, 10:$0.5M, 11:$0.6M, 12:$1M
• if eligible, Alonso may opt for arbitration after 2011
• award bonuses: $0.1M each for MVP or WS MVP; $25,000 for Rookie of Year
• $78,000 for cost of 3 remaining semesters of college ($60,000 tuition, $18,000 room & board)

As you can see, the contract ran out after 2012. That meant that Alonso's service time would determine what part of the MLB salary structure he would now be in (pre-arbitration) and that the team could assign him a contract as such. In 2013, they gave him a raise of $120K. That put his 2013 salary at $1.12M. As you can see, that $980K salary that was just announced is quite the pay cut for him. It is not just less than his 2013 salary, but less than his 2012 salary as well. Alonso did not have the best 2013, but a pay cut like this was not expected. MLB rules allow the team to cut a pre-arbitration player's salary up to 20%, as long as they are still paid at least the league minimum. This was only a 12.5% pay cut, so the Padres did not pinch all the pennies, but did pinch some.

Without getting into all the same details with Grandal's contract, I can say that his salary was $1.24M in 2013. The Padres did not have to pay all of it because PED suspensions are served without pay. Apparently this opened a loophole for the team to cut his salary by more than 20%. His $792K comes in somewhere around a 35% pay cut, but if you assume he only got paid 2/3 of his original 2013 salary, then you could call it something closer to a 5% pay cut. However, I do not know for sure what Grandal ended up getting paid in 2013 so that percentage might be a bit off (it could be as high as 12%).

With these near-final numbers in, the Opening Day payroll should look something likes this:

Note: I am calling Medica and Schuster the 24th and 25th players on the Opening Day roster, but their spots are up for grabs. You can swap them out with any other roster candidate and the salary will be approximately the same.

The 40 man roster is now under contract for the upcoming season

As of yesterday, the 40-man roster is now under contract for the 2014 season after the San Diego Padres agree to terms with 22 players.

Those 22 players include outfielders Reymond Fuentes,Yeison Asencio, Rymer Liriano; infielders Alexi Amarista,Yonder Alonso, Ryan Jackson, Jedd Gyorko, Tommy Medica; catchers Rene Rivera, Yasmani Grandal; right-handed pitchers Casey Kelly,Jesse Hahn, Donn Roach, Burch Smith, Keyvius Sampson, Dale Thayer, Joe Wieland, Nick Vincent; and left-handed pitchers Juan Oramas, Robbie Erlin, Alex Torres and Patrick Schuster

This announcement made by Executive Vice President and General Manger Josh Byrnes, signifies the completion of contracts for the 40-man roster and a step forward for the 2014 season.

The Diamondbacks hit the 101 North this morning, heading round to the Peoria Sports Complex to face the Padres, with Delgado making his second start of spring.

Randall Delgado RHP, 0-0, 2.45

Eric Stults LHP, 0-1, 13.50

Diamondbacks line-up

1. A.J. Pollock, CF
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
   
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
   
4. Martin Prado, 3B
5. Mark Trumbo, LF
6. Matt Tuiasosopo, RF
7. Miguel Montero, C
8. Cliff Pennington, SS
   
9. Randall Delgado P
   + Addison Reed, Brad Ziegler, Josh Collmenter, Mike Bolsinger and Charles Brewer

Given Brewer was re-assigned to Reno this morning, not sure we'll see him, but I'd imagine they'll be aiming to get Delgado through five innings, then let the first four relievers named above work an inning each. This was originally slated to be started by Bronson Arroyo, but he was scratched last night with what the team says is "back stiffness." It probably is nothing, but considering he was signed largely (almost entirely, some might say) for his proven durability, it doesn't exactly feel like a great omen for Arroyo to be skipped already, at his second pre-season outing. Still, we have rotation depth, so even if the worst happens, it shouldn't have much impact.

Today's good news: Carlos Quentin launched a bomb to left field in his first at bat of the spring. Yonder Alonso also hit his first homer of the spring, and Everth Cabrera hit two doubles in his three at bats. A smattering of hits from the rest of the lineup netted the Padres a solid five runs, but it wasn't enough as Eric Stults and Nick Vincent got roughed up for three runs each. Donn Roach also allowed two runs, but he spread them out over three innings of work.

The team bus heads over to Camelback Ranch tomorrow as our boys take on the White Sox at 12:05 pm PST.

Carlos Quentin's first AB of the season is a homer. #Padres trail #DBacks 3-1 in the 3rd. https://t.co/o6xdhldZsa

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 4, 2014

Yonder Alonso blasts his first home run of the spring as the #Padres now down 4-3 in the 3rd. #PadresSThttps://t.co/TdcHm8uoCt

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 4, 2014

Axion beat out TheThinGwynn, 38 comments to 28, but TTG can take solace in the fact that he crushed Axion in the rec game.

After a few games where our pitching was definitely better than our offense, it was nice to see the hitters come through. They knocked out a spring high 15 hits, and needed most of them to edge the Padres at Peoria.

Record: 5-4. Change on 2013: +1/2.

The door was perhaps opened slightly for Randall Delgado to stick in the rotation this year, with the news that he would be replacing Bronson Arroyo and his tight back, at least for this afternoon's start. However, Delgado didn't exactly kick it in, with his usual problem of the long ball troubling him here, allowing home-runs to both Carlos Quentin and Yonder Alonso, accounting for three of the four earned runs with which Randall allowed was charged, in his 3.2 innings of work. He gave up a total of five hits and a walk, with a pair of strikeouts, and seemed to have some control issues, only throwing 40 of his 74 pitches for strikes.

Fortunately, the offense was up to the task, Eric Stults not making it past a first inning where he faced eight batters, threw 43 pitches and was tagged for three runs. Martin Prado doubled in the first run, and Matt Tuiasosopo followed up with a two-run single later in the frame, to give the Diamondbacks the lead. They added on, first with a run coming home when Mark Trumbo hit into a third-inning double-play, then on an A.J. Pollock double our next time up. However, Delgado's subsequent struggles, along with earned runs allowed by both closer candidates Addison Reed and J.J. Putz, helped San Diego stay in the game. Indeed, this was tied at five after six innings.

Arizona retook the lead in the top of the seventh, the first four batters for us stringing together hits, to open things up. Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt each had RBI doubles, and Tuiasosopo drove in his third run, with a sacrifice fly. It may have helped that we played our regular starters deeper into this one than San Diego, but Prado continued his hot streak, getting three hits here and improving his spring average to .667 (10-for-15). Of course, this sets the standard for what to expect from him during the regular season, amIright? Pollock also had three hits, and good to see Goldie reach safely three times on a walk and two knocks; Trumbo had a hit and a walk.

On the mound, it wasn't particularly impressive. Mike Bolsinger worked 1.1 scoreless innings, but allowed the runner he inherited to score, and as noted, Reed and Putz each were tagged for a run. We probably saved the best for last, with Josh Collmenter and David Hernandez each posting hitless innings; I know it's a small sample size (and also, it's spring training - duh!), but the latter has retired all six batters faced, with a pair of strikeouts. Back to Salt River Fields for the Diamondbacks tomorrow, where they'll take on the Kansas City Royals, with Patrick Corbin making his second start of the pre-season.

Katie Osborne unwittingly just kept leaving us clues on her Twitter timeline that she was coming to San Diego to become Fox Sports' new reporter and Padres POV host.  To solve the Mystery of the Missing Fox Sports Reporters it was just a matter of imagining myself as sixteen year old super sleuth Nancy Drew.

Best mom! RT @megindy1 Girls night w @ktmosborne - every moment I can get before she #TakesOffForCA - love this girl! pic.twitter.com/nQ5IyCO9JT

— Katie Osborne (@ktmosborne) March 2, 2014

Fox Sports, upon realizing that it was futile to try and keep secrets from Nancy Drew, confirmed my suspicions from a few weeks ago.  Katie comes to us from places unknown in Indiana.  She's reported on the X-Games and Rallycross in the past, but will start pumping out Padres POV episodes in the very near future.

Kate Osborne to join FOX Sports San | FOX Sports on MSN

The first episode of Padres POV in the 2014 season will feature Osborne as host and will debut Friday, April 4th at 8:00 PM PST following Padres Live postgame show.

So now with Katie joining the team along with Kris Budden and Brook Roberts, FSSD is fully staffed, at least momentarily, for the start of the Padres season.

Spring Training has begun, so let's take a look at top prospects in the NL West trying to make a name for themselves this spring.

I wanted to do this before spring training started, but whatever. I'll be doing two more of these after the trading deadline, and the regular season. These rankings are based off scouting reports, value to the team, and overall talent. So let's take a look at the top 10 prospects in the NL West.

10. Heath Hembree, RHP, Giants

You don't often see a prospect born to be a reliever. But that's exactly what Hembree is. He's known for his great movement on his fastball and slider. That movement sometimes can come back to haunt him, as he falls behind hitters, but he'll strike out a ton, over one per inning. If he can develop a change up, he'll be deadly, but don't get your hopes up on that. Pitching in AT&T should help him excel even more, as he didn't give up a earned run in 9 appearances last year.

9. Max Fried, LHP, Padres

Fried is a lot like Tyler Skaggs. Curveball with a big break on it, and an average fastball with good location. He's very tall and lengthy, but a great athlete. Fried could use a little more velocity on his fastball to become even more affective. He's only 19, so there's plenty of time for him to gain velocity as he gets to his twenties, or develop a change-up.

8. Chris Withrow, RHP, Dodgers

Withrow is still considered a "Prospect" as he only pitched 34.2 innings last year. In that time, WIthrow had an era of 2.60, over a strikeout per inning, and only 13 walks. He's known for throwing that 95-97 mph fastball on the corners, which sets up his tight spin slider. This fastball command comes in big handy when down in the count. It will be interesting to see how far he makes it into the Dodgers bullpen. On any other team, he would look to be their future set-up man/closer, but you know those Dodgers.....

7. Rosell Herrera, SS , Rockies

Herrera had a monster year in class A Ball, hitting .343, .515 slugging percentage, and a .933 OPS. The Rockies fully expect him to see AA and AAA pitching this year. It will be interesting to see if he can increase on his power and speed in 2014, as he was a bit disappointing in both those areas last year. He won't win any Gold Gloves, but he does have depth in the field, as he can play third and the outfield. Herrera is one of the most interesting things to watch this spring, and upcoming season, as he will be the man to replace Tulo.

6. Chris Owings, SS, Diamondbacks

One of the most talked about prospects all across baseball, as Owings and Didi will battle it out this spring, and most likely throughout the season. The defending PCL MVP is known for one thing: Hitting. He demolished PCL pitching, batting .330. He's not a big guy, so he won't hit for much power, but does give you the stolen base option. The one thing Owings lacks is defense, and that keeps him out of the top five. If Owings can raise his fielding percentage, and show a bit better range, there is no reason he can't be a great MLB shortstop.

5. Zach Lee, RHP, Dodgers

Lee won't blow you away with anything, but he defines great location and frustrating batters. His fastball ranges from 90-92 mph, although a chance to rise. He also has a cutter to hit the corners, and get inside on batters, which causes a lot of broken bats. He's best when he can get his change up to fade away, which is his big strikeout pitch.

4. Eddie Butler, RHP, Rockies

Butler is pretty much the opposite of Zach Lee. A big power pitcher with great movement on all of his pitches, but can sometimes get out of control. His slider and change up are both above average pitches, which is a HUGE plus for him when effective. His change is in the mid 80's with great movement. He could work on his slider a little, but is very effective at confusing the hitter with that pitch ahead in the count. If Butler can get better control on his pitches, he will be a very effective mlb pitcher.

3. Austin Hedges, C, Padres

Hedges had a bit of a disappointing year in the minors, batting only .270 in the California League. But it's way too early to question his hitting, as he has plenty of power, and great patience at the plate. Hedges' defense is what makes him a great catcher. His arm is the best in the minors, and great movement when blocking balls. His defense will get him playing time, and if he raises his average, or shows his power, he could become one of the better catchers in baseball.

2. Jon Gray, RHP, Rockies

Gray can throw from 94-99 mph, and top out in the triple digits. He can place that fastball better then any pitcher in the minors. His slider is thrown is the mid 80's with fabulous sharp break on it. His changeup still could improve, but it does fool hitters. While Gray's fastball alone will get him into the majors, his great slider, and decent changeup might finally be the piece the Rockies have been looking for.

1. Archie Bradley, RHP, Diamondbacks

Well, Duhhhh. Not only is Archie the best prospect in the NL West, but maybe in the entire MLB. And he's a Diamondback, so that helps his cause. :)

His control is top-notch when pitching his mid 90's fastball. Bradley's curveball is without question his best pitch. When throwing it effectively, it has Adam Wainwright type downward movement, and makes batters look silly. His changeup has nice movement on it as well. His control is something to work on, especially when he tries to throw his fastball in the triple digits, but his control is nothing to sweat about. Hopefully, the next great pitcher in baseball.

I don't think I mention this much on the blog but I'm really interested in cryptozoology, the paranormal, conspiracy theories and aliens.  Probably more so than baseball.   In fact long before we started this Padres blog Dex and I started writing a book together.  We first touched pen to paper sometime in our senior year of high school.  We called our book A Prey of an Abject Funk. It was about Sasquatch, naturally.  The plan was we'd both start writing and then we'd tie our stories together.  We both wrote a chapter and quickly realized that that's not how you write a book.  It's amazing with our track record that this Padres blog ever reached 9 years old.

Maybe our crazy business ideas come from the fact that I've never been one of those people that had a dream job.  Sometimes though when I'm watching Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet, like I often do, I'll convince myself that that's what I was meant to do.

So imagine my surprise when famed squatcher "Bobo" tweeted his support of a Padres PA announcer finalist, who's trying out for his dream job.  My two worlds collided.

@squatcher Thanks Bobes! Hopefully we can get some squatch calls live at Petco this summer! #PadresPA#TeamBigMac#Hometeam

— Michael McAfee (@MikeGMcAfee) March 5, 2014

The weirdness of it all draws me in like a mothman to a collapsing bridge.

Error cards come in many forms. Better-known variants include reversed negatives or a photograph of the wrong player, but most errors are less glaring and slip through the cracks. Jedd Gyorko has fallen victim to Topps' shoddy quality control at least twice already in his nascent career.

I encountered my first such Jedd Gyorko card a couple of summers ago. His 2012 Topps Pro Debut All-Stars card, "number" AS-JG, features some glaringly poor Photoshop work on his batting helmet on the front, but that's not considered an error. You have to flip the card over for that.

Hey, he's not a pitcher! Do they even double-check these things? It would be more understandable if it wasn't right above a paragraph talking about his hitting and ending in the words "with a nifty stab and throw from third base".

The next typo was on the back of his 2013 Topps rookie card. I have a copy of it around here somewhere but couldn't find it, so I scanned my copy of the Topps Chrome version. They're the same on the front and back except for the card number and, you know, the whole chromeiness thing. I could live without a dozen versions of the same card but whatever, this isn't about that. See how long it takes you to catch the typo on this one; it doesn't jump right out at you like the other one.

It's subtle, but it's a screw-up nonetheless. I can see how an editor would miss that; the misspelled word became a properly spelled common word, and I'm sure they just give the backs a quick once-over instead of perusing (proper usage!) them since they have several hundred cards to check.

It should be interesting to see if/how Topps does him wrong this year.

Ray takes a look at the recent average draft position (ADP) data from NFBC for starting pitchers. Let's see how the rankings from the Fake Teams writers fared vs the NFBC ADP rankings.

Today we take a look at the average draft position data for starting pitchers according to the ADP data from the NFBC (National Fantasy Baseball Championship) courtesy of NESN.com.

In addition, I thought it would be helpful to include the Fake Teams consensus starting pitcher rankings in the table below to see how close the collective rankings of eight independent writers fared vs the NFBC ADP rankings. The NFBC rankings are collected from all the NFBC drafts that have completed to date. Each of the NBC drafts consist of 15 teams and 30 rounds, so the data is a good barometer for where players are being drafted.

Quick Thoughts

The NFBC drafters are more confident in Marlins ace Jose Fernandez than we are, but I have to say, I am starting to think he could end the season as the #1 starter in the game. He is fun to watch, and he apparently biked about 600 miles this offseason to build his leg strength, which helps pitchers work deeper into games.

It appears the NFBC drafters are in love with some of the young starters who made their big league debuts in 2013, including Cardinals starter Michael Wacha, Danny Salazar and Tony Cingrani. All three ware terrific last season, but none of them pitched more than 105 innings, and Wacha made just nine starts before dominating in the NLDS and NLCS. 2014 is a different year, and there is no guarantee they will perform well this season. I advise not drafting them until you have at least one of our top 12-15 on your roster.

One pitcher who I am starting to have my reservations about is Tigers ace Justin Verlander. His fastball velocity has declined over the last three to four seasons, and his WHIP rose to 1.30 last season, so he was much more hittable than in previous seasons. I wouldn't want to draft him as if he is still a top 10-12 starter, as there are several pitchers ranked below him that I prefer, including Chris Sale, Zack Greinke, David Price, and James Shields to name a few.

If you want a late round pick, who is no longer a sleeper, try to grab Padres starter Tyson Ross, as he was pretty dominant in the second half of the season, striking out a batter per inning and inducing ground balls at a 50% clip.

Another guy I like late in drafts is Indians hurler Corey Kluber, as he had a bit of a breakout last season, winning 11 of his 24 starts with a sub 4.00 ERA, a strikeout to walk rate over 4.00 and a ground ball rate over 45%.

Starting Pitchers ADPs

Good to see a few runs cross home-plate for the Diamondbacks yesterday; seems the hitters were a little behind our pitchers prior to that. Can they keep it up in this afternoon's televised game? Also today, a change of position for a top prospect, and a near-insane baseball travel challenge.

Recaps

• [ArizonaSports] Delgado gets by in spring win over Padres - "I was feeling pretty good, but had a couple bad pitches with command or something, but I feel great," Delgado said following his outing. The two pitches that were hit out of the ballpark were both fastballs, and the D-backs hurler wasn't too pleased with the location of either. "A little bit up, perfect for hitters," he said. Manager Kirk Gibson summed up his starter's performance. "He got through it, he got behind in counts and gave up the home runs," he said. "But he threw the ball well, he did good."
• [FOX Sports] D-backs game report - With Gibson looking to get plentiful at-bats for competing shortstops Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings, both entered Tuesday's game in the fifth inning, with Owings at second base. ... Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch (calf) was unavailable again Tuesday but hoped to do more during workouts. He'll likely remain out for at least a few more days. ... They got a visit from an old friend. Former D-back Willie Bloomquist, now with the Mariners, stopped into the visiting clubhouse to say hello.

Team news

• [AZ Central] Brandon McCarthy: ‘I feel like myself again’ - "Last year, from the beginning, coming off everything from the year before, you’re just kind of a broken person and you realize as the year goes on that you’re not what you want to be," he said. "The way the results kept going up and down, I wasn’t the type of pitcher I’d established the past few years. When you’re not strong physically, when you’re not strong mentally, it makes for a long, long season, and obviously the results aren’t going to follow there, either. So that makes it even tougher. Now it just feels like I’m myself again."
• [ArizonaSports] A healthy Hill would benefit the Diamondbacks - "It happens, you get hit," Hill said. "It was just kind of unfortunate it broke a bone. But all you can do is just wait for it to get healthy. I tried to play through it, obviously it didn't work, but I took the time off, came back and felt good. I felt like I finished OK. Just take the offseason to get as strong as you can and prepare for the next season."
• [dbacks.com] Bradley dazzles on mound for Arizona Diamondbacks - "He was pretty much in control out there," Kirk Gibson said about Bradley. "We all know what his capabilities are, what he's accomplished in the Minor Leagues, what he's projected to accomplish up here. It's good to see him go out and execute that way. We just want to keep him headed in the right direction. He's somebody who can be very important to our team this year."
• [AZ Central] Stryker Trahan: New position ‘a great opportunity’ - "When Diamondbacks farm director Mike Bell called prospect Stryker Trahan into his office last month and asked him what he thought about moving to the outfield, Trahan thought Bell might have been kidding. But the longer they talked, the more he realized that not only was it not a joke, it was a good idea. "I was on board with it from the beginning of the conversation, once I realized it was real — and that I had a great opportunity," Trahan said. "I’ve heard nothing but good things that can come out of this."
• [MLB.com] Delgado could start or come out of the bullpen - "He very well could be in the bullpen for us this year," Gibson said. "We've always had Josh as our only long guy. You'd rather have another guy to have some length in his arm.. I think Randall has kind of a Collmenter mentality, where regardless of where you put him, I think he'll adjust to that and do a very good job with it," Gibson said. "He just wants to pitch. He's young, he's aggressive, he's a developing pitcher. Because of where he is with options there's probably a good chance he'll be on the team."
• [Sporting News] D-backs 2014: Arizona's stock trending downward - "Miley and Cahill are going to need to step up and establish themselves as top-of-the-rotation starters, and Corbin needs to build off of his first full big-league season to give the Diamondbacks the rotation they’ll need to stay out of the NL West cellar."
• [AZ Central] Putz adjusts - Putz was scheduled to pitch in Monday’s afternoon game against the Angels, but didn’t make an appearance because he’s working on a mechanical adjustment. Putz said new pitching coach Mike Harkey first noticed the issue, which involved poor timing in his delivery. Putz said he’s working on using his lower half more to improve his direction to the plate. "The timing is off," Putz said. "You may be good for two or three, and then two or three are up here and the timing isn’t consistent. It’s just hard to repeat."

And, elsewhere...

• It's still getting there...

  The transformation of the Sydney Cricket Ground to an @MLB field. #OpeningSeriespic.twitter.com/7MsZLYeXov

  — MLB (@MLB) March 4, 2014

• [Baseball Prospectus] Framing and Blocking Pitches - A pretty damn detailed study shows which catchers are the best at turning balls into strikes. Since 2008, Miguel Montero is tied for seventh-best, averaging over 10 runs per year earned with his framing skills.Worth noting: one successfully framed pitch is worth about one-sixth of a run. Over a full season, framing just one pitch a game could save more than 20 runs, which works out at two-plus wins. This could be a huge market inefficiency, waiting to be exploited, as Rob Neyer discussed.
• [MLB reports] 30 MLB Parks in 21 Days For 2014? - It's possible. But it would take perfect planning, and no small degree of luck [one game going long in the wrong place, and you'd be toast]. Not sure it would count as my idea of "fun" either. I think I'll stick with my ongoing project, 30 MLB Parks in 30 Years...

Alonso and Medica both play 1B and hit from opposite sides of the plate. This is an idea worth exploring.

With Maybin out at least two months and the Padres already likely to carry 5-6 players capable of playing the OF, the roster spot vacated by the 26 year old CF could go to a non-outfieder. One of the names in that mix is Tommy Medica. One issue with Medica is that he only plays 1B, which decreases the flexibility of the team's bench. However if he were to provide more value than just being a bat off the bench, then you could make a strong case for his inclusion on the major league roster.

I think most of us know that Yonder Alonso is a work in progress. He turns 27 in April and has only two full major league seasons under his belt. The first was promising, the second started that way, but was derailed by an injury that is known to affect a player's power numbers even shortly after being given a clean bill of health. So, the Cuban-born first baseman enters 2014 with something to prove.

However, even if you take into account this work-in-progress status there is something in his stat lines that is glaring. Against left handing pitching Alonso has a triple slash line of .244/.307/.350. That's and okay split if you are a glove first middle infielder, but not if you are a first baseman. When you look at the complementary slash line against right handed pitching you get .292/.360/.411, which admittedly still is not great for a first baseman, but if you believe that the bat will develop then it could be the start of something good. That sort of situation lends itself to a platoon.

Tommy Medica took full advantage of his surprise call up last year impressing right out of the gate. He continues to do so in Spring Training. His bat makes you want to find a place for him. His bat also happens to be right handed, the opposite of Yonder Alonso. One could envision a platoon. Medica's major league numbers are a very small sample size, but it that tiny sample lies a mark against that idea. Against left handed pitching he hit .154/.214/.385, which means he had almost all of his successes last year against right handed pitching. The same time of pitching that Alonso hits better against.

Taking a deeper look at Medica's hitting will lead you to his minor league splits. In 2013, he hit for a higher batting average against righties, but he had more pop against lefties. In 2012, his success against lefties is NSFW. In 2011, he also had better splits against southpaws. There are two problems with this data. One is that Medica has never played above AA with much of his platoon advantage success coming at even lower levels than that. That NSFW line was with the Lake Elsinore Storm. The second is that he still always hit right handed pitching really well. Wait, why is hitting well against right handed pitching a problem.

The problem brings us back to Yonder Alonso. If you believe enough in Medica's bat that you are willing to project him as someone who can mash lefties in the majors, you should also be projecting that he will hit righties pretty darn well too. So well that it starts to make you wonder why you would even start Alonso ahead of him. If he is that good then there really should be no problem, but we are just talking about projections. Guesswork. That guesswork could really use some more data points.

Just because you believe in Medica does not automatically mean that you lose faith in Yonder Alonso. Both could be good 1B. What is needed is to find a way to develop both. The logical step is to challenge Medica against right handed and left handed pitching at a level he has not mastered yet and at the same time give Alonso his chance to show he has improved. That is best done by sending Medica to AAA and keeping Alonso as the Padres 1B. If both succeed, that's great. A future platoon could be used down the stretch or in a future season and one could eventually be dealt to help the ballclub elsewhere. If Alonso is better, then maybe Medica can learn to play the OF and be a bench bat. If Medica is better, then you kept his service time clock from ticking too much in 2014 and can make him a cheap 1B solution for 2015 and beyond.

That being said, the goal is still to win in 2014. The club is still best served by limiting Alonso's at bats against left handed pitching. Using Medica to help with that could stagnate some of his development, but also could better the club. Hard to say which is the better path. The other option on the roster is big man Kyle Blanks. Unfortunately, Blanks' struggles in the majors are not associated to pitcher handedness. He has struggled against both to the point where he does not see a platoon advantage. And his struggles against both result in worse numbers than Alonso has against lefties.

In the end, there is no straightforward answer. One thing is clear though. It would be a big mistake to put Medica on the roster and only use him as a bench bat. If he breaks camp with the club, then a platoon with Alonso should be attempted.

After a high-scoring loss to the Diamondbacks yesterday, the Padres are back in action today against the White Sox. Andrew Cashner gets the ball for his second start of the spring and is expected to stretch himself out for a third inning this go-'round.

Don't be surprised if #Padres SP Andrew Cashner throws a handful of sliders today. Look for roughly 3 innings and/or 45 pitches.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) March 5, 2014

The defense behind Fast Money is comprised mostly of major leaguers, with only one player who has never seen time in the bigs. Of the seven with experience at the highest level, just four are virtually guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster. Tommy Medica looks to force his way on to it with his torrid hitting, while Ryan Jackson can only hope to be respectable in that regard while his glove does most of his talking.

Here's today's #Padres lineup at #WhiteSox Andrew Cashner's 2nd start. 12:05pmPT on http://t.co/mh3kEsWSVQ#PadresSTpic.twitter.com/AfOT3urdVt

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 5, 2014

The White Sox lineup Cashner will be facing includes a few familiar names, including thespian Adam Dunn and birthday boy Paul Konerko. Hard to believe he's 38 already; it feels like just yesterday that I was pulling cards of him as a baby-faced Dodger in catcher's gear. He's old, I'm old, and we're all gonna die. Ah, life.

White Sox lineup today vs. Padres. pic.twitter.com/2pLg2A15Cr

— Colleen Kane (@ChiTribKane) March 5, 2014

Game time is, as you might have suspected, at five-past-noon. Hang out here with us and entertain us with your comments about the game and your lunch. And try not to be surprised when Kyle Blanks goes yard in his second plate appearance.

Webcasts are back, but Jose Abreu is not

Beyond the Cactus League opener, Jose Abreu has been an elusive figure on White Sox webcasts. (And since the first webcast had technical difficulties, he wasn't easy to see then, either.)

Abreu isn't in the lineup for today's game against Padres (live webcast), and since Thursday calls for split-squad games, it'll be a 50-50 chance two days in a row.

Here's the Abreu-less lineup:

1. Alejandro De Aza, LF
2. Gordon Beckham, 2B
3. Conor Gillaspie, 3B
4. Avisail Garcia, RF
5. Adam Dunn, DH
6. Paul Konerko, 1B
7. Jordan Danks, CF
8. Tyler Flowers, C
9. Marcus Semien, SS

Starting: Chris Sale

Other scheduled pitchers: David Purcey, Dylan Axelrod, Omar Poveda, Zach Putnam, Nestor Molina, Frank De Los Santos, Cody Winiarski.

The Padres scored early and scored often in Wednesday afternoon's game at Camelback Ranch. Andrew Cashner was electric in his second start of the spring and got help from a multitude of bats.

Everth Cabrera led the game off with a single and went station-to-station for the first run. Nick Hundley put three more runs on the board with his first homer of the spring before the White Sox even got a chance to bat. The Friars tacked on another run in each of the next two innings, chasing Chris Sale from the game with two outs in the top of the third. A handful of White Sox relievers managed to keep San Diego's batters from crossing the plate until the eighth inning. That's the point at which, with Jonathan Galvez on second, Cody Decker mashed a David Purcey pitch to put the Padres up 8-0 with his first hit of the spring.

Cashner pitched three innings this time out, allowing no walks and only two singles while striking out three. Joe Wieland and Keyvius Sampson followed up with two scoreless innings each, both striking out a pair. Leonel Campos and Kevin Quackenbush each put in an inning of work and registered a strikeout.

On a side note, am I the only one who gets Cadillac Ranch stuck in his head every time they see or hear the words 'Camelback Ranch'?

Thelonious_Friar led with 31 comments while Ax and jodes dominated the rec game.