Padres AAA Player of the Year and more

Been a while since my last post, but now that the minor league regular season has ended its time to look back at the top performers, highest ceiling and biggest disappointment.

Player of the Year- Cedric Hunter
A year after struggling at AA San Antonio, the 22 year old was back with the Missions and he put himself back on the map. With a line of .308/.373/.423 in one of the toughest hitter leagues in the minors, he struggled after his promotion to AAA but finished with a combined .287/.342/.397 line to end the year. He was very patient at the plate, with a 47/44 BB/K ratio. He needs some more polish, but the 2006 3rd round pick is looking like he could compete for the CF job in the next year or two.

Highest Ceiling- Cory Luebke
Cory has since been promoted to the big leagues but boy did he look great at the minor league level. Going 10-1 with a 2.68 ERA and a 88/29 K to Strikeout ratio across two levels. He is the most polished arm in the system and for good reason, a lefty who hides the ball well, and comes at you with a low 90's fastball and average secondary pitches. He struggled in his first start but that is expected of young pitchers. Newspaper reports he was in awe of Petco Park and the crowd, expect Cory to have a big impact the rest of the season, and possibly be a part of next years starting rotation out of Spring Training.

Biggest Disappointment- Aaron Poreda
The prize of the Jake Peavy trade has been nothing but disappointing so far, struggling with his command at both the AA and AAA levels. A 47/64 Strikeout to BB ratio will not get it done anywhere, especially as a reliever. Which is what the organization seems to see him as now, since he only has one start in his last 10 appearances. Looking back at the entire Peavy trade the only bright spot has been Ryan Webb, he's been a serviceable reliever.