C: Yasmani Grandal: Grandal has made quite the impression with the Padres in his brief time with the Padres, but he also was having a tremendous year for Tucson. Grandal was hitting .335, with 6 HR’s and 35 RBI’s. Grandal had a sparkling on-base percentage of .443, walked more than he struck out. (37 walks vs. 35 strikeouts).  San Antonio catcher Ali Solis also got consideration, as the Mexican-born catcher has had a nice year. He replaced Grandal on the World roster for the Futures All-Star game.

July 8, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal (12) singles during the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

1B: Nathan Freiman: Freiman, an 8th round selection in 2009, has had a monster year for San Antonio. He has a triple-slash line of .288/.355/.514, and is third in the Texas League with 17 homers. He leads the league with 66 RBI’s, and could end up being the MVP of the league. Spring sensation Matt Clark has also had a nice year for Tucson, after getting off to a very slow start. Clark is hitting .306, with 15 HR’s for Tucson.

2B: Cory Spangenberg: The 2011 1st round pick of the Padres has had a solid year for High-A Lake Elsinore. He has produced a triple-slash line of .288/.330/.384, with 1 HR and 33 RBI’s. He has also 21 stolen bases on the year. Spangenberg may be the Padres 2nd baseman of the future, but it seems like he will need to develop a little more pop in his bat to stick at the big-league level. Jonathan Galvez has put up some nice numbers for San Antonio, but he has missed time with injuries.

3B: Jedd Gyorko: Gyroko might be the Padres top prospect right now. He has played both second and third this year, but projects to be a full-time third baseman at the next level. Gyroko got off to a bit of a slow start in AA, but has been a force with AAA Tucson. Between the two levels, he has put up a line of .312/.374/.538, with 19 homers and 64 RBI’s. He will likely make his MLB debut in September, or early 2013 at the latest. Justin Miller has also had a nice year with the Storm, hitting .368 with 8 homers.

SS: Jace Peterson: Peterson has emerged as the Padres top shortstop prospect in 2012. He has an intriguing blend of athleticism, and plate discipline. He has a solid line of .274/.378/.392, with a homer and 26 RBI’s. He also has 42 walks to go with 40 strikeouts. He also has 36 steals, and has been caught just five times. Dean Anna was a Texas League All-Star with the Missions, and has put a sparkling .417 on-base percentage in 2012.

OF: Rymer Liriano, Rico Noel, Daniel Robertson: Liriano got off to a dreadful start in the California League with the Storm, but picked up his production in May and June. Liriano was recently promoted to San Antonio, and played in the Future’s All-Star Game. With the Storm, Liriano hit .298, with 5 HR’s and 41 RBI’s. Rico Noel has had a nice year for the Storm, and he features some of the best wheels in the minors. Noel has hit .297, with 61 SB’s. He strikes out a bit too much (101 times in 350 AB’s) but his glove could carry him to the big leagues. Robertson is a bit old for a prospect at 26, but he was the T-Padres lone representative in the Triple-A All-Star game. Robertson is hitting .318, with 1 HR and 27 RBI’s for the Padres.

Next time, I will take a look at the best performing pitchers in the Padres system. If you think there is anyone that has been omitted from this list, leave us some comments!

Tucson 7 (24-52), Fresno 5: The T-Padres scored two runs in the ninth inning, to get the win. The winning hit came from 2B Anthony Contreras(.290), as he delivered with a two-run double. 1B Matt Clark(.295) and 3B Jedd Gyorko(.316) each had two RBI’s. Matt Lollis made an emergency start, and pitched well. He gave up one run in three innings of work.

San Antonio 5, (4-1), Midland 1: San Antonio only needed six hits to score five runs, and they are off to a hot start in the season’s second half. C Ali Solis(.300) had a nice game, going 3-4 with a double, and two RBI’s. Donn Roach made his AA debut out of the bullpen, and pitched three shutout innings.

Mar 16, 2012; Peoria, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko (70) singles during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at the Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Lake Elsinore 4, (4-0) Lancaster 3: The Storm won walk-off style, in 14 innings. The winning hit came courtesy of 2B Casey McElroy (.667), who went 2-5, including the walk-off single. McElroy is 10-15 since joining the Storm. DH Tommy Medica went 3-6(.325), and slammed his ninth homer. Matt Jackson turned in a solid start, allowing just one hit in six shutout innings.

Lake County 4, Fort Wayne 2 (2-1):  Another day at the office for SS Jace Peterson(.286) as he went 2-4 with a triple and an RBI. Tyler Stubblefield(.267) also had a pair of hits. Colin Rea(3.13 ERA) got the start for the Tincaps, and took the loss, as he gave up four runs in three innings.

Boise 14, Eugene 11 (5-5): It was a wild one in Boise, but the Em’s could not get anyone out. On the offensive side, Brian Adams(.316) had a monster game, going 4-5, with two HR’s and 5 RBI’s. Genison Reyes got shelled in his start, as he gave up five runs in 2.2 innings.

Las Vegas 11, Tucson 6 (23-51): The T-Pads got off to a fast start, scoring 5 runs in the second, but were done in by the mighty offense of the 51′s. Las Vegas scored 5 in the 7th inning for the win. DH Yasmani Grandal continues to swing a hot bat, as he went 3-4, with 2 doubles, and 3 RBI’s. Grandal is hitting .318 for the year. Top prospect3B Jedd Gyroko went 1-5, and is hitting .313 on the year at AAA. RP Josh Spence took the loss in relief, and he was rocked. Spence recorded just one out, and gave up 5 earned runs. His ERA sits at a bloated 6.87.

March 27, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko (70) shakes hands with third base coach after hitting a two run homerun against the Texas Rangers ib the third inning at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

San Antonio 8 (2-1), Midland 3: The Missions pounded out 16 hits, including 3 from Texas League All-Star SS Dean Anna(.305) had three hits, and a pair of RBI’s. Top prospect P Keyvius Sampson(5.90 ERA) started, and worked 4 innings, and gave up 2 earned runs in 4 innings. He struggled with his control, as he walked four, but did strikeout 8.

Lake Elsinore 6 (2-0), Lancaster 2: Lake Elsinore got huge performances from 2B Casey McElroy(5-6 in A ball) who went 4-4, and 3B Connor Powers(.242 avg), who homered for a 2nd consecutive game. McElroy was recently promoted from Low-A Fort Wayne. Burch Smith(3.68 ERA) was fantastic for the Storm, as he took a perfect game into the fifth. He finished 5 innings, allowing just one hit.

Fort Wayne 4 (1-0, in 2nd half), Lake County 3: CF Donavan Tate(.200) had a nice game, going 2-5, with a double and RBI. Midwest League All-Star SS Jace Peterson(.278) went 1-3, with two walks. Frank Garces scattered 7 hits over 5 innings, allowing just one run. Garces walked 1, and struck out 3.

Boise 6, Eugene 4 (4-4): Boise scored 5 runs in the first three innings, and held off the Emeralds from there. CF Alberth Martinez(.379) continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-5. The Emeralds only went 1-12 with runners in scoring position. Will Scott(6.30 ERA) struggled, as he gave up 5 earned runs in five innings.