Henderson, Major League Baseball’s all-time stolen base leader, had 189 stolen bases in his first three Major League seasons. Noel is a base stealing hound, having stole nearly 170 bases in just three Minor League seasons.

Courtesy Of: Rico Noel

The ageless Henderson is the greatest leadoff hitter to ever play the game.

Noel’s game is tailored for the leadoff spot in the lineup, and just may be the Padres’ best Minor League leadoff hitter in the organization’s history.

Henderson played three seasons for the Padres. Noel enters his third season in the Padres’ organization.

The similarities don’t end there, but it is obvious why a scout once compared the 24-year old Noel to the legendary outfielder.

“That’s kind of bold to put me in the same sentence as Rickey Henderson,” said Noel, the Padres’ 2012 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year.

“That’s a person I definitely have watched, and actually, my first baseball card was a Rickey Henderson. I was a big Rickey Henderson fan, I mean, how you can not be?”

Noel knows the comparisons are there, but insists he is not worried about them. He is just focused on his game.

Although, he admits that sometimes he hypes himself up by talking to himself, like Henderson is famous for doing.

The high school football star from Lawton, Okla., has all the tools to be a successful Major Leaguer. And last year upon the advice of the Padres, he added switch-hitting to his arsenal, which already includes blazing speed, outstanding defense, and cannon for an arm.

If there is a flaw to the young outfielder’s game, it is his power, but Noel knows hitting for power is not who he is.

“I’m not really concerned with that,” Noel said. “That’s not going to be part of my game in the near future. As for power numbers, I am not going to be the guy that’s going to hit home runs. I’d rather take my extra base hits and use my will to run on the base paths and play good defense. That’s really where my game is at.”

Last year at Single-A Lake Elsinore, Noel boasted a .270 batting average with no home runs, 30 RBIs and an astonishing 90 stolen bases.

He said this season-he would like to be more consistent at switch-hitting.

Noel was drafted by the Padres in the fifth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University.

After getting some recruiting offers as a football player in high school, Noel ultimately chose to give up the sport all together to focus on a career playing baseball.

Noel knows his dream of playing in the Big Leagues is coming.

“I definitely want to make it in the next year or so,” he said.  “I’m already 24 years old but I have to stay patient because I’m a new switch-hitter and I have to get more consistent.”

Only time will tell if the Padres have the next Rickey Henderson on their hands.

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!

Righty Erik Davis was demoted from Portland to Lake Elsinore after making one Triple-A spot start. The outing went well (7 K, 2 ER in 5 IP), but it wasn’t enough for Davis to get more chances.

Lefty Mark Hardy was sent from Lake Elsinore back to the AZL after making one spot start in place of Davis. He threw four shutout innings but ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing three runs.

Lefty Josh Spence was promoted to Eugene from the AZL to take Matt Lollis’ (who was promoted earlier in the week) rotation spot. He threw three solid innings in his first start.

Outfielder Rico Noel, who had been on the DL in Fort Wayne, was activated and demoted to Eugene, where he could get more playing time. Noel had hit just .136 in 12 games in Fort Wayne.

So…that’s that. Nothing particularly unexpected or major, just some things to be aware of, I suppose.