With the Minor Leaguers reporting to Spring Training, the Padres will have every healthy player in the organization at Peoria.

ESPN’s Keith Law praised the Padres’ farm system and ranked it at as the sixth best in baseball.

Here is the rest of the Minor League Spring Training Schedule:

• First full-squad workout is March 10

•  March 14 will be the first Minor League Spring Training game.

• The last Minor League Spring Training Game is March 30.

• Spring Training comes to an official close on March 31.

According to Springtrainingonline.com, the minor-league teams affiliated with the San Diego Padres play their home games at the Peoria Stadium training complex. Not all four teams play their games at the same location: if AAA and AA teams are at home, then the A teams are on the road; if AAA and AA teams are on the road, then the A teams are at home.

The Padres’ Minor League affiliates that will be reporting to the Peoria Sports Complex are:

Portland Beavers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League)
San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League)
Lake Elsinore Storm (Class A; California League)
Fort Wayne Tincaps (Class A; Midwest League)

Let us know in the comment box below if you will be attending Minor Spring Training to watch some of the organization’s best prospects.

If healthy, Erlin could shine in Triple-A this season. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

Over the last month or so on this site, many of our members have discussed how starting pitching will likely be a definite need to fill during the offseason.  A week ago, I discussed some of the players that the Padres could turn to internally to fill their voids in the starting rotation.  Although I had already alluded to four potential candidates which might crack the 2013′s “Starting Five,” I failed to mention one intriguing and wild-card prospect currently on the mend: Robbie Erlin.

When Erlin came over in the “Adams to Texas” trade last summer, he appeared ready to make the leap to Triple-A ball last season and hopefully to the big leagues with the Padres at some point this year.  Between Single-A Myrtle Beach, and Double-A Frisco and San Antonio, Erlin put up a 9-4 record in 25 Starts to go along with 154 Strikeouts in 147.1 Innings Pitched.  Unfortunately for the Left-Hander, injuries took their toll on him during 2012, and he was only able to start 14 games due to oblique and elbow ailments.

Thankfully, Erlin has rebounded in the Arizona Fall League (4 Starts, 0-1 Record, 4.22 ERA, 10.2 Innings Pitched) since his injury and seems to be getting back into pitching shape.  And according to Corey Brock of the Padres’ team website, Erlin has his new sped up delivery to thank for part of his recent success and his return to competition.  While the 22 year-old will likely begin the season in either San Antonio or Tucson, I am sure that the Padres’ brass and Coaching Staff will be monitoring his progress back from his elbow injury closely.  The Friars could potentially have one to two spots in the starting rotation up for grabs this upcoming year, and if they are unable/unwilling to explore the Free Agent/Trade Market for help, the club will look internally for answers.

I am sure that San Diego will give first crack at the open rotation spots to players which have made their big league debuts already, or have pitched a significant amount of time at the big league level.  Yet if injuries strike again and Erlin can prove himself at the Triple-A level with Tucson, it would not shock me at all if he is called upon to make a spot start or two late in the season when the rosters expand or if the Padres are out of contention.

Whether or not Erlin will actually make his big league debut this year or at some point in 2014 is still up for debate.  The important thing to keep in mind however is Erlin’s overall health moving forward, and the hope that he can develop into valuable piece of San Diego’s starting rotation by the middle of this decade.  I know that I will be intrigued to watch his progress this year.  And who knows?  If injuries unfortunately strike the starting staff again, we could see Erlin sooner as opposed to later wearing a Padres uniform.

Stats Courtesy of: Baseball Reference

The arrest, the delayed call-up, and the fact that he is a professional athlete raises questions about how a ball club should handle such situations.  According the the Tribune article, Cabrera is not the only one facing charges.  His wife, Connie was also arrested and faces charges.  Many states now file charges against both parties in domestic violence cases regardless of the circumstances.  It is no longer as simple as choosing the aggressor and filing charges.  While Cabrera was arrested and faces charges, the exact details of the altercation involving his wife will probably never be known.  To label him a  wife-beater would be too harsh and too hasty.  To let him off the hook would be to ignore the law.  So what does it mean to a Major League ball club?

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