[EmpireWF]

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects list for the San Diego Padres include:

1. Chase Headley, 3b
2. Matt Antonelli, 2b
3. Matt Latos, rhp
4. Wade LeBlanc, lhp
5. Drew Miller, rhp
6. Steve Garrison, lhp
7. Will Inman, rhp
8. Cedric Hunter, of
9. Nick Schmidt, lhp
10. Kyle Blanks, 1b


"On the minor league side, Double-A San Antonio and high Class A Lake Elsinore made deep playoff runs with teams stocked with prospects from the 2005 and 2006 drafts, the Padres' first two under vice president of scouting and farm director Grady Fuson. Of the eight drafted players on this Top 10 list, only first baseman Kyle Blanks (No. 10) was selected before Fuson arrived. San Antonio, BA's Minor League Team of the Year, won the Texas League title, led by the system's two best prospects, third baseman Chase Headley and second baseman Matt Antonelli.

With eight of the top 87 picks in the 2007 draft, the Padres primarily selected established college talent, like lefthanders Nick Schmidt and Cory Luebke, outfielder Kellen Kulbacki and catcher Mitch Canham.

San Diego also scored by landing the top player from baseball's final class of draft-and-follows. After signing for $1.25 million, righthander Matt Latos ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the short-season Northwest League. When bullpen stalwart Scott Linebrink started to slip, Towers shrewdly traded him to the Brewers for lefty Steve Garrison and righty Will Inman, both of whom cracked this Top 10 list, and lefty Joe Thatcher, who had a 1.29 ERA in 22 big league games. The Padres also were active in Latin America, handing out six-figure bonuses to a pair of Dominicans, shortstop Jonathan Spraut ($750,000) and outfielder Rymer Liriano ($300,000)."