John Conniff is a senior writer for MadFriars.com, a webzine that covers the San Diego Padres minor league system, and a free-lance contributor to Baseball America and 619 Sports.net. As in the past, we caught up with him to get his impressions on his second trip of the year to the short-season Eugene Emeralds.

1. Just got threw listening to the Emeralds opening day game and WOW, Sampson was a man among boys. 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (6 GO, 2 FO). Why was Sampson not in Fort Wayne to begin the year?

John Conniff: He had a bit of a sore shoulder at the beginning of spring and they were pretty cautious with him, but I think the bigger reason is that you don’t really want to put a high school pitcher in a full season league where you expect them to throw over 130 innings.

When I spoke with Sampson in Eugene he emphasized how slow the organization was in building up his innings and also really working on his mechanics in extended. Remember everyone always talks about the difference in transitioning from aluminum to wooden for batters but for pitchers its a pretty big change too; mainly learning how to pitch inside.

2. The Padres selected a college second baseman with two of their first four picks, and yet it was 22nd round pick Tyler Stubblefield getting the nod at second with Gyorko at third and Bisson not playing. Do the Padres plan to use either Gyorko or Bisson as a second baseman, or do they plan to move them around the diamond?

John Conniff: Right now I don’t think the organization sees Gyorko as a second baseman, despite the fact that he played shortstop in college and they initially announced that he was drafted at that position and I think that is a good move. He has a thick lower body and unless he changes his body significantly I can’t see him having the range to play second. Bisson, a Canadian citizen, will get the majority of the playing time once his visa issues are settled.

3. Last year Luis Domoromo was playing in the Dominican Summer League, now he is the starting right fielder for the Ems at the tender age of 18. Castro, Portillo, Rincon, and Galvez all spent their first summer in the AZL. What did the Padres see out of Domoromo to push him to Eugene?

John Conniff: Denis is usually the guru on all things Dominican, the man would rank twelve-year olds in Santo Domingo if he could, but I’ll take a shot. It really matters on two things, the personnel that they have to work with and how far someone has progressed in the extended leagues. For example, RHP Matt Lollis, who is the #2 pitcher on the Ems right now, really impressed the organization in spring and in extended and essentially pitched his way out of the Arizona League.

Also, as the Padres sign more of their college picks and possibly bring up Donovan Tate, Domormo could be back in the AZL this season.

4. Did you have a chance to see Portillo? What is the biggest difference between the 2010 version and the one from when he first game to the US?

John Conniff: I did and although his stuff was impressive he also struggled with secondary pitches and was a little wild. Still, he’s the equivalent of a high school senior and you have to be impressed. I didn’t see him pitch last year but from what his coaches tell me is that he is throwing much better strikes, essentially hitting the corners as opposed to catching more of the plate.

5. How is the new facility? Does the front office have any objections to the use of a turf field rather than natural grass?

John Conniff: Its a really nice facility, but the old one also had quite a bit of charm too. Its funny when all of us think of artificial turf we think of those horrible multi-purpose stadiums like Riverfront in Cincinnati and Three Rivers in Pittsburgh but the turf is about as close as you can get to grass. Also, to not have turf and attempt to play baseball in Oregon would be nothing more than games in the mud.

In a year when a majority of the San Diego Padres top offensive prospects have been on the DL or struggled, one prospect has managed to put his name on the map. SS Drew Cumberland

Cumberland came into the year as the 19th best prospect according to madfriars and #16 in my rankings. The writeups were always “great young player, amazing potential, can make things happen with the bat and with his legs, shaky defensively, and starting to get the label of injury prone.” While the injuries were never related (broken bone in his hand from catching a flyball, injured ribs after being HBP, quad injury, concussion, and most recently a wrist injury that took him out of the 2009 playoffs), it got to the point that he was ranked lower simply because in 2.5 years in the Padres system he had yet to stay healthy for longer than a month or two. Well 3 months into the season and a Drew Cumberland led Lake Elsinore officially clinched the 1st half division crown tonight. Drew’s role in the game? Only 3-5, with a RS and a SB (19).

On the year Cumberland is 3rd in the league in BA (.374), 9th in OBP (.411), an even more surprising 4th in SLG (.551), 4th in SB (19), 1st in RS (61), and 1st in hits (85). As such he was named as the starting SS in the California League all star game.

The biggest boost to his status besides the health is that in 55 games he has also hit a whopping 7 HR. While that does not rank in the top 10, for a top of the order speedster SS 7 HR is more than 2x as much as he hit in the 158 career games previously.

Even considering that the Cal League is a much more hitter friendly ballpark those stats are eye popping. Cumberland has been an absolute beast offensively and has shown threw the 1st half that he can get on, steal bases, score runs, and also hit a HR if you are not careful. He has done it all.

The two game related factors that are keeping him from reaching elite prospect status are his fielding skills at shortstop and his BB%. The low BB/PA if 9.48% is extremely bad for a leadoff hitter, but it is made up for with a .318 career BA. The fielding though is still a cause for concern. In 2009 they reworked the way he was throwing the ball as the ball was tailing away from the 1B. They saw noticeable improvement, and as such the fielding percentage went up. This year however he seems like a misnomer. He has made a few great plays showing his range and arm strength diving deep into the hole to rob players, but still has problems making the everyday plays, and with turning the DP. The potential is now fully there, as he went from a prospect who could maybe stay at short to a player they think WILL be a starting shortstop in the majors. The major question is consistency. Can he make the routine plays?

Moving Forward: Drew’s prospect ranking has soared in the past few months. It would be hard to expect him to duplicate his first half success, but I wouldnt be surprised. There have been rumors, possibly only created by Mark Grant on a recent Padres telecast, that Cumberland would move to AA, but nothing has remotely confirmed the rumor. While it might be expected to see the BA go down, the OBP should hopefully go up as working the count is something they continually preach in Lake Elsinore. The defense is still a WIP, but his offense has more than made up for it. Provided he can stay healthy it will be difficult to keep him out of the top 5 next year. In fact scout.com now has him listed as a 5 star prospect, the #2 best prospect in the Padres system (Castro #1) and the #2 SS in the minors (Dee Gordon #1). Here is to hoping the kid can stay healthy and lead the team up the 15 to a well deserved Cal League championship.

Arguably the biggest reason for the San Diego Padres fast start is the work of their bullpen.

8 of the 10 relievers used by the Padres this season have a sub 4 ERA. In fact if you take away Ramos (21.21 ERA) and Gallagher (6.92 ERA), the bullpen ERA drops from a really good 3.12 ERA to an insane 2.03, while the WHIP drops from 1.08 (really good) to .892 (WOW). Russell, Stauffer, Gregerson, Thatcher, and Mujica all not only have a stellar ERA but also have a sub 1 WHIP. Russel, Bell, Gregerson, Adams, and Thatcher also average more than 1 K per inning. Needless to say, provided that Stauffer comes back healthy, the Padres do not need any help in the pen.

Are these pitchers playing over their heads? Yes… We cannot expect Stauffer to maintain his 0.39 ERA all year. Nor can we expect Gregerson to allow 11 baserunners all year. But that does no mean that if and when they regress to their norms that the numbers will not still be spectacular. The updated ZIPS projections still have Bell (2.31), Gregerson (2.93), Adams (3.48), Thatcher (3.18), Russell (3.49), and Stauffer (3.84 15 starts), all under 4.00.

All of this is great, and me telling you that our pen is excellent is not surprising. But what might be surprising is that extra depth that the Padres have in AAA and AA who could probably step into the pen right now and put up solid numbers. Here are just a few names that might be called up to replace members of the pen should more injuries or trades occur

Already on 40 man roster:

Ernesto Frieri: Frieri made his major league debut last September. Most Padres fans will not remember him as he only appeared in 2 G, working a scoreless inning in each appearance. MLB totals 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K. Despite being a starter for most of the past 2 years, with rotation depth the front office decided to make him the Beaver’s closer. Frieri has responded to the challenge by going 2-1, 1.50 ERA with 9 SV in 10 opportunities. More impressive is that in his 18 innings he has 27 Ks.

Frieri is a 3 pitch pitchers with a plus FB, with a deceptive delivery, that he can work to all 4 corners of the plate. He sits in the low 90′s but can top out at 95. His curve is a solid pitch, and in the past year has improved greatly. His change is a WIP which might have been why he was sent to the pen. He does need to improve on his walks (averaging 6 BB/9 IP), but he has big time stuff to fit anywhere from closer to long relief on a MLB team.

Craig Italiano: Italiano was acquired in the Scott Hairston deal #1. Italiano has always been known for having big time stuff, but his mechanical issues, and numbers resulting from that have always been the hindrance to his success. However, he comes over to Lake Elsinore, and almost immediately manager Carlos Lezcano and pitching coach Dave Rajsich work on cleaning up his mechanics. The result? His 5.63 ERA with Stockton turned into a 1.44 ERA with the Storm, and he averaged 12.64 K/9! He has since become the closer in an unbelievably stacked Mission’s bullpen where he has posted a 0.93 ERA in 19.1 IP with 8 SV. His K/9 are a bit down (7.0) but its hard to complain with the ERA.

Italiano sits consistently at 94 on his FB and can top out at 98. He has a power slurve that sits in the mid 80′s with tremendous movement. Like Frieri his change is more of a show me pitch to keep hitters from attempting to sit dead red. Either way with Italianos PF velocity and movement, as well as that power slurve, and he could step into the 9th inning of a Padre game tomorrow and be able to pick up the save.

Not on 40 man but WOW:

Mark Worrell: Lifetime minor league ERA of 3.01 with a 10.4 K/9 IP and 3.04 K/BB, Worrell has always had the stats to play at the next level. He was the centerpiece in the Khalil Greene deal was going to be a part of the Padres rotation. Injuries in ST in 09′ cost him the entire year. He might still not be completely recovered from the injury but has put up a respectable 1-0, 3.79 ERA in 19 inning in Portland. I was told to think of Cla (Meredith) except with more speed, so if he makes a mistake it is not an automatic HR.

Brandon Gomes- Along with Italiano Gomes was ranked as one of the top 20 minor league prospects in all of baseball (by Scout.com). A change in his arm slot a few years ago turned him from minor league fodder to MLB prospect. Gomes sits in the low 90s with the ability to top out at 94-95. His best pitch though is his splitter, which is thrown with the same exact arm action as the FB. Hitters think FB and then watch the tremendous late break of the splitter, and often flail over the top or miss it completely. Add a slider that he can throw in the mid 70′s with nice action down and away to righties, and the result was 100 strikeouts last year as a reliever! Gomes has picked up where he left off with a 1-0, 1.66 ERA, and 10.8 K/9 this season (still in AA). Like Italiano, Gomes doesnt have much left to prove at AA, and in nearly any other farm system would be getting ready to make his MLB debut.

Evan Scribner: My last entry into the way too good to be in AA goes to Evan Scribner. Scribner was the Missions closer last year and went 8-4 with a 3.07 ERA and 9.9 K/9. Outside of a stretch where Scribner blew 3 saves in 5 opportunities (in 1 week) he was nearly unhitable. I was shocked not to see Scribner promoted to AAA Portland at the beginning of the season. But like the guy that he is, he managed to take it in stride and has posted even better numbers this year. If his 4-2 record and 1.74 ERA are not good enough, than look at the 30 K in 20.2 IP and the .823 WHIP.

Scribner doesnt have as good of speed as the other prospects, consistently sitting 89-91, but he makes up for it in movement, and a tremendous 12-6 hammer. Scribner’s breaking ball is arguably the best in the organization and with a 20-25 mph difference between his FB and breaking ball he consistently make hitters look…well…like me if I were to take a swing off of him.

There are 5 names that could contribute to the Padres bullpen right now, and have great success. Even with those 5 players I could have still listed Greg Burke (2.45 ERA, 18 IP, 19 K, 0.65 WHIP), Mike DeMark (1-0, 0.60 ERA, 15 IP, 15 K, 0.80 WHIP), and Bryan Oland (0-1, 3.97 ERA, 11.1 IP, 19 K). PLUS all that is not even including every Padre fans favorite Latin American relief prospect Alexis Lara (0-1, 2.37 ERA in AA right now, best known for striking out the side in 2 innings in a late ST game this year), or Aaron Poreda (2.00 ERA and might have the best stuff of anyone if he could work on those 17 BB in 18 IP).

So with that being said, I ask one simple question. Knowing the pen that the Padres have right now, and all the depth that is waiting in the minor leagues….”If you could get a better than expected return for Heath Bell do you make the trade?” “What if you are still battling for 1st?”