Bevos plan to be competitive

San Diego Padre exec says farm club has lots of homegrown talent

By Jason Vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Feb 4, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Get used to the winning, Portland Beaver fans. So says the San Diego Padres’ director of player development.

The Beavers went 84-60 last season, winning the Pacific Coast League Northern Division title with mostly homegrown players.

“I expect something similar to what we accomplished last year,” Tye Waller says. “We’ll have enough of a mix of veterans and young guys who got a look at Triple-A and had a run at the playoffs last year.”

Who will be on the field for the opener April 7 at Sacramento?

Waller would never want to say for sure because every player who reports to spring training in Peoria, Ariz., this month and next hopes to make the Padres. Veterans, including those on the 40-man roster, report in two weeks Ñ pitchers and catchers Feb. 18, position players Feb. 23. And minor-leaguers start March 4 (pitchers) and March 11 (position players).

“There’s always somebody on some club who makes it Ñ somebody who nobody ever thought of,” Waller says.

Some of Portland’s great pitching staff might be back, including Justin Germano, Chris Oxspring and Tim Stauffer as starters, and Marty McLeary as a starter and reliever. Their 2004 Portland numbers weren’t too shabby: Germano 9-5, 3.38 ERA; Oxspring, 6-4, 3.99; Stauffer 6-3, 3.54; McLeary, 5-4, 2.99, 13 saves.

As members of the Padres’ 40-man roster, Germano and Oxspring may be closer to making the jump to the bigs than Stauffer, who Waller expects will see some time in the majors this season.

“He can locate very well, and he misses his pitches well (on purpose),” Waller says of Stauffer. “He’s close.”

On McLeary, Waller says: “He definitely has a good arm Ñ throws low-to-mid 90s with a decent breaking ball when he has command of it. There’s plenty of arm there, but he has to throw strikes. He gets wild.”

Hurlers Brad Baker, Rusty Tucker and Randy Williams all are on the 40-man roster. Baker, a closer, pitched for the Bevos briefly in 2004 after going 2-1 with an ERA of 1.57 and 30 saves at Class AA Mobile (Ala). Tucker is coming back from elbow surgery in 2003. Williams, a 29-year-old left-hander, pitched for the Tacoma Rainiers last year.

Waller says veterans Danny Patterson and Joe Dawley signed as sixth-year free agents, as well as former Seattle Mariner farmhand Brian Falkenborg.

In addition, former Beaver Mike Bumstead might return, and RD Spiehs (5-6, 2.88 at Mobile) might make the jump to Portland.

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