Stats aside, Padres encouraged by rookie

By: DAN HAYES - Staff Writer | Monday, June 18, 2007 11:41 PM PDT ∞

Numbers aside, Chase Headley gave the Padres just what they were looking for in Chicago. The Padres' rookie third baseman, who was promoted from Double-A San Antonio on Friday, proved an ample fill-in for Kevin Kouzmanoff while acting like a major leaguer.

And even though the 23-year-old prospect was only 1-for-10 with a walk, Headley impressed the Padres with his glove and patient at-bats that led to him seeing 44 pitches in 11 trips to the plate. Unless Kouzmanoff is cleared to play, Headley will likely be in the starting lineup when the Padres begin a three-game set with Baltimore at Petco Park tonight at 7:05.

"I thought he looked really good," said Padres director of baseball operations Jeff Kingston, who represented the front office in Chicago. "He hit some hard balls and kept getting himself into hitters' counts. Just the way he carried himself (is what we looked at). How he handles himself in game situations and not getting out of his own game.

"We figured he'd be able to handle himself and I think he did."

Through 62 games at San Antonio, Headley was offering the Padres more power than their scouts predicted.

Kingston said Headley, who added 20 pounds this offseason, projected as a "20-to-25 home guy" but hit 13 homers in 227 at-bats at San Antonio to accompany a .357 average. That start, combined with Kouzmanoff's tweaked back, led to Headley's debut instead of a recall of Oscar Robles from Triple-A Portland.

"He's been tremendous in Double-A and Kouz went down," Fuson said. "It's a good time to get his feet wet.

"There's nothing more to it. Everything aligned itself right. He's a young kid and we think we have a future with him."

But how long Headley will be in the majors is uncertain. On Friday the rookie said he was told it could be "three days to three months."

He's already paid dividends with his glove. Saturday, he stopped Rob Bowen's high throw on Ryan Theriot's steal of third base from going into left field in a scoreless game that the Padres went on to win 1-0.

And though he's better from the left side of the plate, the switch-hitting Headley had been hitting well from the right side in the minors and is playing for a team starved for right-handed bats.

It also can't hurt that Headley, who was tabbed by Baseball America as the organization's No. 6 prospect, is showing that he's major-league ready in case he's needed as a component to deadline trade.

But those factors won't likely be enough to keep Headley in the majors once Kouzmanoff is cleared.

"Obviously he could force our hand a little, but we want him and (Kouzmanoff) playing every day," Kingston said.

Said Headley: "I don't know what it's going to be, either way. I'm just coming up to contribute here."

Padres sign picks

Fuson said Monday the Padres have signed three more picks from the 2007 first-year player draft, including two first-round selections.

Kellen Kulbacki, a left-handed hitting junior outfielder from James Madison University, who the team selected 40th overall, was signed as was fellow left-handed hitting junior outfielder Daniel Payne from Georgia Tech.

The Padres used their sixth pick -- No. 64 overall -- to grab Payne, who hit .370 with 20 steals and played center field for the Yellow Jackets. Kulbacki hit .398 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs this season, a year after he hit .464 with 24 homers.

The team also announced the signing of its fifth-round selection, right-handed pitcher Jeremy Hefner whom they thought slipped in the draft because of "signability issues." The 6-foot-4 pitcher from Oral Roberts University has a 93-94 mph fastball and could be a steal.

All three are expected to begin with the Padres' rookie affiliate in Eugene, Ore.

The Padres have not yet signed their first overall pick, Nicholas Schmidt from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. Schmidt was selected with the 23rd pick and could fetch between $1.2-1.4 million.

-- Staff writer John Maffei contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Dan Hayes at dhayes@nctimes.com.