The Pacific Coast League season ends Sept. 5. With Triple-A Portland out of the pennant hunt, the Padres are clear to bring players up when major-league rosters expand Thursday.

There appears to be a minimal amount of help coming.

Following is a look at the Portland players who could join the big club in September, with the for-sures first:

> Sean Burroughs: Once the Padres' everyday third baseman, he has played well since being sent to the minor leagues July 23. Entering Sunday, he was batting .295 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 29 games. His future in the organization may be clouded, but if he doesn't rejoin the team, his trade value would be nil.

> Ben Johnson: The outfielder made a positive impression when he was with the big club in June. He went back to Portland and tore up the PCL. He is hitting .308 with 26 doubles, 23 homers and 76 RBIs. He could help down the stretch against left-handed pitching.

> Paul McAnulty: The Padres called the left-handed-hitting first baseman/outfielder to the big leagues from Double-A Mobile in June, and he made a very solid impression. Since being assigned to Portland, he is hitting .324 with 13 doubles, six homers and 27 RBIs in 36 games. He will be up in September.

> David Ross: The catcher was sent back to Portland on Friday, not because of his poor play but because the Padres needed his roster spot.

> Craig Breslow: The left-hander did a great job in two brief big-league call-ups. Padres manager Bruce Bochy wants a second left-hander in the bullpen, so Breslow will get another shot despite an 0-1 record and a 5.14 ERA in six games with Portland.

The long shots include the following:

> Josh Barfield: The second baseman is a year away from helping the big club, but he is hitting .315 with 14 homers, 68 RBIs at Portland and deserves a promotion, if nothing else to expose him to life in the big leagues.

> Jon Knott: The slugging outfielder has been passed over all season despite solid numbers with the Beavers —— a .254 average, 31 doubles, 24 homers and 77 RBIs.

> Nick Trzesniak: The catcher has had a breakthrough season, hitting .240 with 13 doubles, five homers and 24 RBIs at Mobile and .406 with four doubles with a homer and 11 RBIs in 17 games after a promotion to Triple-A.

> Scott Cassidy: Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a trade July 19, the right-hander has posted a 1.80 ERA in 13 appearances with Portland.

> Tim Stauffer: The right-hander was a starter with the Padres for two months but has been hit hard since being sent back to Portland. Once a sure thing to return, now his immediate status is in doubt.

Help wanted

Hoping for two or three pitchers to help in the California League playoffs, the Padres sent Single-A Lake Elsinore one arm —— first-round pick Cesar Carrillo.

He was 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in four starts with the Storm after signing in June. Then he was 4-0 with a 3.23 ERA in five starts at Mobile.

Lake Elsinore won the Cal League's first half but is just 3-22 in its past 25 games, suffering from a lack of starting pitching. The team ERA has ballooned to 4.92 while the team batting average is a solid .285.

Fall League rosters

Five Padres have been assigned to the Peoria Javelinas of the prestigious Arizona Fall League: Breslow and fellow left-hander Rusty Tucker, catcher George Kottaras, Barfield and first baseman Michael Johnson.

The league's 32-game season starts Oct. 4.

Locals watch

> Texas Rangers right-hander Wes Littleton, who starred at Vista High, has been assigned to the Grand Canyon Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.

> Neil Jamison, the former Ramona High star, picked up his first win at Single-A Fort Wayne, throwing two scoreless innings in a 7-5 victory Saturday.

> Jeff Nettles, who starred at Torrey Pines High, had a stretch in which he was 13-for-28 with five homers and 13 RBIs for Somerset of the independent Atlantic League.

> Former Rancho Bernardo High star Danny Putnam has 90 RBIs with Stockton, an Oakland Athletics affiliate in the Single-A California League. He has nine games remaining to hit the 100 mark.

> After a rough start after being promoted to high Single-A Clearwater in the Philadelphia Phillies' system, former Rancho Buena Vista High standout Jacob Barrack threw four shutout innings in two games and picked up his first win.

> Left-hander Matt Chico, the former Fallbrook High star, improved to 7-2 with Lancaster (Arizona Diamondbacks) of the California League after throwing seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out eight against Bakersfield.

Around the bases

> OF Jon Knott broke the Portland record for games played in a season with 131. The record was 129 by Kevin Witt in 2001.

> Baseball America lists the 2001 Lake Elsinore team among the top 10 minor-league teams of the past 10 years. That club won 91 games and featured Xavier Nady, Ben Johnson and pitchers Ben Howard, Jake Peavy, Oliver Perez and Dennis Tankersley.

> Lake Elsinore SS Juan Ciriaco has 42 errors, tops in minor-league baseball.

Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com. The minor-league report runs each Monday through the end of the minor-league season.