Catcher Ramon Hernandez had surgery on his wrist Friday. He is lost for the next month or more and probably won't be back next season.

So can the Padres turn to their farm system for immediate catching help? Probably not.

While there is talent at the lower levels, there is little above Single-A Lake Elsinore. The following is a breakdown of the catchers in the Padres' system:

+ Triple-A Portland —— Michel Hernandez caught five games for the Yankees in 2003 and is hitting .278. But insiders say his leadership and game-calling skills are well below par.

+ Double-A Mobile —— Nick Trzesniak was a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds in 1999 but has never hit. Scouts believe he has big-league defensive skills, but he's hitting .249 with five homers and 25 RBIs.

+ Single-A Lake Elsinore —— This is where the prospects start. Left-handed hitting George Kottaras is batting .300 with nine homers and 50 RBIs. He brought a nine-game hitting streak into Sunday's game. Scouts say he's a good catch-and-throw guy, but his toughness is questioned.

+ Single-A Fort Wayne —— At 6-foot-5, Colt Morton is a big man with power —— a .261 average with 10 homers and 46 RBIs. He sets a good, low target and throws well. Morton was called up to the Storm on Sunday. Matt Lauderdale is having a breakout year, hitting .276 with three homers and 27 RBIs.

+ Single-A Eugene —— Nick Hundley, a second-round pick out of Arizona in June, is hitting .245 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 30 games. But he has struggled defensively.

+ Rookie Arizona —— Billy Killian, a third-round pick last season, failed at Eugene and was sent down. He's hitting .304 in 56 at-bats since his demotion and is said to have great catching skills.

Outside the box

Should the Padres choose to fill their catching void via trade for a young prospect, the top three candidates appear to be Kelly Shoppach of Boston, Gerald Laird of Texas and Josh Willingham of Florida.

Shoppach, a second-round pick in 2001, is hitting .260 with 21 homers and 63 RBIs at Triple-A Pawtucket. He is said to have great catching and leadership skills. He's blocked at the big-league level by Jason Varitek.

Laird was a second-round pick by the A's in 1998 and was traded to the Rangers in 2002. He's hitting .291 with 14 homers and 48 RBIs at Triple-A Oklahoma. He has suffered several hand injuries in his career.

Willingham might be the best hitting prospect in the Marlins organization, though he has been on the disabled list with a stress fracture in his left forearm since June 30 and likely won't play before September. He batted .338 with 19 homers and 54 RBIs at Triple-A Albuquerque before the Marlins promoted him. A corner infielder, he was converted to catching in 2002 and scouts say he's a natural with a great work ethic. His big-league path is blocked by Paul Lo Duca.

Scouts, however, say none are worth what it would cost the Padres —— relievers like Akinori Otsuka or Scott Linebrink.

Locals watch

+ Bobby Andrews, who starred at Rancho Buena Vista High and Cal State Fullerton, was promoted by the Orioles from Bluefield of the Rookie level Appalachian League to Aberdeen of the Short Season Single-A New York-Penn League.

+ Jordan Szabo, a star at Carlsbad High and UC Irvine, was moved up to Single-A Lakewood of the South Atlantic League from Batavia of the New York-Penn League by the Phillies.

+ Right-hander Phil Wilson, a standout at Poway High, was released by the Mariners and signed with Chico of the independent Golden Baseball League.

+ Eric Munson, the former Mt. Carmel High and USC star, is back in the minor leagues at Triple-A Durham after his stint with the Devil Rays was cut short by an injury.

Around the bases

+ Right-hander Cesar Carrillo, the Padres' first-round pick in June, was 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in four starts at Lake Elsinore before being promoted to Double-A Mobile. Saturday, in his debut with the BayBears, he went 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs while striking out eight to earn a win over Jacksonville.

+ Mobile third baseman Corey Smith has 26 errors in 99 games. Lake Elsinore shortstop Juan Ciriaco has 33 errors in 96 games and third baseman Brett Bonvechio has 29 in 97 games. Fort Wayne shortstop Matt Bush leads all of minor league baseball with 34 errors in 97 games.

+ Smith had a five home-run week for Mobile and is now hitting .251 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs.

+ Paul McAnulty has been on fire since he was promoted from Mobile to Portland. In nine game with the Beavers, he's hitting .385 with three homers, five doubles and nine RBIs.

+ Ben Johnson has been hot since the Padres sent him back to Portland. He had a franchise-tying 17-game hitting streak snapped Thursday but came back with a two homer game Friday and slugged another Saturday. He's hitting .309 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs.

+ Cesar Ramos, the Padres' pick in the supplemental round of the June draft, threw seven shutout innings against Cedar Rapids in his debut with Fort Wayne. He allowed just three hits, didn't walk a batter and fanned four.

+ In his first four games at Portland, third baseman Sean Burroughs has hit .286. He doesn't have an RBI and has committed two errors.

+ Lake Elsinore first baseman Michael Johnson drove in eight runs in his first three days in the lineup after missing more than month with a hand injury. He's hitting .256 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs in 72 games. He recently hit a home run over the mammoth scoreboard at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore.

+ The top two starters at Single-A Fort Wayne —— Mike Ekstrom (12-3, 3.45 ERA) and Clayton Hamilton (9-6, 2.88 ERA) —— are a combined 21-9. The next two starters —— Joel Santo (2-7, 4.79 ERA) and Fabian Jimenez (4-11, 7.03 ERA) —— are 6-18. Hamilton earned a promotion to Lake Elsinore and was touched for 11 hits and five earned run in 4 1/3 innings in his debut.

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