Padres Press Clips Monday, January 30, 2017 Article Source Author Page Margot leads 4 Padres on Top 100 Prospects list MLB.com Cassavell 2 Petco to host rally in honor of San Diego community MLB.com Casssavell 4 Padres hire former Marlins skipper Rodriguez MLB.com Cassavell 5 With the Chargers out, will the Padres capture San Diego’s attention? UT San Diego Lin 6 Padres roster review: Travis Jankowski UT San Diego Sanders 11 Former Marlins manager Rodriguez joins Padres’ UT San Diego Lin 13 minor league coaching staff Padres have creative plan to redistribute angry fans Chargers apparel Yahoo! Sports Townsend 18 The Padres will give you something for your San Diego Chargers apparel CBSSports Perry 19 1 Margot leads 4 Padres on Top 100 Prospects list Outfielder ranks 23rd, while Espinoza (25), Renfroe (42), Quantrill (97) also recognized By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | January 28th, 2017 SAN DIEGO -- Both ends of the Padres' farm system are well represented on this year's Top 100 Prospects list, as rated by MLB Pipeline. Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe -- a pair of big league-ready hitters -- clock in at Nos. 23 and 42, respectively. Anderson Espinoza and Cal Quantrill -- two high-upside pitchers at the lower levels of the system -- are ranked 25th and 97th, respectively. The annual ranking of MLB's Top 100 prospects is assembled by MLBPipeline.com Draft and prospect experts Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum, who compile input from industry sources, including scouts and scouting directors. It is based on analysis of players' skill sets, upsides, proximity to the Majors and potential immediate impact to their teams. Only players with rookie status entering the 2017 season are eligible for the list. Players who were at least 23 years old when they signed and played in leagues deemed to be professional (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba) are not eligible. The four Padres on this year's list offer a glimpse into the state of the system. The club's offensive prospects are very close to making an impact, while its top hurlers remain a couple of years away. The Padres came in 10th in what MLB.com terms "prospect points" -- a ranking of teams in terms of their representation on the Top 100 list. That's especially encouraging, considering that many feel the strength of the system resides in its depth. Margot and Renfroe will both challenge for starting spots in the Padres' outfield this spring. Renfroe, who took home the Pacific Coast League MVP Award last season, figures to open the season as the starting right fielder. He moved down one spot from his previous rank as the 41st overall prospect. Margot, meanwhile, jumped three spots to No. 23, passing Espinoza as the club's top rated youngster. Arguably the best defensive prospect in the game, Margot will compete for the starting center-field job this spring, after batting .304/.351/.426 with Triple-A El Paso last season. 2 Espinoza -- who, like Margot, came to the Padres in a trade with Boston -- fell 12 spots to No. 25. The 18- year-old right-hander pitched his first full season at Class A last season, posting a 4.49 ERA in 24 starts and one relief appearance. Realistically, he won't make a serious impact at the big league level until 2019. Quantrill, the Padres' top pick in last June's Draft, is on a similar track to the Majors. He recovered from Tommy John surgery in 2016 and returned to make 12 starts, impressing at Rookie ball in Arizona. Espinoza is expected to start the season at Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore, while Quantrill is a possibility for both Elsinore and Class A Fort Wayne. In the rankings, Quantrill jumped above first baseman Josh Naylor as the Padres' No. 4 prospect. Naylor, a 19-year-old slugger with limited defensive ability, was previously ranked 89th, but didn't make the preseason list. 3 Petco to host rally in honor of San Diego community By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | January 27th, 2017 SAN DIEGO -- Petco Park, now home to San Diego's only major professional sports team, will play host to a "Celebrate San Diego Rally" on Feb. 11, in the wake of the Chargers' relocation to Los Angeles. The event -- which was organized by local sports teams, elected officials and other prominent members of the community -- is free to the public and will feature appearances by former pitchers Trevor Hoffman and Randy Jones and current manager Andy Green. "Those of us fortunate enough to call San Diego home know exactly how special this city is," Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler said in a statement. "We are proud to join forces with so many local leaders in a celebration of our community." As part of the rally, the Padres are offering an exchange of Chargers gear in good condition for a $25 credit at their team store. All Chargers apparel will be donated to charity. Immediately following the Chargers' departure, the Padres' organization expressed its disappointment with the decision. But members of the team have also said they don't feel pressure to fill that void. "It rips a piece out of the city, and that's hard for the city to get through," Green said. "... I don't think there's going to be an effort to replace the Chargers by the San Diego Padres. We're going to try and go out and play a brand of baseball that the city connects with, is inspired by and wants to believe in." Wil Myers, the newly minted face of the franchise after he signed a six-year contract extension, echoed that sentiment at his Monday news conference. "It's definitely unfortunate to lose the Chargers, but that doesn't change anything for us," Myers said. "We go out every single day with a plan to win. We don't really look at what can we do since the Chargers left. It's more so just going out and playing our game, giving something for this city to really build around." The rally -- which will run from 1 to 3 p.m. PT, with gates opening at 10 a.m. -- is a collaboration between the Padres, the San Diego Gulls, San Diego Sockers, San Diego State Aztecs, University of San Diego Toreros, University of California San Diego Tritons and the city of San Diego itself. Padres broadcaster Ted Leitner will serve as MC, and a number of other prominent figures are set to speak. 4 Padres hire former Marlins skipper Rodriguez Addition as Lake Elsinore manager one of few changes to Minor League staff By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | January 27th, 2017 SAN DIEGO -- The Padres unveiled their Minor League coaching staffs for the 2017 season on Friday, bringing former Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez on board to helm Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore. Rodriguez managed the Marlins in 2010 and '11, and he has spent the past three seasons in the Indians' organization. He's set to take over a Lake Elsinore team with no shortage of top prospects. El Paso manager Rod Barajas, who led the Padres' Triple-A affiliate to a Pacific Coast League title last season, is back for his second season at the helm (and his fourth in the organization). Hitting coach Morgan Burkhart and pitching coach Bronswell Patrick also return. Aside from Rodriguez -- who takes over for Francisco Morales, who resigned midseason -- the only other managerial changes in the organization come at the lower levels. The Padres will field two teams in the Rookie-level Arizona League, and Shaun Cole will make his managerial debut with one of them. Meanwhile, Aaron Levin takes over the Dominican Summer League team after spending the past four seasons with the Rangers -- three as their DSL manager. Across the rest of the organization: Phillip Wellman returns at Double-A San Antonio for his second season, Anthony Contreras is back with Class A Fort Wayne for his fourth season, Ben Fritz enters his second season as manager at Class A Short-Season Tri-City and Michael Collins stays on board as the team's other manager in the Rookie-level Arizona League. It will be his third season there. 5 With the Chargers out, will the Padres capture San Diego's attention? Dennis Lin Contact Reporter The tire tracks on Interstate 5 are still fresh, and the leaders of San Diego’s remaining sports franchise do not wish to join in the invective aimed at the Los Angeles Chargers. The questions that abound in their wake, however, are obvious. How will the Padres, the city’s historically underachieving baseball club, help fill a gaping void in the community? How might they benefit from the lack of competition? And to what extent, given where they’ll likely fall in the standings? “We don’t know how much it’s going to help us, but we’d rather see the Chargers have stayed because we think it’s better for San Diego,” Padres owner Ron Fowler said. “We’re going to do exactly what we’ve done, which is to go aggressively after the sports entertainment dollar, and we would’ve done it with the Chargers here and we’re going to do it now.” In an interview Friday at Fowler’s Petco Park office, the Padres executive chairman and Managing Partner Peter Seidler shared their thoughts on proceeding in a drought-torn locale. San Diego has not celebrated a major sports championship since 1963, and the angst grew more palpable this month when the Chargers eloped to Carson.