GM Kevin Towers once again reached into his minor league system to bring up a new round of pitchers on Friday. The latest batch of call-ups includes Jake Peavy, Eric Cyr, and the recently demoted Jeremy Fikac. In order to clear room on the roster, San Diego demoted Trenidad Hubbard and J.J. Trujillo. The third pitcher took the roster spot of Bobby J. Jones, who the Padres placed on the DL with a strained right elbow.

Jones' injury is unrelated to his trip to the DL in the later half of May, which was due to a strained oblique. He missed his last scheduled start due to the elbow problem, and the Padres wanted him off the roster so that they could call up a replacement for his next turn in the rotation. As the specifics of the injury aren't yet available, it's unknown whether Jones will merely need two to three weeks on the DL to rest the arm and make a short rehab assignment, or if it's a more severe problem.

Fikac's demotion appears entirely punitive as they left them him in AA for exactly the required 10 days before returning him to the majors. I think such actions are generally very petty on the part of organizations and serve little purpose in furthering the team's present or future success. Fikac had no time to work on anything in the minors and was likely distracted by the transaction.

By toying with Fikac, the Padres also interfered with the development of Trujillo, who would have benefited much more from a promotion to AAA or at the very least an extended stay in the majors. He had no opportunity to establish himself in the bullpen while in the majors and leaves after only pitching 2.2 innings with a 3:6 K:BB, 4 H and 1 HR allowed. However, my opinion on his upside remains unchanged by this short and rather unsuccessful initial visit to the majors.

If you follow minor league prospects, you've probably heard of Eric Cyr. While the young man pitched well enough to garner notice last season, he's primarily known for failing to hear the pre-flight announcement on a flight from Australia that not only is tampering with an airplane lavatory smoke detector illegal, so is joining the Mile High Club with a 15-year-old in an airplane lavatory.

As a result of the incident, he was arrested by the FBI last April, plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of sexual contact with another without consent, served a month in jail, was put on a year of probation, and given 200+ hours of community service. San Diego suspended him for forty-five days with pay during the investigation. His agent Bill Moore spoke at the Baseball Headquarters AFL Symposium last season. Cyr was married with a small child at the time of his flight, and though his teammates think he's cool, she evidently disagreed as they reportedly are no longer married.

After spending last season at A+ Lake Elsinore in the California League, Cyr moved up to AA Mobile this season and has a 65:34 K:BB in 72.1 IP with 62 H and 6 HR allowed. I think the 23-year-old lefty still needs additional time in AA as well as a run through AAA to work on his control, but during this trip to the majors the Padres currently only plan on using him in relief, so the shorter outings may allow him the concentration necessary to avoid walk problems.

As the Padres continued to call up their prospects, everyone wondered when they would promote Peavy and why he was left in the minors when he was pitching better than those receiving promotions. The fact that he was not yet on the 40-man roster likely had a good deal to do with the decision, though not all of the other call-ups were on the 40-man when promoted. Most likely, Kevin Towers knows that he risks impeding the development of the prospects he promotes without allowing them adequate time in the minors, and he hoped to give Peavy more experience before throwing him out against major league offenses.

While he delayed the dirty deed long enough for Peavy to log a half season of AA, the 21-year-old hasn't received any time in AAA. His numbers this season at AA Mobile in the Southern League are impressive; in 80.1 IP, he has an 89:30 K:BB with 65 H and 4 HR allowed, though it's unlikely he's passed through the league more than once.

I think he shows tremendous promise and he may have the stuff necessary to make the jump. His major league debut against the Yankees went well yesterday. He pitched into the seventh inning, though Alan Embree relieved him before he retired anyone in the seventh. In 6 IP, he had a 4:2 K:BB and 6-7 G-F with 3 H and no home runs allowed. Alfonso Soriano, Jason Giambi, and Bernie Williams doubled. John Vander Wal and Soriano walked. Derek Jeter, Robin Ventura, Ted Lilly, and Soriano struck out swinging. Of his 98 pitches, 59 were thrown for strikes.

However this is the wrong call, and Towers knows it; otherwise he wouldn't have so steadfastly avoided making the move while rifling through the rest of his prospects. Someone needs to hand this GM the rosters of the other 29 major league teams and their AAA affiliates so that he can trade for an innings-eater to get the team through the rest of the season, thereby allowing the young pitchers to continue maturing in the minors.

A team needs a front office that can analyze talent, allowing them to pick up bargains on the free agent market and swindle their trading partners. They also need a front office that can manage a roster with an eye to the position of the ballclub, whether that's in the race for a pennant and the World Series, or rebuilding with an eye for next season or even a more distant future.

Looking over the pitchers the Padres have paraded through San Diego this season, without fail the prospects called up have allowed an overabundance of walks and home runs, while maintaining generally very good K/9 and H/9.

Ben Howard: 10.2 IP, 13 H, 4 HR, and a 10:14 K:BB.
Dennis Tankersley: 33.2 IP, 35 H, 7 HR, and a 28:25 K:BB.
Oliver Perez: 11.2 IP, 10 H, 1 HR, and a 10:9 K:BB.

Only Tankersley had spent time above AA prior to this season and that was limited to 14 IP. Not counting his time in the Mexican League, Perez hadn't had any time above A+, while Howard had spent only 30 IP above A+. The control struggles that led to their elevated numbers of walks and home runs could likely have been avoided by a slower track through the minors in which they would have faced gradually increasing competition. They should be able to backtrack to fix the problems but probably lost a month or two due to untimely promotions.

The Padres should move Jason Middlebrook into the rotation while moving Kevin Pickford to the bullpen. In 29 IP, Middlebrook has a 23:9 K:BB with 26 H and 1 HR allowed. Pickford has a 13:15 K:BB in 21.1 IP with 25 H and 1 HR allowed. Perez appears headed down the same track as Howard and Tankersley. Consequently, they should just start both Pickford and Middlebrook or call AAA Portland, where 27-year-old John Snyder is demonstrating skills that could suffice in the majors on a short-term basis. San Diego should also have someone ready if Peavy needs to return to the minors. I hesitate to suggest a trade, as there's no reason to give up any future value unless it's absolutely necessary to protect the prospects.

I'll discuss the trade of reliever Alan Embree and Ryan Klesko's contract extension later this week.