22-year old left swinging shortstop Drew Cumberland came into this season as the Padres’ #9 prospect according to Baseball America. But he has not played this year due to a rare inner ear condition that causes frequent dizziness which has caused him to retire from baseball. Cumberland played in 233 games in his first four years in the minors and he was 288 of 912 (.316 avg, .810 OPS) with 179 runs scored, 10 homers, 107 RBIs and 62 stolen bases. This is a shame as Cumberland had the potential to be a good player for the Padres.

22-year old righty swinging 3B Jedd Gyorko came into this season as the Padres’ #11 prospect according to Baseball America and he will be moving up that list in 2012. Gyorko has played in 116 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 159 for 476 (.334 avg, .967 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 22 homers, 96 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He has now played in 184 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 240 for 744 (.323 avg, .915 OPS) with 137 runs scored, 29 homers, 137 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. The Padres don’t have much blocking Gyorko’s path to the majors, so the Padres will likely be placing him on the fast track.

The Padres have released 32-year old switch-hitting shortstop Alex Cintron. Cintron has played in 17 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 21 for 60 (.350 avg, .894 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. It’s interesting to me that a team that just can’t hit would give up on Cintron so quickly with the way he was hitting in AAA.

The Padres have signed 31-year old righty starter/reliever John Van Benschoten to a minor league deal. Van Benschoten has been one of the worst pitchers in major league history. He has pitched in 26 games (19 starts) in parts of three years in the majors and he is 2-13 with a 9.20 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP. He has given up 125 hits while walking 68 batters in his first 90 innings in the majors and that is pathetic. He looked good in his first start in AAA for the Padres and he is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. If Van Benschoten gets to the majors he will really test Petco Park’s influence on pitchers.

24-year old righty swinging 3B James Darnell came into this season as the Padres’ #12 ranked prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why this year. Darnell has played in 79 games in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 101 for 302 (.334 avg, 1.047 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 19 homers, 66 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 329 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 376 for 1,224 (.307 avg, .928 OPS) with 206 runs scored, 52 homers, 220 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Chase Headley better be looking over his shoulder as Darnell is getting very close to ready for the show.