Williams and Sampson signed, Tate close

Today is the deadline to sign players from the 2009 amateur draft. According to Baseball America, the Padres have signed second round pick Everett Williams for $775,000 and fourth round pick Keyvius Sampson for $600,000 (not verified).

The Pads are also apparently getting close to signing top pick, Donavan Tate, for $6+ million, spread out over multiple years. If that happens, it’ll cap off a big day for the organization.

As I mentioned over at Friar Forecast (lots of good discussion in that post, too), drafting Tate, Williams, and Sampson was one thing, getting them signed is another.

Clayton Richard dazzles in debut

Clayton Richard, acquired in the Jake Peavy trade, pitched five and two-thirds innings last night against the Brewers, allowing one run, two hits, three walks, and striking out five.

According to PITCHf/x, Richard worked primarily with the four-seam fastball, throwing it 57 times. He averaged 91.8 miles per hour with the pitch, and topped 95 three times. Richard worked in 11 two-seamers, averaging 88.7 mph. His off-speed repertoire included 11 change-ups (84 mph), seven sliders (80.1), and three curves (81.3).

Richard throws from the left side, and stands at 6-5, 240 pounds. The 25 year old has a 5 ERA in 142.3 innings in the majors, so far in his young career. He has put up respectable peripherals: 6.3 k/9, 3.4 bb/9, 1.0 hr/9. In the minors, Richard had a career 3.33 ERA, along with 5.8/ 2.5/.4 periphs.

According to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, Richard throws an 88-92 mph fastball with natural sink. He has an average change (at best) and an inconsistent breaking pitch (they call it a slurve). BA thinks he has a chance to be a starter long term, but also may profile well as a reliever so he can concentrate on his best pitch, the sinking fastball.

Richard is a nice addition to the organization. His upside probably isn’t super-high, but he has size, a good track record, and he fits right into the rotation. For the Padres, it also has to be nice to be able to display him right away, as often times prospects are just names and numbers to fans. Richard’s Saturday night start puts a face on him and shows Pads fans that he is, like the other three prospects acquired in the Peavy deal, a real, live thing — and that he can pitch a little bit too.

Alvaro Aristy suspended

With a tip of the cap to Ben Badler’s Twitter, Padres shortstop prospect Alvaro Aristy has apparently been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances. He tested positive for Nandrolone.

Aristy was one of the prospects signed last July 2nd, when he was ranked as the second best position player prospect out of the Dominican Republic. He was ranked 6th on the Padres shortstop depth chart by Baseball America in this year’s publication, though he has just turned 17 years old.

He’s struggled so far in the Dominican Summer League, hitting .183/.326/.279 in his first 130 professional plate appearances (with 13 errors in 30 games). This suspension could certainly be just a minor blip in this young player’s career, but  news like this is never good, especially with all of the turmoil in the Padres’ organization right now. Hopefully, Aristy will take this time off to reflect on things, and come back strong from his suspension.

Logan Forsythe’s mechanics

Baseball-Intellect breaks them down:

The big difference between the two above clips is that Forsythe is waiting on the ball longer. He’s letting it travel deeper into his hitting zone. You see in the older clip that Forsythe gets handsy with his swing, making contact too far out in front. The very best hitters wait until the last possible moment to unload and explode on the ball.

Check the post for video and more analysis. Fun stuff.

So far this season the 46th pick in the ‘08 draft is hitting .322/.466/.489 in Lake Elsinore (A+) and San Antonio (AA).

(h/t: Hank’s Padres)