Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres optioned Chase Headley to Triple-A Portland. Headley hit .349 in 43 at-bats this spring and lead the team with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs. Headley has been sent down to work on his defense. Meanwhile, the Padres don’t have to submit their 25-man roster until March 30th. One prospect left is Callix Crabbe and it appears that the utilityman has a good chance of making the team. Crabbe can play every spot in the outfield and every spot in the infield except 1B. His chances of making the team are only improved by the fact that Jim Edmonds is on the DL.

• Jim Edmonds limped off the field Thursday with a strained right calf. He had MRIs on Friday and the doctor’s report says he could be out for 2-3 weeks. What does all this mean? Bad new for Edmonds and great news for our prospects.
• Manager Bud Black will look to fill his outfield with a combo of Scott Hairston, Paul McAnulty, Chase Headley, and Callix Crabbe with Edmonds out. Headley had an eventful day in Saturday’s win over Texas batting 2-for-3 with a homer, triple, and three RBIs. He is batting .500 in 16 at bats and looks to be in good position to get a spot on the bench. That same game Crabbe was 2-for-4 with one RBI and is batting .375 in 24 at-bats.
• Another “prospect” that’s making news is Edgar Gonzalez. Edgar is the 29-year-old older brother of first baseman Adrian and has had an impressive spring. He is batting .533 in 15 at bats. He is versatile in the infield and has a strong bat. Bud Black says:

“Part of his game is his ability to move around the field. He’s told me he has played everywhere. He feels comfortable around the diamond and there’s no doubt he’s played well. He’s played well in the field, and offensively, he’s been swinging the bat great.”

That being said, its pretty obvious the only reason journeyman Edgar is even in camp is because of his younger brother’s pull. It remains to be seen whether he has the baseball skills to make the team on his own.

So, you’re diligently preparing for your fantasy draft and searching desperately for this year’s Ryan Braun - the rookie fantasy sleeper stud that takes everyone by surprise and catapults your squad to a championship. Unfortunately, all you can find are experts’ “Top 100 Prospect” lists, which include prospects that are still a year or two away, or so-called “Sleeper” lists consisting of 2nd and 3rd year players that everyone in your league has already heard of (and are already planning to draft before you). What if - hypothetically - someone had organized a constantly updated list of rookie fantasy sleepers, tiered by starting status, ranked by predicted fantasy impact, and linked to recent news on each rookie, that you could have running in the background of your draft as a quick reference?

• Look no further than the MLBProspectNews.com 2008 Rookie Fantasy Sleepers page, located under the MLBPN Features section of our navigation bar.

Chase Headley looks to be a strong prospect for the Padres. He played in eight games last year with a .222 avg in 18 at-bats. This spring he is batting .545 in 11 at-bats. Look for Headley to get some outfield play this year or backup Kevin Kouzmanoff at 3B. He got some action in left field yesterday, and said afterwards:

“With the exception of the very first ball, I felt like I did a good job. I think it was a very productive day. It kept me on edge all day.”

Headley will have to battle with Callix Crabbe and other Padres prospects to prove to manager Bud Black that he will be useful to the team.

Padres Manager Bud Black is stuck in the fortunate position of having a few open bench spots with many players to choose from. Callix Crabbe shines because of his versatility amongst others like Chase Headley, the 2007 Texas League Player of the Year, and Edgar Gonzalez, who had a 1-run homer today against Oakland. Crabbe, a Rule V Draft pick from the Brewers, is hitting .385 in 13 at-bats while playing almost every position on the field. Bud Black says:

“The versatility is a big plus for him … There’s a short little quick stroke. He puts the bat on the ball. He’s got that line-drive, gap stroke from both sides of the plate that looks pretty good.”

Black plans on testing his skills in the outfield for now but may try him out at shortstop, a position he hasn’t played since 2004. Crabbe, at 5′8” 190 lbs, has a great chance to earn a spot as a switch-hitting, utility outfielder as long as he keeps performing.

• The Rockies 3B prospect, Ian Stewart, continues to struggle a bit with the transition to 2B. He’ll need to figure this transition out if he plans to make it in Denver any time soon; Atkins has 3B nailed down for the foreseeable future, as does Tulo at SS.
• Great article in the Rocky Mountain News about Dexter Fowler, an early round talent who dropped to the Rox in the 14th round due to signability concerns. He continues to have a great Spring.
• Max Scherzer, The DBacks top draft pick in 2007, pitched two innings today and gave up a monster bomb to Joe Crede. But, it was the only hit he gave up.
• In discussing Rick Porcello’s successful outing yesterday, BA’s John Manuel mentioned that of Porcello, Andrew Brackman, and David Price, the Yankees’ Brackman has the best stuff. Of course Brackman is out this year recovering from TJ surgery.
• The Pirates were impressed with their top prospect’s performance in today’s game. Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 4 with an RBI double and 2 runs scored.
• Mariners’ OF prospect Wladimir Balentien had quite a game today. He hit 2 HR with 3 RBI. In the same game, Padres 3B/OF prospect Chase Headley hit a 2-run HR with 4 RBI.

• With Kevin Kouzmanoff firmly entrenched at 3B for the Padres, top prospect Chase Headley saw some action in left field in San Diego’s 10-3 loss to the Mariners. Headley looked solid making the transition from the infield, going 1-2 with a run scored and making several running and diving catches in left field.
• Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that because of the injury to SS Omar Vizquel, Giants INF Eugenio Velez could make the team as a super-utility player. With Kevin Frandsen possibly sliding over to Vizquel’s spot at SS, the 25-year old Velez has been taking ground balls at 3B rather than his regular 2B because his strong arm could make him extremely valuable to the Giants at the hot corner. Velez played 2B and went 1-3 with a run scored and an RBI in yesterday’s 12-6 loss to the Cubs in Arizona.
• On a similar note, Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle writes that all the injuries to the Giants aging infield are already opening doors for their youngsters.  It looks like Velez and Emmanuel Burriss, arguably the Giants two top IF prospects, will get starts in the upcoming Cactus League games.