Checking in With the Competition–An Introduction

Since the season started, I’ve written over 50 posts here at Chicken Friars, and in the process, I’ve dissected most of the players that “matter” right now in the organization.

I feel like it’s time to let a bit more happen over the next day or two before I get back to doing a lot of hardcore minor league reports, statistical analysis, and the like.

In the meantime, it’s important to remember that every player is relative to every other player. If every pitcher in the league were as good as Tim Lincecum, then every batter would have to be elite to post what we now consider “good” numbers. The Padres may have a less talented team than many others, but if every other major league team were comprised entirely of Triple-A players, the Padres would be the most talented team around by far.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, like I said, I’ve been looking at the Padres key players, majors and minors, the last few weeks in my articles, trying to get a handle on what they are currently bringing to the table and what we might project them to do in a few years as well.

That, inevitably, sounds good on paper. But equally, if not more, important is the question of who these guys are going to be playing against.

The AL East is the prime example of this, as the Orioles’ young talent is consistently extolled by analysts, but they have to deal with three (and perhaps four) good teams in that division, so nobody gives them a chance to be much of a playoff contender anytime soon.

So, while I’m reasonably optimistic the Padres can cobble together a strong major league team in the next few years, it’s important to see how their talent will stack up with that of the other four teams in the division.

So, over the next day or so, I’ll be going through the Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies, and Dodgers organizations, looking at how their teams look to shape up in the next few years, and rating how well each group of talent compares to each other.

Stay tuned for the individual team writeups.