Padres’ Joe Weiland 24th Best Prospect in America

According to our friends at Seedlings to Stars, Joe Weiland ranks number 24 out of 100 prospects in America.  His 2011 minor league totals are impressive:

1.97 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 9 HRA, 21 BB, 150 K, and 42% GB% in 155 2/3 IP total

While his strikeouts don’t blow you out of the water, he doesn’t walk very many batters at all.  His ERA and FIP line up pretty well indicating that while he may get some help from the defense behind him, he still does a lot of the work himself.  His HR/9 ratio of 0.52 is pretty impressive as well.

In all, Weiland looks like a solid prospect, but he still has to show how well he can hold up with an entire year at Triple-A (or most of the year if he ends up being called up at some point in 2012).  First, let’s look at the positives Seedlings had to say.

"Wieland’s High-A statline was right there with Tom Milone‘s AAA numbers and everything Matt Moore did as the most impressive statistical performance from a pitching prospect this year."

Any comparison to Matt Moore is alright by me.  Moore, as displayed in the 2011 postseason, has an incredible upside.  If the Padres have in Weiland anything close to what the Rays have in Moore, they will have little to worry about going forward.  However, for every upside, there is a downside.  Here’s what Seedlings had to say on the negative side of things:

"Wieland’s strikeout rates in Double-A were nothing special, and he’s not a huge groundball guy, so it’s tempting to just look at him as more of a Liam Hendriks sort of pitcher than a front-of-the-rotation stud."

While this may in fact be a downside, the beautiful thing about the organization in which Weiland finds himself is the home ball park for the Major League club.  Weiland can get away with some flyballs in Petco Park.  He should still be able to keep the ball in the park, and his minor league HR/9 ratio indicates he’s able to do that already.

Here’s a detailed look at Weiland’s minor league career:

Weiland doesn’t seem to have control issues.  His BB% is very low.  His K% dropped off once he moved over to the Padres Double-A team, San Antonio, but he has managed a solid K/BB ration throughout his minor league career.  His BABIP is neither suspiciously low or frighteningly high.  His FIP looks very nice.

In all, it looks like Weiland earned his number 24 ranking by Seedlings to Stars.  He has to continue to prove himself, but he is developing into a very nice piece of the Mike Adams trade.