Khalil Greene

Greene wore out his welcome in San Diego and got a much-needed change of scenery upon being dealt to the Cardinals over winter. Coming off a career year in 2007, much was expected of the Jeff Spicoli look-alike. However, a season-long slump culminated with his losing a fistfight with an equipment chest, resulting in a broken hand. Greene is a plus-defender with good power, so if he can stay on the field, he could be a sleeper in the middle infield. Just realize that his low contact rate results in a low average, and he's got a penchant for hitting the disabled list.

Greene turned in his best major league season last year, clubbing 27 homers and knocking in 97 runs -- while his 44 doubles are a nice addition as well. Greene has power to all fields, although he also whiffs a lot, turning in a .291 on-base percentage, worst among NL shortstops. We'd love Greene if he were 25. Instead, he's 28 and has only stayed injury-free in one of four big league seasons. He may have reached his statistical ceiling. Even so, he's a solid option in 2008 if you can stomach the injury risk.

Greene's season was marred by a finger injury for the second time in three years. He has missed an average of 35 games per season in his three-year major league career. Meanwhile, his development at the plate has been shaky to nonexistent, with his batting average and slugging percentage declining each season. Greene could be on a short leash, but benefits from San Diego's organizational weakness at the position. He is a very good defender who should serve as San Diego's starting shortstop in 2007.

If Matt Bush wasn't shaping up to be such a tremendous bust, Greene might be dangerously close to losing his job right now. While his home run total remained the same in 2005, he fell off considerably in average, runs scored, OBP and OPS. The most troubling part is the huge drop in walks and he seems no closer to commanding the strike zone than he did when he first came up. The 2006 season will be make-or-break for Greene and the odds are starting to tip towards break.

Greene's inaugural season was a surprise as his defense and range were greater than advertised while he struggled at times with the bat. The runner-up in the National League ROY was stronger away from Petco Park and gave us a glimpse of the future with an .891 post-All-Star OPS. The 25-year-old handled the sudden surge of fame and media with his usual calm, seemingly more concerned with the plays he didn't make, than the ones than the ones garnering the attention. He looks to be become a mainstay of the organization and one of a few up and coming shortstops that warrants comparison to the current Hall of Fame class.

There simply isn't room to describe the make-up of Greene. The translation of his first name, his parents, the Bahai faith, it's philosophies and spirituality, the college academic standing and All-American status, are contributing factors in the making of what is likely the most unique personality, and arguably the highest baseball IQ in a prospect in recent years. The Padres, keenly aware, have fast-tracked their first-round pick of 2002, including three new levels ending in the majors, all during the 2003 season. He handled it with his usual calm but the club, recognizing the push, will limit his duties in 2004 to hitting at the back of the order while playing the challenging infield position on a regular basis. The team's No. 1 prospect has definite power potential for a shortstop, and can be projected as a middle-of-the-order producer in a few years.

The Padres’ 2002 first-rounder (13th overall) put together a nice little season at Class A Lake Elsinore. After re-writing the record books at Clemson U in four ACC seasons, Greene projects to be a solid middle infielder for the big league club. He has great instincts and performed on par with offensive expectations against much younger competition in A ball. Greene’s strikeout ratio still raises eyebrows a bit (12BB/33K), but he should be able to handle a jump to AAA in 2003.