Asuaje, Torres, Perez pace Padres in AFL

Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.

Seven Padres prospects concluded play in the Arizona Fall League last week with recently acquired Carlos Asuaje playing second and driving in a run for AFL champion Scottsdale in the league's title game Saturday.

One of four prospects acquired from Boston in the trade for closer Craig Kimbrel, Asuaje also had the best offensive season among the four position players representing the Padres in the AFL.

Asuaje, 24, finished the regular AFL season with an 11-game hitting streak and hit .329 over 18 games, going 24-for-73 with two doubles, a triple and a homer for seven RBIs. He was 17-for-45 (.378) during his hitting streak. Asuaje was 0-for-2 in last Saturday's championship game for Scottsdale with a walk and a sacrifice fly.

Asuaje was not the only Padres prospect to finish the Arizona Fall League on a streak.

Fernando Perez, 22, was 11-for-27 (.407) while hitting safely in six of the last seven games to finish the AFL season with a .250 average.

"Fernando finished strong," said Padres director of player development Sam Geaney.

The second baseman was 14-for-56 in 16 games with four doubles, a triple and a homer for seven RBIs. Perez, the Padres' third-round pick in 2012, finished with a .328 on-base percentage.

Third baseman Gabriel Quintana, 23, was 9-for-26 (.346) over the last seven games with Peoria to finish with a .226 average (14-for-62 with a homer and four RBIs).

The Padres' top hitter with the Javelinas was 22-year-old corner outfielder Nick Torres, who hit .264 (23-for-87) with two homers and seven RBIs in 21 games. Over the course of the past year, Torres, the Padres' fourth-round pick in the 2014 Draft, played at both levels of Class A, plus the instructional league and the AFL for more than 600 plate appearances.

"I think Torres had a nice overall AFL," said Geaney. "I imagine he's probably a bit tired."

Right-hander Ryan Butler had the best results among Padres pitchers in the Arizona Fall League. Butler, 23, was 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in six appearances, the last four coming as a starter. Butler allowed two earned runs over three innings in his final start against Scottsdale. He allowed 14 hits and 11 walks with 10 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings.

Submarining right-hander Eric Yardley was 1-0 with three saves and a 5.25 ERA in 10 relief appearances for Peoria.

Right-hander Cody Hebner, 25, was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in eight relief appearances. He had nine strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. Right-hander Elliot Morris was 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in eight relief appearances.