By Jim Callis
December 15, 2003

Rich Thompson and Jason Szuminski caught the attention of scouts in the Arizona Fall League, so much so that they were snapped up in Monday's major league Rule 5 draft. After the Padres selected Thompson second overall from the Pirates and the Royals chose Szuminski 10th from the Cubs, San Diego and Kansas City swapped their picks. The Padres also received cash in the deal.

Thompson, 24, signed with the Blue Jays as a 2000 sixth-round pick from James Madison. Pittsburgh stole him in a July trade for journeyman John Wasdin, who went 0-1, 23.40 in three games for Toronto. Thompson hit .293/.362/.337 with no homers, 27 RBIs and 48 steals (in 55 attempts) in 112 games between Double-A New Haven and Triple-A Syracuse and Nashville. He really took off in the AFL, as he hit .346/.427/.510 and led the league with 28 runs, four triples and 13 steals in 25 games. Scouts also ranked him as the AFL's fastest baserunner. Speed is Thompson's best tool, and he plays to it with a slashing approach at the plate. He started to turn on pitches more frequently in the AFL, giving hope that he might generate respectable power, and drawing more walks also would help his cause. He's an above-average center fielder who projects as a big league backup unless he develops more on-base ability and pop.

Szuminski, a 25-year-old righthander, has one of the more interesting backgrounds in the minors. He's only the second player ever drafted out of MIT, signing as a 27th-round pick in 2000. Because he attended college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, he was assigned to Los Angeles Air Force Base after making his pro debut that summer. But Szuminski successfully lobbied the Air Force to allow him to play professional baseball under its World Class Athlete Program, designed for Olympic hopefuls. With pros being used for Olympic baseball for the first time in 2000, he received the Air Force's blessing. However, he remains in the Air Force's employ as an aerospace engineer working with satellite technology during the offseason, and he has to donate his baseball salary to charity. Szuminski's chances of staying in baseball were hurt when Team USA failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympics, but gained a boost when he went in the Rule 5 draft. That means that, like Thompson, he'll have to spend 2004 in the majors (or clear waivers and be offered back to his previous team for half the $50,000 draft price before being allowed to be sent to the minors). It's likely that he'll be able to use his status as a big leaguer as a recruiting tool for the Air Force, allowing him to defer active service time for future Air Force duty.

Szuminski's baseball career took a big step forward in 2003 after he got shelled in Class A the previous two seasons. He moved from high Class A Daytona to Double-A West Tenn to Triple-A Iowa, going a combined 9-5, 2.78 with two saves in 45 games (five starts). In 97 innings, he had a 73-29 strikeout-walk ratio and held opponents to just one homer and a .250 average. Though his AFL numbers (4.19 ERA, 19 innings, 24 hits, seven walks, 19 whiffs) weren't as striking as Thompson's, Szuminski showed enough to draw Rule 5 interest from several clubs. Scouts like his size (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) and his ability to sink, cut and run his fastball, which averages 88 mph and tops out at 91. He needs to improve his slider and his command, but should have a good chance to stick on San Diego's 25-man roster as a reliever.