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Former Dirtbag Neil Jamison...

The final analysis won't be available for several years, but the Padres feel they mined a rich supply of gold in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, from first-round picks Cesar Carrillo and Cesar Ramos down through the ranks.

"We feel like it was a great draft," said Grady Fuson, the club's chief of scouting and development. "We got a lot of young players who have a shot at having outstanding careers."

Venturing forward with a bold new design under club president Sandy Alderson, the former A's championship architect who believes in building from within with a lush crop of farm hands, the Padres were thrilled with the early returns on their '05 draft class.

In our first installment, we focused on the top four picks: pitchers Carrillo and Ramos, third baseman Chase Headley and catcher Nick Hundley. This time around in "Four Prospects to Get Excited About," we'll zero in on nuggets found in later rounds...

RHP Neil Jamison
A sixth-round selection, No. 188 overall, Jamison teamed with Ramos on the Long Beach State pitching staff and is determined to join the lefty on the big club down the road. Here's a candidate to someday follow in Trevor Hoffman's history-making footsteps.

If first impressions are any indication, Jamison could make it to San Diego sooner than later to begin the grooming process.

He couldn't have been more dominant his senior year with the Dirtbags of Long Beach State. He was 4-0 with 11 saves and did not allow an earned run in 29 2/3 innings, limiting hitters to a .158 batting average.

Moving from the campus life to Eugene, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-hander was lights-out in 25 appearances. Across 27 1/3 innings, Jamison struck out 31 with eight walks. He saved eight games and was 1-2 with a 1.32 ERA.

Taking it up a notch at Fort Wayne, he continued to flourish with 12 strikeouts and five walks in 10 innings, going 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He could return to Fort Wayne to start the '06 season or move up a notch to Class A Lake Elsinore of the California League.

"He was a late-inning stud all through college and continued in his first pro year," Fuson said. "He has an 88-90 fastball with a good slider. He's an outstanding strike thrower, missing bats down in the zone with a low, three-quarters delivery. He has presence, confidence and instincts on the mound with a history of success."

The game is in Jamison's blood. His father, Tom, played baseball at Santa Clara, and his mother, Kathy, was a softball player at San Diego State.

The Padres are Neil's hometown team. He hails from Ramona, in North San Diego County. As a high school senior, he also showed he could hit, setting a school record with 11 homers while batting .429....