I'm going to take this one in a little bit of (perhaps) an unexpected direction - Ted Williams. Teddy Ballgame played left field for the Padres from 1937-1938 when they were a part of the Pacific Coast League. The Red Sox bought him from the Friars before spring training 1938, so he really only had one post-high school season in San Diego.
Williams played reasonably well with the Padres before heading off to Boston, posting a line of .271 BA, 23 HR, and 98 RBIs. While this clearly doesn't constitute an exceptional stint in a Padres uniform, we make an exception for the Splendid Splinter.
Williams was arguably the greatest hitter to play the game (and missed 3 years from 1943-45 when he was 24-26 YEARS OLD to serve as a pilot in the Marine Corps in WWII!!!). Lifetime line: .344 BA, 521 HR, 1839 RBIs and never struck out more than 64 times in a season (his rookie season, no less). Between his status as one of the 10 best players to ever put on a uniform and a US Marine (a fantastic connection to the city of San Diego), there's no way to leave Williams out. Read all about Williams' experience with the Padres here: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95winter/williams.htm.
Left field is another thin position in Padres history, making this pick even more justifiable. As a big league club, the only notable left fielders were Greg Vaughn and Rickey Henderson - both quality players (particularly Rickey, who can easily be argued as the greatest leadoff hitter of all time), but neither had extraordinary careers as Padres.
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