Keith Law on Wednesday spoke at length of the Padres farm system as the deepest it’s ever been. On Friday, ESPN’s scouting guru unveiled A.J. Preller’s stock as the game’s third-best farm system behind the Braves and Yankees.

That’s the precise position that Law put the Padres last year. He wrote in full (subscription required):

“The Padres remain thin at the top minor league levels, though they will have at least one top-50 prospect in Triple-A and Double-A this year. Their strength will be the ridiculous number of high-ceiling athletes running around from high-A Lake Elsinore down to extended spring training once the season starts. The Fort Wayne club might be so young that it needs a chaperone to take a road trip. There are shortstops growing from a tree just outside of the team’s Peoria complex. Even when one big-money kid falters in his first year, two more step in to take his place on the depth chart. Plus, there are many people in the industry who think the Padres got the best player in the 2017 draft in Mackenzie Gore. It might be slow going in the majors, but the future remains extremely bright in San Diego (and dry and 75 degrees too).”

In order, the White Sox, Phillies, Reds, Rays, Brewers, Dodgers and Twins rounded out Law’s top-10.


Click here for the full ranking. ESPN’s upcoming coverage of the top-10 players in each farm system starts Jan. 29. The Padres will drop along with the rest of the NL West on Jan. 31.

Also, MLB.com will unveil its top-100 on Saturday (seven Padres sat in Law’s top-100).

Stay tuned.


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jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutSanders