SAN DIEGO — The Giants should feel discouraged after four days on the field with the up-and-coming San Diego Padres. But they also should feel a bit more hopeful about their own ability to rebuild quickly.

The Padres bottomed out, for sure, but this is not your typical “get top picks and trust the process” rebuild.

Fernando Tatis Jr., the 20-year-old shortstop, was a little-known prospect when the Padres got him from the White Sox in the James Shields trade three years ago. Right-hander Chris Paddack, who dominated Sunday, wasn’t a top 10 Marlins prospect when they traded him to San Diego in 2016 to pick up Fernando Rodney. Paddack didn’t make a top 100 prospect list until before this season.

The trick here is having a front office that makes smart and sneaky evaluations. The Giants believe they’ve put that in place with Farhan Zaidi, and he could have similar opportunities to scoop up undervalued assets if he trades Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith and others this July.

If the Giants get really creative in packaging relievers over the next year or two — would Reyes Moronta ever be put on the table? — perhaps they can make the kind of deal that netted the Padres Francisco Mejia for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber.

Then there’s the easier way of reloading. The Padres gave Eric Hosmer $144 million last offseason and followed that up with a $300 million pact with Manny Machado this February. When the Giants are ready to again make a splash and supplement young pieces, they’ll have more than enough financial power to make similar moves.

The Padres have more prospects coming, and this is where the Giants are truly behind. Joey Bart is their one can’t-miss prospect at the moment. The Padres had nine players on some top 100 lists this winter.

It will take time to build anywhere close to that kind of depth, and for 2019, the Giants are still hoping the first series was an aberration. The pitching was solid, but the lineup scored five runs in four games against starters who entered the season with 50 combined games of big league experience.

The Padres' pitchers will find greater challenges ahead, but there was little doubt over the weekend that the organization is once again ready to be a problem for the rest of the NL West.

They are at least one pitcher short -- Dallas Keuchel would seem the perfect fit -- but the lineup is deep and energetic, and the Padres made Giants pitchers work without getting much from Machado, their best player. Tatis Jr. seems talented enough to challenge him for that title within a year or two. His dash home and emphatic celebration with Hosmer on Friday night was the defining image of the first series.

"Their lineup can do damage," Jeff Samardzija said after five innings Sunday. "It keeps you on your toes."

The Giants took the bus to Los Angeles on Sunday night to prepare for three games with a far more dangerous lineup. The Dodgers hit eight homers on Opening Day and kept crushing through the weekend. They remain the team the Giants are chasing, but it seems the rebuilt Padres are about to assume that status too.

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"You're seeing it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "They're loaded with outfield depth. You're looking at a really talented shortstop (Tatis Jr.) at 20 years old to be up here doing what he's doing. We haven't scored off their starters and they're all young guys. They built up their farm system. They had some good drafts. They're going to be good for a while."