The professional debut of Jorge Oña didn’t make nearly as many waves as those from others in the Padres’ 2016-17 international free agent class.

The 21-year-old Cuban’s $7 million signing bonus ranks second in franchise history, behind only Adrian Morejon. Yet the .755 OPS that Oña posted in 2017 at low Single-A Fort Wayne slipped largely under the radar.

Blame Fernando Tatis Jr. Or Michel Baez. Or even Morejon.

All three teamed with Oña at one point in the Midwest League.


All three are ranked among the top prospects in the game, let alone the Padres’ fertile farm system.

It didn’t help that Oña was slowed early with a quad injury and late by a sore shoulder.

Yet Oña’s debut, however relatively mundane, was solid enough for ESPN scouting guru Keith Law on Wednesday to list the 6-foot, 220-pound right fielder as the ninth-best prospect in the Padres system.

Oña paired a .277/.351/.405 batting line with 11 homers and 64 RBIs in 107 games. He struck out 115 times, swiped eight bases and was as at his strongest in July (.877 OPS) after representing Fort Wayne in the Midwest League All-Star Game. Oña posted a .646 OPS over his final 24 games.


Wrote Law: “He also seemed to tire out in August, but his swing still looked good and he showed some feel for working the count. There’s enough here to be optimistic he’ll still end up a regular, maybe an above-average one, in right field.”

A subscription is required for Law’s entire assessment of the Padres system, which he ranked third in baseball last week. This week’s write-up rates left-hander Eric Lauer, Oña and right-hander Anderson Espinoza right after the seven Padres prospects — Tatis (3), MacKenzie Gore (14), Luis Urias (38), Baez (51), Morejon (72), Cal Quantrill (81) and Logan Allen (89) – that landed in the ESPN top-100.

Beyond that trio, Law’s extensive assessment includes left-hander Joey Lucchesi, outfielder Tirso Ornelas, second baseman Esteury Ruiz, right-handers Pedro Avila and Chris Paddack and quite a bit more.

As Law writes, “You might want to fix yourself a snack before you sit down to read this team report. Maybe get a lovely beverage. Hit the bathroom first, just in case. You’re going to be here for a while.”


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