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It’s pretty much official that the Padres have the best farm system in baseball. The only question now is whether or not they’ll start trading prospects for the big league pieces to open their window now, or if they’ll take it slow. Rumors are circling about flipping prospects for Chris Archer and possibly including any prospect not named Tatis or Gore. I don’t think it’s time to start buying starting pitching, but we’ll see what happens.

My weakness is prospects at the lower levels, so if you think I missed someone or under-repesented their potential please let me know so I can put my MiLB.TV to better use.

Graduated from this list are Adam Cimber, Franchy Cordero, Eric Lauer, Joey Lucchesi, and Christian Villanueva

Tier 1

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., 3B/SS

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: AA, Futures Game

2018 Pre-Season #4

I was wrong to rank him number 4 in the pre-season. Most of you guys knew it as soon as you saw it and he’s proved it by hitting .289 with 16 home runs. The bad news is a recent injury will cost him the rest of the season.

2. MacKenzie Gore, RHP

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #3

Gore’s numbers after 12 games are not outstanding but he is only 19 and it is way too early to get hung up on numbers. He has four solid pitches and varies his delivery from the stretch in order to disrupt hitters timing.

Tier 2



3. Francisco Mejia, C

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: MLB

2018 Pre-Season N/A

Mejia’s offensive stats are very similar to those of Luis Urias. As of 22 July Mejia is hitting .278 in Triple with 7 home runs. Urias is hitting .274 with 7 home runs. The main difference is Mejia plays a premium position and the big league team will likely require his service before they will require those of Urias.

4. Luis Urias, 2B/SS

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: AAA, Futures Game

2018 Pre-Season #2

See above. A lot of Padres fans are clamoring for Urias’ promotion, but although he’s performing well, he has not mastered Triple-A and there is no reason to rush him.

5. Michel Baez, RHP

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #7

Baez is averaging a strikeout an inning and sporting a sub 3 ERA. His size may make it difficult for him to repeat his mechanics, but it looks like the Padres will be making every effort to develop him as a starting pitcher.

6. Cal Quantrill, RHP

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #1

Quantrill’s last two starts went horribly, ballooning his ERA to 6.14. Before that he had been maintaining an ERA in the 4s. Hopefully those are just fluke outings and not a symptom of a problem. His change-up is still an outstanding pitch and more importantly, he trusts it enough to throw it in any situation.

7. Chris Paddack, RHP

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #22

After missing all of 2017 Paddack is back in a big way for 2018. After 69.1 innings his ERA is a miniscule 2.08 and his WHIP of .793 demonstrates that that is no fluke. He’s one of the few guys with a change-up that competes with Quantrill’s and like Cal, he knows when and how to use it.

8. Adrian Morejon, LHP

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #6

Morejon is currently rehabbing in the AZL, but his first half was good enough for him to be named to the California League’s All-Star team.

9. Logan Allen, LHP

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #10

10. Ryan Weathers, RHP

Age: 18

2018 Highest Level: Rookie

2018 Pre-Season Unranked

Weathers has three solid pitches and can get his fastball up to 95 MPH. He also has a very good pro-baseball pedigree and is smart enough to dedicate time working on the mental aspects of the game. was pretty rough

11. Luis Patino, RHP

Age: 18

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #24

Luis has an ERA of 0.94 over his last ten games (48.0 IP). He has a 2.08 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP on the season altogether. He’s shaping up to be a monster.

12. Franmil Reyes, OF

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: MLB

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Absolutely destroyed Triple-A pitching for a little over a week, which ultimately led to his promotion. MLB pitching has exposed some flaws and defensively Reyes needs to improve, but he has the kind of upside that could lead him being a frontline starter.

13. Anderson Espinoza, RHP

Age: 20

2018 Highest Level: Did Not Play / A Ball in 2016

2018 Pre-Season #11

Anderson Espinoza is throwing a baseball as he continues to recovery and he has more upside than several players ranked above him.

14. Andres Munoz, RHP

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #25

After 14 games Munoz has yet to allow an earned run, or any runs at all. Those 14 games have only led to him accumulating 14.1 innings so that’s a misleading stat, but it’s still impressive for a 19 year old with 8.2 innings in Double-A.

15. Buddy Reed, OF

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #48

Futures Game, All-Star Game, Player of the Month, two-time Player of the Week. Buddy Reed has put on a show this season. He has stumbled coming into Double-A but look for him to adjust and resume his success soon.

16. Josh Naylor, 1B

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Mid-Season #16

I’ve been a little hesitant about Naylor, but he’s doing everything you could possibly hope for. He was a player of the week in April, a Double-A All-Star and he’s hitting over .310.

17. Hudson Potts, 3B

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Mid-Season #19

Potts seems to be seeing the ball even better this season than last. His batting average is up significantly and at 17 home runs so far, he’s proving that last year’s power surge was no fluke.

Tier 3



18. Jacob Nix, RHP

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: AA

2017 Mid-Season #13

Jacob’s ERA is a sparkling 1.79 and his WHIP is 0.90. He had a post-season in cameo in Triple-A last year and it’s likely he gets back there again soon.

19. Esteury Ruiz, 2B/3B

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #21

Ruiz is hitting for a decent average with good pop. Only 12 players in the Midwest League have more home runs than he does and only one of those players, Miguel Amaya, is younger than him.

20. Tirso Ornelas, OF

Age: 18

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #44

Only 18, Tirso is already showing the power other prospects might grow into. It helps that he’s a pretty big dude at 6’3, 200 lbs, but that size could lead to decreased speed in the future which will translate into decreased range in the field.

21. Jeisson Rosario, OF

Age: 18

201 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #12

Still only 18, Rosario is doing well in A-ball hitting .281 with a .384 OBP. Like other youngsters on this list his power is expected to emerge later on.

22. Xavier Edwards, SS

Age: 18

2018 Highest Level: Rookie League

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Edwards is hitting .404 through his first 13 games in pro ball. He is never expected to hit for power, but he’s a good contact guy and it’s showing early.

23. Luis Campusano, C

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #17

Campusano is one of those rare catching prospects who is expected to stay behind the plate. He is currently hitting .287 as a 19 year old in Single-A which looks really promising.

24. Edward Olivares, OF

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #26

At 22 it’s not great to see Olivares at Lake Elsinore, but he’s still younger than the league average. He’s hitting in the .270s and scouts are really impressed by his athleticism and raw power.

25. Jorge Ona, OF

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #15

Ona is having a down year, hitting only .237 right now. That sounds bad enough, but he’s not making up for it with increased power. His 5 home runs have him hitting dingers at a slower rate this season than he did in 2017. He still has a lot of tools and a frame that could lead to success.

26. Gabriel Arias, SS

Age: 18

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #28

Arias is looking kind of all glove, no hit right now if you just look at his 2018 numbers, but he’s shown he can hit, both in the Australian Baseball League and in the Arizona League. He showed power in Australia that we haven’t seen stateside, but as he grows and develops it’s expected we will start seeing more power.

27. Trey Wingenter, RHP

Age: 24

2018 Highest Level: AAA

2018 Pre-Season #24

Wingenter has struggled with consistency this season, but the velocity is still there. He’s walking someone a little more than every other inning, but outside the walks he performs pretty well. His batting average against is a solid .196. His ERA a less impressive, but respectable 3.79.

28. Jose Castillo, LHP

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: MLB

2018 Pre-Season #38

Castillo has been up and down between the big leagues and Double-A all season. Currently in Triple-A on a rehab assignment, Castillo figures to be a factor in the Padres bullpen for a while.

29. Brett Kennedy, P

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: AAA

2018 Pre-Season Unranked

Kennedy does not throw exceptionally hard (FB 89-92) which probably keeps him off of most prospect lists, but he consistently gets out and gets wins. Everyone knows wins are a bad stat for evaluating a pitcher, but his 10-0 record in Tiple-A is backed up by a 2.56 ERA in the hitter-friendly PCL.

30. Austin Allen, C

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #14

While Austin is hitting .302 in Double-A there is another 24 year old catcher at Triple hitting below the Mendoza Line. With the acquisition of Francisco Mejia it now makes sense to leave Allen in Double-A getting the bulk of playing time at catcher, but I cannot tell you why he has not been given a shot at Triple-A before now. That out of the way, there is some question about whether he will last behind the plate, due to his large frame and the toll it will take on his body.

31. Pedro Avila, P

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #52

After 100 innings Avila’s ERA sits just below 4. His strikeouts are down considerably from last season with his SO/9 going from 11.2 to 8.6

Tier 4



32. Mason Thompson, RHP

Age: 20

2017 Highest Level: A

2017 Mid-Season #23

Health concerns continue to plague Thompson. He is currently on the DL and his velocity has dropped following his string of injuries.

33. Reggie Lawson, RHP

Age: 20

2017 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #35

The 2016 2nd rounder hasn’t posted great numbers in professional baseball but he’s been playing older competition and is in the early stages of his development.

34. David Bednar, RHP

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #50

Bednar’s mid-90s fastball is his best offering and he compliments it with a respectable curveball. His ERA is a solid 3.24 but that belies a WHIP of 1.34.

35. Grant Little, OF

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A-

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Little is hitting well so far in pro ball. The 74th overall pick, he makes solid contact and saw an uptick in power in his sophomore year at Texas Tech.

Tier 5



36. Robert Stock, SS

Age: 28

2018 Highest Level: MLB

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Robert Stock was drafted by the Cardinals as a catcher in 2009. He was converted to a pitcher in 2012, fell out of professional baseball for awhile, played in independent ball, found more velocity and made his big league debut this season.

37. Luis Almanzar, SS

Age: 18

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season #20

He’s hitting .175. Let’s hope he does not go the way of Javy Guerra.

38. Dylan Coleman, RHP

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Coleman has a 92-94 MPH fastball and a good slider and curveball. His fourth pitch is a change-up which is not as developed as the other pitches.

39. Owen Miller, SS

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A-

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Miller was the Padres 3rd Round draft pick in the 2018 amateur draft. After 143 ABs he’s hitting .315.

40. Kyle McGrath, RHP

Age: 25

2017 Highest Level: MLB

2017 Mid-Season #25

Kyle has not been given the opportunities in San Diego that was given last season, but I expect that to change. His funky delivery is working in El Paso and the Padres‘ recent trade of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber frees up some space.

41. Michael Gettys, OF

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #33

Gettys is doing alright in Double-A, hitting around .250 and he made the Texas League, South Divison All-Star team. But at 22 it was expected that he’d be further along by now.

42. Nick Margevicius, OF

Age: 22

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Nick is coming on strong in 2018. The 2017 7th rounder went on to post a 1.31 ERA with a sparkling 0.979 WHIP immediately after being drafted. This season he is at 3.18/1.200 over two levels.

43. Jerry Keel, LHP

Age: 24

2018 Highest Level: AAA

2018 Pre-Season: 29

Keel was recently promoted to Triple-A. Hist first few starts were not great and it looked like he was not entirely comfortable fielding his position. Over the course of his last two starts though he only gave up one earned run in each through 13 total innings.

44. Joe Galindo, RHP

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: A

2018 Pre-Season: 41

In a fun move, the Padres had Galindo on their exhibition MLB roster for a game against the Chihuahuas in Joe’s hometown of El Paso.

45. Blake Hunt, C

Age: 19

2018 Highest Level: A-

2018 Pre-Season: 30

Hunt is not finding much success with the bat, hitting .238 with 0 home runs and his 6 passed balls in 211.1 innings look pretty bad when compared to Austin Allen’s 3 in 567.1 innings. At 19 though he still has loads of potential.

46. Ruddy Giron, SS

Age: 20

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season: 46

Giron still isn’t exactly cruising in Lake Elsinore, but he has had flashes of brilliance, including a 5 hit game with 3 doubles.

47. Henry Henry, RHP

Age: 20

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season #55

Henry’s season has been a mixed bag with success at Tri-City and awful numbers at Fort Wayne. I’ll let you decide if I just called him by his first name or his last.

48. Ty France, 1B

Age: 24

2018 Highest Level: AA

2018 Pre-Season #56

Ty is another Double-A All-Star. Hes shown good power with 15 home runs this season.

49. Olivier Basabe, SS

Age: 21

2018 Highest Level: A-

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Basabe has very similar numbers to Owen Miller. They’re playing the same position at the same level so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

50. Robbie Podorsky, 1B

Age: 23

2018 Highest Level: A+

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Podorsky has a long road ahead of him after being drafted in the 25th round and considering he’s a 23 year old year in Fort Wayne, but after 390 professional at-bats he’s hitting .336.

51. Colten Brewer, RHP

Age: 25

2018 Highest Level: MLB

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Brewer has a history of promotions and demotions within the minors. His stats also seem to go up and down. This season he’s been up and down between Triple-A and the big leagues. The Padres see something in him and after 4 appearances he has yet to allow an earned run in the big leagues.

52. Rowan Wick, RHP

Age: 25

2018 Highest Level: AAA

2018 Pre-Season: Unranked

Rowan has been impressive in his first 9.1 innings in El Paso. 3 earned runs in his last appearance gave him an unremarkable ERA of 3.86, but in that outing he recorded 2 quick outs and was one strike away of getting out of the inning with an ERA below 1.00.

53. Sam Keating, RHP

Age: 19

2017 Highest Level: A-

2017 Mid-Season: 34

Keating’s numbers are still unimpressive, but his projectability and fastball are promising.

54. Mason House, OF

Age: 19

2017 Highest Level: A-

2018 Pre-Season #31



After hitting .121 at Tri-City House was recently demoted to the Arizona League.

55. Brad Wieck, LHP

Age: 26

2018 Highest Level: AAA

2018 Pre-Season #29

Brad was dealing in Double-A, pitching to a 1.93 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP after 28 innings in Double-A. His numbers have turned somewhat ugly after his first 9.1 innings in Triple-A. The same thing happened last season, but he is looking somewhat improved from 2017. His base-on-balls per 9 are decreased this year and his frame makes him an imposing presence on the mound, so there’s still a good shot he’ll break out.