Below is an analysis of the expectations in the San Diego Padres farm system. The inspection reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources and our comments. This is the fourth year we've defined between two expected relief roles, the abbreviations of which you'll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player must be added to the 40-man roster to avoid becoming eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A more in-depth overview can be found here.
All prospects at the bottom level also appear on IBoard, a service that provides a site with editable evaluation information for the entire organization. It has more detail (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and includes individual team lists so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here.
Other Opportunities for Awareness
Grouped by genre and listed in order of popularity within each category.
Heavy Throwing
Yovanny Cruz, RHP
Miguel Mendez, RHP
Ruben Galindo, RHP
Manuel Castro, RHP
Yerry Landinez, RHP
José Geraldo, RHP
Signed as a major league free agent, Cruz suffered a major injury while managing the Cubans. You're still sitting at 96-99 and will flash some extra change. A fair-skinned A-ball starter who just turned 22, Mendez sits 93-97 and will flash a nice slider. He's clumsy, his fastball has no life, and his slider is shaky when it's not right. A 6-foot-1 Colombian righty up to 96, Galindo has an excellent changeup. He has worked about two innings at a time out of the bullpen the last few years and is currently in IL. A 5-foot-8 Mexican righty, Castro had success as a reliever in Fort Wayne going 93-95 with a number of other 45 and 45-grade pitches. A changed pitcher, hitters seem to be missing Landinez's fastball, and while it's not that hard, he's producing a strikeout rate north of 40%. She is beautiful but interesting to follow. Geraldo is 25 years old and is 94-97 in Fort Wayne.
Popular Boys
Jagger Haynes, LHP
Ryan Bergert, RHP
Carson Montgomery, RHP
Haynes was San Diego's 2020 fifth-round pick, a former high schooler who could play in the collegiate game until 2023 due to injury. His delivery and frame are still exciting, but neither Haynes' velo nor his command continues. Bergert, a former sixth-round pick, sits 92-93 with a rising angle and an occasional nice slider. Montgomery, an 11th-round pick out of San Diego last year, was a high school student who went to Florida State and didn't make the jump to Tallahassee. He ran a WHIP close to 2.00 as a junior and is injured around 2024.
Ball Hitters
Rosman Verdugo, 1B
Romeo Sanabria, 3B
Jay Beshears, 2B
Verdugo was given a tough job last year as an 18-year-old assigned to full-season football, and he didn't perform particularly well. He's back in Lake Elsinore and things have been much better, but he's actually hit less than in 2023 and has arm accuracy issues at third base, where he plays more often because of De Vrie's presence at shortstop. His positional control is good, but he's still a bit of a fan right now. A 22-year-old freshman, Sanabria left Elsinore earlier this year but has started to come back down to Earth in Fort Wayne. His hitting numbers in the Cal League were impressive, but we don't expect his swing to play at the high levels, let alone the big leagues. Clearing the bar at the beginning of the foundation is very difficult. Beshears transferred from Northwestern to Duke in his draft year and then made the jump from Lake Elsinore to Fort Wayne this season. He swings hard but feels out of touch, and his arm doesn't fit in the stop.
Rookie Level Words You Should Know
Yimy Tovar, SS
Yoiber Okopio, C/1B
Jordan Valenzuela, RHP
Tovar is a DSL shortstop with an advanced bat and decent projection. Ocopio was a DSL All-Star last year but was left out again in 2024. He is a stocky man with a compact curve that produces incredible strength. Valenzuela is a 6-foot-2 righty who sits around 90 with a nice natural offensive cut. He has good arm speed and physicality, but he's wild right now.
System overview
Just like last year, the Padres lineup has a talent impact at the top but is quickly diminishing. The team's ability to pick good players on the market and in the international market has kept the big league team running through promotions and trades. Jackson Merrill has already contributed to the major league team at a high level, and several other teams (most notably the Nationals) are reaping the rewards of the Padres' bullpen judgment after a major trade. The Padres have been one of the most active teams on the trade market in recent memory and have chipped away at a chunk of their talent pool. It's probably a safe assumption that more players will be leaving in the coming weeks.
While the Padres' scouting departments have been able to identify talent, it has been difficult to keep the roster as stocked as they have sold it. The number of Padres draft picks who have made it to the big leagues is an impressive testament to their fielding ability, but the fact that many of them are playing for other teams should make you jealous if you're a Padres fan. . You could argue that some of these trade plans were short-sighted, but part of the reason they felt that way was because former Padres chairman Peter Seidler died and the front office had no choice but to dramatically change course.
For the first time in a while there are some noticeable changes being made to pitchers in the system that seem to improve their results. Isaiah Lowe, who was already very good, seems to be further improved. The fact that this happened even though he was coming off a successful season is an indication that the dev player is starting to catch on in San Diego. Dylan Lekso's slider, some changes in the way Robby Snelling's fastball works, Francis Pena's jump shot, and Tirso Ornelas' rising angle provide further evidence that there are good things going on here now that, not so long ago, the Padres drafted a player. or signed was usually the one they had to roll with later.
Although this system is below average in many respects, the reasons for being so are not all bad. More than anyone who has to “Trust the Process” they have to “Pick Good Players,” and the Padres tend to do that. Of course, one team's “intellect” is “obsession,” and the Padres could use a Tom Hagen type to help the front office manage its occasional (but often costly) obsession.
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