The Padres system is thin. I will not use any negative terms like stinks or sucks because every time I think that, several players emerge. No team in Major League Baseball has used their minor league rosters as trade assets more than the Padres. Has it worked? Maybe a little bit. But wouldn’t CJ Abrams, James Woods, and MacKenzie Gore look good on their Major League roster now? What about Trea Turner, Max Fried, Josh Naylor, Emmanuel Clase, Ty France, and Brent Rooker? All of these players were traded by AJ Preller. I’m unsure what to say, so I’ll leave it as written.
There are a few players left who I think have the potential to make it to the Major Leagues. Leo De Vries looks like the real deal, and while Ethan Salas really struggled in 2024, the talent is there. I also like Henry Baez. He performed very well this season. Tirso Ornelas is underrated. I liked their draft, but many of the players they selected are high school kids.
In the end, the job of the GM is to get to the playoffs with a chance to win a Championship. Preller has had a decade and plenty of money to make that happen. He’s made it to three post-seasons, including 2024. The furthest he made was the NLCS in 2022. He spent 1.376 billion dollars in the process.
Prospect Snapshot
- Top Prospect: Leo De Vries
- Biggest Mover: Henry Baez
- Biggest Disappointment: Ethan Salas – This might not be fair given his age and assignment, but he hit .206 with a .311 SLG.
- Emerging Prospect: Kale Fountain
