San Diego Padres Farm system: The Padres system is extremely shallow, with Ethan Salas standing as its lone potential fantasy star.
Summary
The Padres system is thin overall, with Ethan Salas standing alone as a potential fantasy cornerstone. Behind him, Kruz Schoolcraft offers starter traits with explosive stuff and developmental runway, while Kash Mayfield and Miguel Mendez bring mid-rotation or late-inning upside depending on how their control and durability hold up
Beyond that, the system drops off quickly. Ty Harvey and Jorge Quintana are raw projection plays with athleticism and tools, but neither has proven they can hit pro pitching yet. Tucker Musgrove and Victor Lizarraga offer backend rotation or bullpen depth, while Tirso Ornelas and Ryan Wideman are fringe bats who need ideal context to matter in fantasy.
This is one of the shallowest systems in baseball from a fantasy standpoint. Outside of Salas, few players project as impact assets, and most are deep-league stashes or bullpen hopefuls. Dynasty managers should treat this group as a place to find speculative arms—not foundational pieces.
AI-Assisted Fantasy Tiers: Methodology and Observations
AI has made significant strides in all aspects of our lives. Over the past four years, I have compiled 500,000 words of personal scouting narratives, which have formed the foundation for training my own AI assistant. This assistant now evaluates prospects and assigns fantasy tiers exclusively based on the insights and observations contained in my write-ups.
After requesting that my AI assistant generate fantasy tiers using this year’s reports, I found that the AI’s rankings generally align with my own assessments. However, there are some cases where the AI’s evaluations differ from my personal rankings. I am sharing those differences here for your consideration.
🥇 Tier 1: Fantasy Impact Targets
- Ethan Salas – Top 15 fantasy catcher ceiling despite injury setbacks and aggressive timeline
🥈 Tier 2: Everyday-Upside Targets
- Kruz Schoolcraft – Long-term project with explosive stuff and starter traits
- Kash Mayfield – Mid-rotation upside with extreme risk tied to delivery and control
To see the list, click here.
