2284 - 2026 San Diego Padres Top Prospects

The following players are discussed:

1. Ethan Salas (C)
2. Kruz Schoolcraft (LHP)
3. Kash Mayfield (LHP)
4. Ty Harvey (C)
5. Jorge Quintana (SS)
6. Tucker Musgrove (RHP)
7. Bradgley Rodriguez (RHP)
8. Miguel Mendez (RHP)
9. Tirso Ornelas (OF)
10. Victor Lizarraga (RHP)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Greetings everyone. It is December twenty seventh, about ten o'clock
in the morning. Happy Saturday to all sitting here in
beautiful New Jersey with six inches of snow on the ground.
So nice little Alberta Clipper came through last night and
dumped some snow. It's always fun to take the dogs
out when they're six inches of snow on the ground.
But that's what we got. I hope everyone is enjoying

(00:23):
their holiday season. Tim and I we be back on Sunday.
I think we're doing fantasy questions of the al L West,
I believe, and we'll also do another podcast finishing up
our prospects of the American League East. But for now
it is more prospect talk because it is tis the

(00:44):
season to do that, and we're talking about the San
Diego Padre. So I only did fifteen prospects for this
particular system. I mean, I could have gone twenty, but
I don't feel pretty good after the first four or
five guys here To tell you the truth, in terms
of who has a chance to actually make it in

(01:05):
the big leagues and be fantasy relevant. There will be
guys that pop up there always do, but for the
most part, no one is really showing a lot here.
You know, after these top few guys, and I say top,
I mean there's very few guys. In fact, Ethan Sallis
is the only one I see as a potential impact performer.

(01:26):
And I think the offense has really not come around.
He was hurt most of last season. He hasn't played
very well. He's been rushed. We know the story there.
Looks like he's a great defender from everything I have
heard from the San Diego Padres and everybody who's actually
seen him play. It's almost play in the Fall League.

(01:46):
His defense didn't really stick with me when I saw
him there. But you know, it's we'll see if it all,
if it all surfaces for him and he becomes a
reliable offensive contributor fantasy player. But at the most part,
he is. He's a top prospect, but probably the weakest
of all the number one prospects. I guess you can

(02:09):
call the Angels probably even weaker than that, but you know,
not a strong system, not a strong top of the
of the list here either, But let's let's get with it.
If if you're a Patreon membor, I appreciate you subscribing.
If you want to become a Patreon Member's bat r
o n dot com forward slash prospect through sixty one

(02:33):
draft targets. My draft targets are mostly done. I'll be
coming out with the outfield over the weekend. I just
have to finish up a few more narratives. It's a
long list, tough list. Doing the outfield really tough. And
then I've got pitching to do next week and I'll
be finished my draft targets as promised by the end
of the year. Tim. You get expanded coverage for Tim's

(02:56):
Tim's Rankings where you get a spreadsheet and you can
see some more detail that that I've provided on top
of what timis is saying. And then we also don't
cover all of the guys in detail when we do
the podcast, and you get the full write ups of
all of them. And of course you can play in leagues.

(03:16):
We've got some opportunities for for league plays. Still got
a few slots to fill in for our Dynasty or
our Patreon leagues are full. It is some of the
legacy leagues that still have a few spots available having
trouble getting to guys that have played in those leagues
for a long time just getting back to me, and

(03:37):
so the maybe interest is waning on a couple of them,
then we'll see maybe some new opportunities will surface. But
let's get at it here again. The number one prospect
is Ethan Sallas had in a couple of dynasty leagues,
and I fell into the hype like everybody did. I
think we all know the story there. Signed for five
million dollars. Uh skipped over the DSL, skipped over the

(04:00):
complex leaguement, streaked the low way, looked good. Finished that
season in a High A. That was twenty twenty three,
twenty twenty four. They started him back in High A,
he wasn't very good, promoted him to Double A, wasn't
very good there, and then last season he started back
the year in two thousand, in twenty twenty five back

(04:22):
in Double A and just did not play well at all.
And then he got hurt and he was gone for
most of the season with a stress reaction in his back.
So we've seen a guy who's one been rushed, two
has not performed at at a level against more advanced pitching,

(04:47):
and then got hurt last season. And you see guys
like other kids in his draft class who have actually
surpassed what he is, what he has done, and it's like, wow,
how could that happen after he got such a strong start.
But other guys that passed him, so in that same
draft class, Felnon Seleston who is with the Seattle Mariners,

(05:09):
I think has definitely passed him. Sebastian Sebastian Walcott was
another kid that was in that same draft class who
is one of the top four prospects in the game,
has passed him. Afraid to do know, you can even
argue that he has passed him. On the catcher the
with the Cincinnati Red So it's startling. Kabba was in

(05:32):
that just an elitd defender was in that. Jung Suk
Sim South Korean kid is also turning into a pretty
good prospect. Jofrey Rodriguez probably hasn't passed him, maybe even
well Robert Callis hasn't passed them. But another guy that's
done very well, So it's a really strong class. Well
in Francesca, one of my guys who did first year,

(05:53):
he did not perform well. It was in twenty twenty five,
but you can see there's just you know, well, he
was sitting at the top of the class for the
first two years. You know, these guys, particularly Sealesten and
most notably a Sebastian Walcott, have just just leap right
over him. Doesn't mean he's a bad prospect. It just

(06:15):
means that he was probably a little over evaluated, particularly
from an offensive standpoint, and just has not developed. I mean,
we know, defensively, he looks really strong, a plus plus arm,
seems to be a good receiver, good to throw to
from a picture, seemed to like throwing to him. But

(06:38):
it's just as he's going to hit enough and he
has just really struggled to pick up spend, expands, strike zone,
et cetera. And again, losing twenty twenty five was tough
when the kids still see him as a top one
hundred prospect. But he needs to get out there, and
he needs to play and he needs to perform. Most
notably Number two is Cruz school Craft. One of the

(06:59):
best names out there, k r Z school Craft. He
was the twenty twenty five first round pick, number twenty
five overall, and is this really interesting prospects six foot eight,
six foot nine, throws ninety nine miles an hour from
the left side. Doesn't really know where the ball is going,

(07:21):
and as the Padres do, where almost every high school
kid did not pitch Cruise Schoolcraft got out there and
pitched in low way one and two thirds innings. I mean, so,
I mean just just made an appearance. That's just what
the Padres do. Hey, we're paying you. You get out
there and perform at six foot eight, not six foot nine,

(07:42):
but I've heard he could be even taller than six
foot eight. It's a big hid upper nineties delivery. It's
all going to come down to how much he develops,
how much control he has. But physically there's a lot
there and he would be a really interesting guy in
first year player drafts to grab in the second round.

(08:02):
I think the upside is huge. You know, he's going
to get pushed hard by the Padres, and the Padres in
general do a pretty good job at developing their guys.
They always get traded, so you know, the McKie McKenzie
Gore took a while to develop. It's turned out to
be a pretty good pitcher. And I think we're going
to see another lefty with the Miami Marlins coming up

(08:24):
and pitching extremely well this season. And you know that's
that's just you know, that's just what they do. They
they developed these guys and then they and then they
move them. That would be Robbie Snelling, who I was
trying to grab from memory. But I like Schoolcraft a lot,
and you can argue he should be the top name

(08:45):
on this list, above Ethan Sallas. Cash Mayfield another interesting
other lefty they first round draft pick in twenty twenty four,
actually pitched pretty well, grab a great change up. It's
already you know, giving writings a lot of trouble two
seventy one slug against right hand at the right hand
at batter, so he's not going to have any splits

(09:06):
with that great slide. Excuse me, that great changeup that
he has. There's a lot of effort in his delivery,
so he could eventually fall back into a relief role,
but it looks like a starter package at the moment.
A little over four walks per nine, so it's something
to be a little bit cognizantenough, and he needs to

(09:27):
learn how to throw better strikes. But yeah, I kind
of like Cash Mayfield as well. So that's the top
three guys are decent legitimate prospects. With school Craft in Mayfield,
maybe even having a higher upside than Ethan Salas just
because of the struggle Ethan Salas has had. So those

(09:47):
are the top three, and then it starts to get
a little dicey. You got Tie Harvey the catcher. He
was taken into number one sixty overall, signed for a
million dollars ever slot high school hetcher, which is a
kid that you never want to invest in a any
dynasty league in a first year player draft. But you know,
if you've got room and you're playing a twenty five

(10:09):
to thirty man minor league roster slot, maybe you know
a little even potentially probably that's probably deep enough to
be able to consider drafting him. It's the ball hard
has already been up one hundred and fifteen miles an
hour off his bat, So you know, I think it's
a kid that it's going to get pushed hard. And
it looks like he can hit a little bit with

(10:31):
some some solid power. So you could see him definitely
start the season in low way and if we start
to see him hit and again it is the Southern
League of the California League, which is a real hitters
pitters league, you could see some noise coming out from
Ty Harvey, so keep an eye on him. Or A Quintana.

(10:51):
He was part of that triumphant with or trio. I
got a triumpher a trio with the Milwaukee Brewers in
twenty twenty four where you had Louis Payanna, Jesus Moday
and Jorge Quintana. Quintana was actually the guy who got
paid the biggest signing bonus one point seven million dollars.
I think my day was nine hundred and Payne was

(11:13):
eight hundred. And of course Moday and Payne you have
become two of the best prospects in the game. Just
talk to somebody about Paynia recently and they just I'm
telling you that this professional scouts in baseball love Louis Payne,
who as I think many of you guys know, I
love him as well, but tremendous batspeed, hits the ball

(11:38):
really hard. I got a chance to take a look
at some centergy data about him. I get spots centergy
data from it. Centergy data is is think of baseball
Sylvant where Baseball Sylvan is not and huge undred and
ten hundred and twelve one hour ex velocity's coming off
of him, which is pretty tremendous swing. Gets a little

(12:01):
long with him, but it's a tremendous plan. We already
know hayesus my Day. I mean, that guy is going
to be up in twenty twenty seven. You just put
that in the bank. That guy's a chance to be
a special player. And Harry Cotana got moved, and you
know he got moved with oh Hester Cortez, right, the
former Yankee to San Diego for Lockridge. I can remember

(12:26):
I was. I don't think I wrote it in my
notes here, but anyway, I mean there could be something
here with this guy. I mean it's power speed, kind
of upside. He's athletic, but I don't think he's in
the same class as as Luis Pina and Hayzus my Day.
But a kid to keep an eye on that is
Jorge Quintana. Tucker Musgrove. Yeah, probably a closer can hit

(12:47):
triple digits. Real backspin guys so high spin through the
zone really needs a change up to become a starter.
But it's a good arm in low way. You could
see him move pretty quickly in twenty twenty six and
actually be a potential option for the Padres or some
other team in twenty twenty seven. Bradley Rodriguez saw him

(13:11):
in the major leagues ninety to ninety nine touch in
one oh one, so huge swinging this change up elite velocity.
It is definitely a closer profile. I know they've got Mason.
They still got Mason Miller, right, So that's let me
take a look at the padres so. I mean, obviously
he's going to be the closer, but he's ever been

(13:32):
the model of health either. And Bradley Rodriguez is down
there as a mid rotation reliever. According to so More,
John's a pretty good guy that he's going to have
to crawl over. But you could see him moving up
this season to be a seventh eighth inning guy and
then eventually taking over close Roy Like I like the
arm for sure. It's definitely a closer, a closer profile.

(13:59):
All that's Bradley b r A D G. L E.
Y of Rodriguez. Miguel Mendez. I see him as another
kind of potential closer. Fastball in touch one hundred miles
an hour. He does not have a change up, doesn't
look like he's going to develop a change up. I mean,
could he go with a splitter? Could they could the

(14:19):
Padres introduce a splitter with him, Sure, but he has
some pretty substantial platoon splits, and I think he's already
in double A. I think we see him in twenty
twenty six, but it's going to be as a bullpen arm.
So he's a guy that was a little bit ranked
higher for me coming in to the process, and the
more I dug into him, the more I moved him

(14:40):
down just because I think he's going to be a closer.
Number nine is Turso or Neelias. I think he's still
with the Padres. I don't know if they've they've kicked
him off the forty man or not. I mean, it's
it's a guy that I you look, he's statistically he's
always looked pretty good, but I think from a scouting standpoint,
it's it's not as good. The deep date on to

(15:02):
say that he doesn't hit the ball very hard, et cetera.
So Terso o'neilis is probably a waiver wh our guy,
maybe an Asian player at some point. Victor Lizarraga again,
probably a reliever, another good arm, a guy that we
were talking about forever. Big sinker guys, A heavy ground

(15:24):
ball rates you know, if his control improves, maybe he
becomes a little bit more than that. But again it's
a decent arm. It's again a heavy fastball that he
doesn't throw hard, but again it's got such heavy sink
on it it's really hard to square up. And it
is some funky delivery that he has. So I think
that's ultimately going to be work best as a bullpen arm.

(15:46):
So that is our top ten. I'm gonna cut it
off here and I've got a few more minutes with
our Patreon members. Not going to be the greatest value
add here with the padres, but we've got the Giants
coming up later this weekend or probably on Monday, and
then the entire NL West to do, where there'll be
some more players to talk about. I encourage you to

(16:08):
join us out at the Patreon site. I know maybe
the padres isn't the greatest advertising for the Patreon site,
but somebody told me, wrote to me as a post
that instead of giving away the Colorado Rockies, I should
have given away the all twenty three prospects of the
Dodgers or the Yankees or some top system like that

(16:30):
to get more people interested, which is probably good marketing.
I picked the Rockies, which wasn't probably the best marketing approach,
but that's what I did. But anyway, join us out there.
I think you have a lot of fun for everybody else.
Hang on here and we will be back to you
in just a few seconds