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Padres Updated Prospect List Shows Depth

By Daryll Dorman |
Jul 10, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; World center fielder Manuel Margot robs USA catcher Carson Kelly of a home run in the sixth inning during the All Star Game futures game at PetCo Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; World center fielder Manuel Margot robs USA catcher Carson Kelly of a home run in the sixth inning during the All Star Game futures game at PetCo Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres have dramatically altered their top prospect list over the past month. Through a series of trades and plethora of draft picks, the future is bright in San Diego.

Of course, Padres fans are pretty tired of hearing the same old story about prospects and future. Yet this crop seems to have a lot more talent than the Padres have had in years.

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When the Padres sent Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox, they gained a new top prospect in Anderson Espinosa, making the Padres top two prospects previous Red Sox prospects as Espinoza jumps in front of Manuel Margot. Before the season by the way, Espinoza was the Red Sox #2 prospect and Margot #5 according to FanGraphs.

Now, the top five for the Padres looks like this and when/how they got them:

  1. Anderson Espinoza, RHP (July 2016, Drew Pomeranz)
  2. Manuel Margot, OF (December 2015, Craig Kimbrel)
  3. Hunter Renfroe, OF (Draft 2013)
  4. Josh Naylor, 1B (July 2016, Andrew Cashner)
  5. Cal Quantrill, RHP (Draft 2016)

The Padres appear to be finally graphing together a full fledged minor league…plan. This isn’t “get lucky with Jesse Hahn and trade him to Oakland. It’s not banking on Sean Burroughs or Chase Headley to carry the franchise.

The Padres are pursuing pitching at all levels to have several stages of prospects enter the Major Leagues and acquiring future impact position players along the way. Number 12 prospect Jose Rondon got his callup recently, with #7 Javier Guerra looking to make his Petco Park debut late 2017.

The Padres still did not trade catcher Derek Norris, which means Austin Hedges is still stuck in career limbo while he continues to hit well in AAA. He is having a career year in the minors with 17 home runs and a .347 batting average. Will they be able to swing a waiver wire trade to continue adding to their depth?

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