San Diego Padres Mid-Season Top 30 Prospects

Major League Baseball’s deepest farm system has been performing extremely well this season. Let’s revisit the San Diego Padres top prospect list.

With the draft just over a week old and the season almost half over, let’s take a mid-season look at the San Diego Padres top 30 prospects. Since my pre-season list back in March, a lot of movement has taken place on this list. Most notably, there are a total of nine new players being added to it.

There have been graduations, four in total, including Joey Lucchesi, Franchy Cordero, Eric Lauer, and Christian Villanueva.

Some players have also been dropped off since the pre-season list. Those players include pre-season Kyle McGrath, Trey Wingenter, Gabriel Arias, Andres Munoz, and Robbie Podorsky. It’s not due to poor performance, necessarily. The two top picks in the recently completed draft have also made their debuts.

This list will have a similar format to the previous. It will have the player name, position he plays, the affiliate in which he plays for, his ETA to the majors, and his previous ranking, if on the pre-season list. It will have an (NR) for not ranked before. It will also have a brief write-up on each player.

With that being said, let’s dive right into the San Diego Padres mid-season top 30 prospects list. (This list does not represent the views of every writer here at Friars On Base).

1) Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2019, (1). After a not so expected slow start in April, has looked like what the top SS prospect in all of baseball should look like. Currently hitting .333 with a .433 OBP in June.

2) MacKenzie Gore, LH-SP,  -A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, ETA 2020-21, (2). Not having the year anyone expected, so far that is. Blisters on his pitching hand, resulting in two DL stints, have slowed his progression a bit. Finally returned to the mound last week, tossing two scoreless innings and striking out three.

3) Michel Baez, RH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2019-20, (4). Moves up one spot with a very good first half for the Storm. Not quite as dominant as he was with Fort Wayne, but still progressing like a future major league rotation piece. Just four earned runs allowed over his last four starts.

4) Luis Urias, 2B/SS, AAA-El Paso Chihuahuas, ETA 2018-19. (5). Could be a September call-up, if not sooner. Has struggled during stretches this season but is still getting on base at a .378 clip.

5) Logan Allen, LH-SP, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2019, (9). Results wise, Allen is putting up the best numbers in the San Diego Padres system. Could crack the rotation during the September roster expansion.

6) Chris Paddack, RH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2019-20, (12). Has looked every bit as dominant post Tommy John surgery as he was before. Could move very fast through the system now that he’s showcased he is healthy.

7) Cal Quantrill, RH-SP, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2018-19, (8). Has moved up one spot from the pre-season list with an average to good first half. Has looked better of late. Another candidate for a possible September call-up.

8) Josh Naylor,1B/LF, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2019, (11). Hitting over .300 in his second taste of the Texas League. Also has double-digit homers to this point. Moving him to left field shows us that the Padres still like him and want to find a role for him moving forward.

9) Austin Allen, C-1B, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2019-20, (15). Another .300 hitter with double-digit home runs, has hit at every level of the organization. Might need a position switch, eventually.

10) Buddy Reed, LF, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2019-20, (NR). Is having an MVP-type season in the California League after having an impressive winter in the Australian League. Hitting .335 with 31 stolen bases in 61 games.

11) Jacob Nix, RH-SP, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2019, (NR). Another fast-rising prospect who could make a September cameo. Started the year on the DL but has looked great ever since, giving up just three earned runs in 21 innings.

12) Adrian Morejon, LH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2019-20, (13). Moves up one spot in the rankings with a good but not great first half. One of seven pitchers on the very talented Storm staff that will appear on this list. Just set a career-high in strikeouts with 12 in a six inning outing.

13) Franmil Reyes, RF, San Diego Padres, ETA 2018-19, (18). Was tearing the cover off the ball in triple-A before his call-up to the majors due to the rash of injuries. Has held his own however so far in the show.

14) Ryan Weathers, LH-SP, Arizona rookie league, ETA 2021-22, (NR). The San Diego Padres first-round pick last week, Weathers is another high-upside left-hander that joins Gore, Allen, and Morejon in a fantastic group of LHP.

15) Jose Castillo, LH-RP, San Diego Padres, ETA 2018, (NR). Another super fast-rising prospect, Castillo has jumped from AA to the majors. Has been down-right filthy since getting to the bigs. He has yet to give up a run in six total innings of work.

16) Brett Kennedy, RH-SP, AAA-El Paso Chihuahuas, ETA 2018-19, (16). Just finished a trip on the DL. Kennedy started the year 3-0 before going on the shelf. Would have been given a look at already, if not for the injury.

17) Michael Gettys, CF, AA-San Antonio Missions, ETA 2019-20, (22). Moves up five spots with a strong first half. Has the speed-power combo the front office loves. Has been on a tear after a poor start. Hitting .327 with three home runs in June.

18) Hudson Potts, 3B, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2020, (19). Potts has had a solid first half thus far. On pace for similar power numbers to last year, with a better OBP. He is progressing nicely for a former number one pick.

19) Reggie Lawson, RH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2019-20, (NR). Having a break-out season in the super-talented Storm rotation. If he keeps on his current projection path, he will get his shot sooner than most expected.

20) Anderson Espinoza, RH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2020-21, (14). With so many other players having good seasons and his more than likely two-year loss in development, Morejon drops further down this list. Hopefully he comes back healthy for the beginning of the 2019 season.

21) Luis Patino, RH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2020-21, (NR). Patino has looked great at every stop of the organization. Tossed 14 scoreless innings across three starts, recently.

22) Pedro Avila, RH-SP, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2020-21, (17). Avila drops five spots from the pre-season with an inconsistent first half. Has had better results the second time in the California League.

23) Edward Olivares, CF, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2020-21, (24). Moves up one spot with a solid first half. Has the tools, just needs to show production on the field.

24) Jorge Ona, RF, +A Lake Elsinore Storm, ETA 2020-21, (25). He too only moves up one spot. Not a bad first half, but not an eye opener either. Maybe it’ll all come together for him in the 2nd half. An injury has limited his playing time over the last few weeks.

25) Nick Margevicius, LH-SP, -A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, ETA 2020-21, (28). Moves up three spots from the pre-season list. Has been every bit as advertised in his full-season début. Was curious to see if the numbers would match his development. That would be an astounding yes. Has 76 strikeouts in 64 innings.

26) Esteury Ruiz, 2B, -A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, ETA 2021-22, (20). This is a combination of others being in a higher league and a bit of him slightly underperforming. A six-spot drop might seem a bit steep but he needs better plate discipline to take advantage of that power-speed combo he possesses. Still adjusting to making the jump from the Arizona League to full-season ball.

27) Luis Campusano, C, -A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, ETA 2021-22, (29). Last years second round pick moves up two spots with a very productive first half. Looking forward to seeing if his second half can better the first.

28) Tirso Ornelas, RF, -A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, ETA 2021-22, (NR). Having a very good full season first half but not great, still his numbers are good for the age he is playing in the league in.

29) Jeisson Rosario, CF, -A Fort Wayne Tin Caps, ETA 2021-22, (NR). Like Ornelas, Rosario is having a very productive full season début. Similar in age but a little different in skill sets, they both are apart of a deep outfield mix in the organization.

30) Xavier Edwards, SS, Arizona rookie league, ETA 2021-22, (NR). The San Diego Padres second pick of the 2018 draft, Edwards is reported to have 80 speed on the 20-80 scale, is a switch hitter, and is already considered advanced defensively. A four tool player, the only knack being his lack of power.

Next: Two Big Reasons For Recent Padres Winning

If it’s any sign of what is yet to come, look no further than the four who have already graduated from this list and are now making contributions with the big league club. Remember, this is just the beginning of the merry-go-round of prospects we will be seeing.