San Diego Padres: Edward Olivares Is On Fire, But Will He Stay?

San Diego Padres outfield prospect Edward Olivares leads the way in Venezuela, but will he return to the organization next season?

For many franchises, spending any amount of time discussing the 28th-ranked prospect isn’t worth the time and effort. However, the San Diego Padres farm system presents a different case, seeing as Edward Olivares, the Padres 28th-ranked prospect, is a top 15-20 prospect on most other teams. He is coming off a fairly successful season with the Lake Elsinore Storm, but will we see him suit up with the Amarillo Sod Poodles?

Olivares came to San Diego via Toronto when the Padres traded infielder Yangervis Solarte to the Blue Jays for Olivares and Jared Carkuff. Carkuff was later released, but Olivares showcased his speed and power in Lake Elsinore for 129 games.

His final stat line included a .277 average, .321 on-base percentage, 25 doubles, 10 triples, and 12 home runs. He swiped 21 bags, converting on 72% of his stolen base attempts.

The 22-year-old outfielder is currently spending the offseason in his home country of Venezuela where he is playing with the Tigres de Aragua. In 24 games, Olivares is hitting  .337 with a .402 OBP, two doubles, two triples, and two home runs. He has converted five of six stolen base attempts and ranks among the league leaders in several offensive categories.

More from Friars on Base

• Padres fighting with hated rival to sign quality veteran relief pitcher
• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher

During the MiLB regular season, Olivares hit .281 vs righties and .261 vs lefties, however, that split has widened in Venezuela. He is currently hitting .370 against RHP and .211 LHP. Looking back over his splits over the course of his minor league career, Olivares has a history of struggling to hit left-handed pitching. Just something to watch with him.

The question now becomes, will the Padres add him to the 40-man roster before the upcoming deadline to protect Rule-5 draft eligible prospects? Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com recently published this piece taking a quick look at every top 30 prospect who is eligible for the draft. Maybe it is just my reading of the San Diego Padres outlook section, but it seems like Sam believes that the Padres will lose one or more of their five top-30 prospects.

There are plenty of names that can be removed from the current 40-man and the Padres are believed to be a franchise that will be active on the trade market this offseason, including current rumors swirling around Maikel Franco and Noah Syndergaard. San Diego can make room for Olivares. He is a multi-tool outfielder that has the potential to be a major league contributing outfielder.

The deadline to protect players is Tuesday, November 20th.