6 San Diego Padres represented in Baseball America’s midseason Top 100

Baseball America released its midseason Top 100 prospects. The San Diego Padres have six representatives, but are they ranked correctly?

While no baseball has been played in 2020 yet, that hasn’t prevented Baseball America from updating their Top 100 prospects in the game, especially on the heels of the MLB Draft. The San Diego Padres already had a wealth of talent in their farm system, despite the graduation of Fernando Tatis Jr. to the big leagues at the start of last season, and they only added more promising youth via the draft.

Here’s how Baseball America views the Padres farm system:

MacKenzie Gore (#6 Overall)

The consensus number one pitching prospect in baseball, Gore is likely to make his big league debut this season. He’s been added to the 60-man player pool and could help the Padres make a push for the postseason.

Luis Patino (#20 Overall)

While Gore’s role is clearly defined, Patino’s is not as he was, at best, going to be a September call up. He made just two starts for Double-A Amarillo to close out 2019, posted a 1.17 ERA, fanning ten in 7.2 innings. He and Gore figure to be a formidable 1-2 punch in the Padres’ future rotation.

CJ Abrams (#24 Overall)

The MVP of the Arizona Rookie Ball, Abrams was taken with the sixth overall pick. He, too, was added to the 60-man player pool, but he’s unlikely to play in 2020 unless injuries or COVID cases force playing time. Abrams likely would have started at Single-A this season with a chance for a late promotion to High-A at the end of the year, assuming he progressed linearly.

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Taylor Trammell (#81 Overall)

Quite a gap between 24 and 81 on Baseball America’s list, but Trammell is going to play at the big league level for the Padres this season. He survived the first wave of cuts in Spring Training, but he was a victim of the next round. The 22-year-old posted a .234/.340/.349 slash line with ten home runs and 43 RBI while playing for two teams last year.

Luis Campusano (#89 Overall)

Campusano experienced a breakout year in 2019, posting a .325/.396/.509 line with 15 home runs and 81 RBI for Lake Elsinore. He’s been added to the 60-man player pool as well, but with no experience above High-A, Campusano is going to be a long-shot to earn playing time in 2020.

Robert Hassell (#98 Overall)

The prize of the first round in this year’s draft, Robert Hassell’s swing has drawn comparisons to Bryce Harper. The former Vanderbilt commit, surprisingly, was added to the taxi squad roster for this season, but he’s not going to play unless anything less than unfortunate happens. Still, at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Hassell has a ton of pop in his bat, and he only figures to add more as he fills out.