Baseball America’s Top 100 puts the Padres’ farm system in an uncomfortable spotlight

It is without question that the San Diego Padres' farm system is on the weaker side of things, as the team traded away 13 prospects at the 2025 trade deadline in an effort to go all-in for the 2025 season.

Those prospects became Mason Miller, Ramón Laureano, Freddy Fermin, and Ryan O’Hearn, whom Preller brought in to beef up certain position groups. The goal was not only to compete for a playoff spot or the division, but also to win a World Series.

Unfortunately for the Padres, those World Series hopes were incredibly short-lived, as the team was bounced in the NL Wild Card round by the Chicago Cubs.

At the time of the flurry of moves made by Preller, it was worth it in an attempt to contend, but not for what came shortly after the early playoff exit. The Padres saw Dylan Cease, Michael King, Luis Arráez, Ryan O’Hearn, and Robert Suárez on the open market with little chance of being able to retain all of them.

Ethan Salas Top 100 omission turns Baseball America’s list into a harsh Padres gut check

While the team was able to keep King, they had to let Suárez, Cease, and O’Hearn walk for nothing.

Despite O’Hearn being the only trade piece to leave after the season, it still reflects an ugly truth about the Padres' farm system that Baseball America also reported.

This is the unfortunate truth about the Padres' future in short, and that is they need to rely on their current core to keep them in contention for the next few seasons. Their top three prospects haven’t even hit 20 years of age yet.

Ethan Salas, 20, is the only player in the minor league system who even cracked the Top 100, which tells you everything about how Preller views prospects.

If San Diego isn’t able to keep up with teams in the Wild Card, it may be tough sledding from here on out for the team.