Padres fans are rolling their eyes at MLB's puff piece on Dodgers' farm system

Lately, it’s been the Dodgers win. The Dodgers spend. They reinvent relievers, and if one fails, they just find another one to take his place. And then, somehow, we still have to hear about the farm system.

MLB.com published a prospect feature that leaned all the way into it, highlighting their absurd collection of outfield talent, while framing the system as one of the deepest position-player pipelines in recent memory. It also noted that the Dodgers have MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 farm system, with their top four prospects all listed as outfielders: Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota. Add Charles Davalan, and Los Angeles has five outfielders on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list.  

It’s okay if Padres fans need a minute.

MLB’s Dodgers prospect lovefest hits Padres fans right where it always does

From the Padres side of the rivalry, this is probably exhausting. It’s not enough that the Dodgers already have a major-league machine. Now the rest of the division has to be reminded that Los Angeles has another wave coming.

The Dodgers have earned plenty of its player-development reputation. They identify talent well. We don’t have to pretend that it doesn't exist to make ourselves feel better.

But LA isn’t some plucky model franchise we’re admiring from a distance. They are the team San Diego keeps measuring itself against. They are standing in the way with financial muscle, national spotlight and, apparently, an outfield-prospect stockpile that needs its own documentary.

And that all matters because the Padres are living in a different reality. They’ve been so aggressive. A.J. Preller has never been shy about turning prospects into big-league help. That approach has made perfect sense…sometimes. Other times it has also left Padres fans watching former prospects pop up elsewhere and wondering whether the organization can ever create the same kind of endless runway LA seems to have.

The Dodgers can hoard prospects and stars at the same time. The Padres usually have to choose which pressure point they’re going to live with.

LA gets praised for patience. San Diego gets called out for urgency. LA gets called loaded. San Diego gets asked whether the bill is coming due. Do you see the trend?

The Padres don’t need to whine about the Dodgers’ system or how the organization is glorified. They need to build their own answer to it. But in the meantime, fans are allowed to be annoyed by the annual Dodgers love letter, especially when it arrives with the same basic message every time.

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