Padres farm system ranking turns Preller’s bold approach into a grim tradeoff

The Padres, and specifically A.J. Preller’s approach to making big-time trades, are highly regarded throughout MLB. His drive and ambition to do whatever it takes to get the player he wants are admirable, but there are times when it would’ve been safer to hold back.

The 2025 trade deadline is a prime example of the drive exhibited by the man in charge of it all, as he facilitated three trades that landed four players in exchange for 13 prospects.

In an effort to contend, the Padres acquired Mason Miller, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, and Freddy Fermin. The team made the playoffs, but was bounced in the Wild Card round by the Chicago Cubs.

The team was also unable to make many flashy signings due to payroll constraints, meaning they would either have to rely on young talent that wasn’t ready yet or make cheap signings to fill holes.

Padres dead last farm system ranking exposes a bleak cost of going all-in

The biggest wake-up call of all, however, was when Kiley McDaniel of ESPN released an article that ranked every team’s farm system.

Is it a surprise that the Padres rank low? Not at all, but we’re sure fans are confused why they rank dead last.

The reason for this is that the team has zero top-100 prospects in ESPN’s rankings. On top of that, the top prospects in their farm system are not even close to coming up, as most of them are in their teens.

The Padres will always have the core of Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackson Merrill, but this won’t be enough to contend with teams like the Dodgers in their division.

The ambition to add players at the expense of prospects is fine, but the Padres have done that way too much. It seems as if it is coming back to bite them.