Padres top prospect's future in San Diego may be nearing an end

During his tenure with the Padres, A.J. Preller has built one of the best outfields trios in the league, striking gold with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill, while filling the vacant spot at the trade deadline with Ramón Laureano.

While the starters get all the coverage, Preller has also been able to establish great depth by bringing in Gavin Sheets and Bryce Johnson, but there is a sacrifice that Preller may have to make over the offseason: moving on from Tirso Ornelas, an outfielder who, as of now, sits as the No. 11—ranked prospect in the Padres' farm system.

Ornelas has been on fire over the past two seasons during his time with the El Paso Chihuahuas, San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate. In 205 games with El Paso, the 25-year-old has slashed .291/.371/.471 and accumulated an OPS of .842. Stats like these can’t sit in the minor leagues for long, and he will need to be called up eventually.

But, as mentioned, the elephant in the room is that there are no roster spots available for Ornelas to fill, delaying his call up, as Bryce Johnson and Gavin Sheets have provided tremendous outfield depth. A good problem to have to say the least, but it comes at the expense of solid minor league production having to sit and wait for a spot on the big-league roster.

Ornelas made his MLB debut back in April, where he endured a sluggish start to his career, hitting only .071. The lone hit of his first MLB action came off Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz, a single that just made it over the glove of a leaping Taylor Walls at shortstop.

It is no longer a surprise to see Preller trade away prospects, as he shipped off 13 of them at the trade deadline to fill roster holes.

“You can’t fit them on your roster. We’re gonna get some great players back,” said Preller. “And you can do big things. And that’s probably a little different. But I think people are understanding that some make sense.”

With Ornelas putting up solid numbers in the minor leagues, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see Preller act quickly and include him in a trade package to fill a vacant spot on the roster.