The Padres pushed themselves back into the National League playoff picture with a busy trade deadline, but the price of staying in the race showed up quickly in the one place every contender eventually has to pay: the farm system.
San Diego has been one of baseball’s better teams since the deadline after adding multiple starting pitchers, but those win-now moves helped strip the organization down to the bone. MLB.com insiders Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo now have the Padres ranked as the worst farm system in the sport, and the club still has only one prospect in the Top 100: catcher Ethan Salas.
The Padres entered the 2026 season already sitting last in farm-system rankings, and after moving more talent, they have remained in that same spot. As Dykstra, Callis and Mayo put it, "it’s a cycle with the Padres.
Have enough Major League success to be buyers at the Trade Deadline and push the first-round pick lower for the next year’s Draft. Develop just enough prospect talent to get trades over the line but leave a thin group remaining.
Repeat," they wrote. "After buying once again at this year’s Deadline and sending top prospects Kash Mayfield, Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez elsewhere, the Padres will next face the development part of that process."
Salas sits at the top of what’s left, and he’s making a loud case for a big-league look soon. He has crushed Triple-A pitching this season, batting .351 with three home runs and 20 RBIs while posting a 1.075 OPS over 15 games.
After Salas, the cupboard gets thinner fast, though there are still a few names worth tracking. Left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, the Padres’ first-round pick in 2025, is No. 2 on the list after posting a 5.32 ERA in 19 starts at Single-A this season.
Right-hander Coleman Borthwick, another first-round selection by San Diego this year, checks in at No. 3. His long-term profile points toward a workhorse starter, and his fastball is already getting up to 97-98 mph.
Catcher Ty Harvey is next at No. 4. In 34 games at Single-A this season, he has hit .236 with two home runs, 22 RBIs and an OPS of .681.
Shortstop Elliot Lascelles rounds out the top five after the Padres took him in the second round of the 2026 MLB Draft. He has appeared in only two Rookie Ball games, but he’s 4-for-7 so far, good for a .571 average.
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