Working on the Padres
by John Sickels on Dec 5, 2025 1:42 PM EST
40 comments
The Padres farm system has struck me as underrated the last couple of years. The '09 draft added a bunch of athletic upside to the system, and combining that with the polished guys they already have makes this system extremely interesting.
It's also hard to cut this down to 40 players. I've found over 50 worth writing about but that many simply won't fit in the book. Here is the preliminary list...but there are others who could move on or off it. Make the case for anyone you like who isn't here.
Vincent Belnome 2B
Mitch Canham C
Cesar Carrillo RHP
Sawyer Carroll OF
Dexter Carter RHP
Simon Castro RHP
Brad Chalk OF
James Darnell 3B
Jaff Decker OF
Luis Durango OF
Allan Dykstra 1B
Mike Ekstrom RHP
Chris Fetter RHP
Nate Freiman 1B
Ernesto Frieri RHP
Jonathan Galvez SS
Brandon Gomes RHP
Nick Greenwood LHP
Jeremy Hefner RHP
Cedric Hunter OF
Will Inman RHP should I cut him? he's still young.
Craig Italiano RHP
Kellen Kulbacki OF
Rymer Liriano OF
Cory Luebke LHP
James Needy RHP
Wynn Pelzer RHP
Aaron Poreda LHP
Adys Portillo RHP
Cesar Ramos LHP
Jorge Reyes RHP
Edinson Rincon 3B
Keyvius Sampson RHP
Evan Scribner RHP
Eric Sogard 2B
Jerry Sullivan RHP
Donovan Tate OF
Lance Zawadski SS
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SERIOUS sleeper
good #‘s - got roughed up a bit at the end of the season in High-A - may not be a starter in the bigs, but he’ll be at least a solid reliever… I think he’ll have a career
by pffriberg on Dec 7, 2025 1:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
cesar ramos
hes going to be a good pitcher for the padres next year..
by matthewmafa on Dec 5, 2025 2:56 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pelzer!
His stats are great. What are the chances he can stick in the rotation?
by PissedMick on Dec 5, 2025 3:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Jeremy McBryde
9.8 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 in the Cal League, and his overall line was brought down when he got torched for 11 runs in 4.2 innings in that insane game at High Desert (final score was 33-18). Even with the missed time this year, I think he’s among their top 40 prospects.
by jibs on Dec 5, 2025 5:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
+1
The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.
by mckeeno on Dec 6, 2025 1:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Matt Lollis needs to be in there somewhere.
Underrated draftee.
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by Andy Seiler on Dec 5, 2025 5:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Drew cumberland
Young, Athletic, walks more than he strikes out, but can’t stay healthy. I think he belongs in the top 20 though.
by 19pad on Dec 6, 2025 9:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
+100
The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.
by mckeeno on Dec 6, 2025 1:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
+ A Googleplex
He’s better than Hak-Ju Lee, Dee Gordon, and Tim Beckham bros.
Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.
by Frederick0220 on Dec 6, 2025 6:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not to mention Jeter and Jose Reyes
by gogotabata on Dec 6, 2025 9:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Don't forget
Hanley Ramirez.
And Tony Pena June Ur.
Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.
by Frederick0220 on Dec 7, 2025 6:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Matt Antonelli!
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by Preston Barclay on Dec 6, 2025 9:25 AM EST via mobile reply actions 0 recs
This is a great system
Dacker is my fave
Check out my website, it has scouting reports for all the Orioles' top prospects and is updated daily. www.oriolesprospects.com
Follow me on twitter
by ravensfan3 on Dec 6, 2025 1:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Decker**
Mixed up the a in Jaff
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by ravensfan3 on Dec 6, 2025 2:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Decker's being overrated here.
His stats look great, which is obviously the reason. It has to be noted though, that he just doesn’t have much projection left in him.
by PissedMick on Dec 6, 2025 6:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Projection?
How much projection do you need?
He has better MWL #’s than Travis Snider (they both played the MWL as 19 yr olds)… How much projection do you need?
by pffriberg on Dec 7, 2025 1:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Numbers aren't the same as projection
Decker’s MWL stats translate to 187/279/291, so I would guess he’d need quite a bit of projection.
Obviously, Decker doesn’t project as a 580 ops guy in the majors, but just because he mashes inferior pitching, it doesn’t mean he won’t have problems at higher levels. There is the Matt Sulentic example from a couple of years back.
His future value depends on his bat speed, I think, and whether or not he will be able to maintain the great walk rate against more advanced pitchers, and if his relative softness affects his defense to a degree that his hitting skills are neutralized.
I would guess he’s a middle point between Matt Stairs and Brian Giles as a hitter, but w/o Giles’ speed when younger, a 280/380/460 sort of guy, with slightly below average corner OF defense. I would slot him behind Tate & Castro.
by gogotabata on Dec 7, 2025 9:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I really like Simon Castro
I think he’s the best prospect in a good system.
by jar75 on Dec 6, 2025 4:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I saw Inman pitch in August
I live in San Antonio so get down to Missions games a few times a year… enjoyed watching him and Forsythe, though I’m not an expert, so I don’t have any real commentary. for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t mind learning more about both before I go to more games.
by allikazoo on Dec 6, 2025 7:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Kulbacki?
John…
You CANNOT cut Kellen Kulbacki. He was injured all of 2009 - he’ll have a huge bounce-back year… Keep him. He’ll be a top 10 guy after 2010.
by pffriberg on Dec 7, 2025 1:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
not
not cutting him, don’t worry.
by John Sickels on Dec 7, 2025 10:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yep
Kulbacki’s going to explode back onto the scene next year.
"Chicks dig the long ball, although fat chicks will settle for warning track power" - Nick Diamond
by hero66 on Dec 7, 2025 11:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Lance Zawadski
What’s the take on him? He was really impressive when I saw him in High A.
Awaiting his arrival in SF: Jesse English
by henwo on Dec 7, 2025 1:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
+1
I’d also like to hear about Zawadzki. The bat looks like it might play. What’s the overall package look like?
by PissedMick on Dec 7, 2025 8:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm looking forward to it!
I hope that some of these kids work out for them. Would be nice to see the Pads contend again.
by Dawn Callahan Kettlewell on Dec 7, 2025 3:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
2 other guys that I haven't heard mentioned
Matt Clark: First baseman out of LSU that led the organization in power. He had over 50 RBI in the first half to go with 22 homers on the year
Matt Decker (not sure about first name) drafted out of UCLA. He tore up short season and put up numbers that were better than Jaff Decker’s from the season before. He was the leagues mvp.
by johnnycomelately9 on Dec 7, 2025 7:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
+1 on Clark
I think he deserves consideration above Freiman given that they bring the same package, are about 10 days apart, and he’s played two levels higher.
-1,000,000 on Cody Decker. Great year, but he’s not a prospect at this point.
by realitypolice on Dec 7, 2025 10:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Nick Schmidt
Should be ready to go in spring training now that he’s two years back from TJ. Sleeper potential.
by seabass on Dec 7, 2025 10:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If we're looking for injury comebacks
I’d think Drew Miller and Jackson Quezada are names to put in the mix.
In terms of names to cut to create room for all the suggestions:
Belnome - he might get there, but there’s a reason he’s a late-round pick and the numbers are in a short-season league…
Canham - If he can’t stay behind the plate, he doesn’t reach the bigs.
Mike Ekstrom - nice kid, but just another guy
Chad Huffman - His inclusion on the 40 man is absolutely baffling
by realitypolice on Dec 7, 2025 10:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Others to remove to make room
Brad Chalk - He’s a C- to me. In other orgs I’d see him mixed in the “also noted” conversation, but there’s a lot of mid-level depth here.
Cesar Ramos - Walks too many, strikes out too few.
Nick Greenwood - Call me skeptical, but a lefty who relies almost exclusivity on deception in the low minors seems a good candidate to fall off over the years.
All these deletions are to leave some room to mix for Cumberland, Miller, Quezada, Tekotte, Clark.
Nice departure from the not-so-distant past when finding 30 guys to flesh out a list was a chore!
by realitypolice on Dec 7, 2025 12:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
cesar ramos
should stay in the top 40.. you should not remove him to make room for those players..
by matthewmafa on Dec 7, 2025 12:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Steve Garrison
recovering from surgery - was considered a good prospect before injury
by thebroman on Dec 7, 2025 10:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Now that he's out for much of 2010, hard to rank him
by realitypolice on Dec 7, 2025 10:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
long road back
Really great to see the Padres system back on the upswing. It’s especially telling that people are genuinely getting excited about the Padres prospects even without having to mention Mat Latos!
And the changes are not just with the players, but the revamped front office is really starting to come into form now too. Hiring McLeod away from the Red Sox was a major coup. And now they’ve promoted Chris Gwynn and Josh Stein to director positions (Player Personnel and Baseball Operations, respectively) that show the “youth” movement is underway at all levels of the organization.
by fnpadre on Dec 7, 2025 5:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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