San Diego Padres Top 50 Prospects (2026)
San Diego Padres
NL West
2025 record: 90-72 (2nd)
MiLB affiliates
Triple-A: El Paso Chihuahuas
Double-A: San Antonio Missions
High-A: Fort Wayne TinCaps
Single-A: Lake Elsinore Storm
2025 End-Of-Season farm system rank: #30
When you sell at the trade deadline year after year to support the major league squad’s playoff push this will be the result. The system took a serious hit sending Leo De Vries to the Athletics, but there is still some hope. Ethan Salas has seen some of the shine come off his status due to a couple of injury-plagued and underwhelming seasons, but the tools that made him a top prospect are still there. Southpaws Kash Mayfield and Kruz Schoolcraft are young but they have the stuff to make an impact. Prospects1500 writers who contributed to this column and rankings: Greg Bracken (@gregbracken07), Scott Greene (@Scotty_Ballgame), and Jeremy Mahy (@JMahyfam). The writer’s Twitter handle follows each player write-up or paragraph.
Prospects1500 Tiers:
Tier 1: Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years
Tier 2: Players with an above-average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 3: Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 4: Players who have the potential to make the majors; possible sleeper candidates for sustained MLB success
Tier 5: Players of interest, worth keeping an eye on, who may make (or have made) the majors but provide minimal impact
Levels listed for each player are the highest levels player reached in 2025
Tier 1
None
Tier 2
- Ethan Salas (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=salas-000eth&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), C, 19, Double-A
I actually debated putting Salas in Tier 3 as opposed to Tier 2. He’s definitely fallen from his previous Tier 1 status. The question here is, does he have an above-average expectation to make the majors, or an average expectation to make it? His performance has not lived up to the other-worldly potential, and the club has been very aggressive with his assignments, pushing him from Single-A, to High-A, to Double-A at 17 in 2023. His entire 2024 season was spent in High-A and the Arizona Fall League at 18. Dealing with injuries this past season, Salas only played in 10 games at Double-A and hit .188. He is a budding star, but it’s time to temper expectations of him being a perennial All-Star MLB catcher. (@Scotty_Ballgame)
Tier 3
- Kash Mayfield (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mayfie000kas&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), LHP, 20, Single-A
- Kruz Schoolcraft (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=school000kru&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), LHP, 18, Single-A
- Miguel Mendez (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mendez005mig&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), RHP, 23, Double-A
- Humberto Cruz (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cruz--000hum&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), RHP, 19, Single-A
- Jorge Quintana (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=quinta000jor&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), SS/3B, 18, Single-A
Mayfield features a pitch mix that could keep him in the rotation thanks to a changeup that gives righties fits and a slider that lefties struggle to pick up. The question will be how his command plays as he climbs the ladder. Schoolcraft, the Padres 2025 first-round pick, has tools to dream on, the 6’8” southpaw touches the upper-90’s but is uber young and will take some patience as he develops. Mendez might have the best two pitches in the system with his fastball and slider both arguably 70-grade. There is a good chance we see him in San Diego in 2026. Cruz has the stuff to be an impact arm, but the results have just not been there yet. Quintana, an 18-year-old acquired from the Brewers, has power-speed upside but struggled with his first taste in Single-A. (@JMahyfam)
Tier 4
- Bradgley Rodriguez (https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodribr01.shtml?utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), RHP, 23, MLB
- Tirso Ornelas (https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ornelti01.shtml?utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), OF, 25, MLB
- Deivid Coronil (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=coroni000dei&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), 3B/SS, 18, Rookie-DSL
- Kale Fountain (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=founta000kal&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), 1B, 20, Single-A
- Sung Mun Song (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=song--000sun&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), 3B/2B, 29, KBO
- Isaiah Lowe (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lowe--000isa&utmmedium=linker&utmsource=www.prospects1500.com&utmcampaign=2026-01-01br), RHP, 22, High-A
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