For now, the Padres begin 2026 with one top-100 prospect, as ranked by Baseball America.

For now?

Yes. Because prospect rankings are a snapshot in time and having just one top-100 prospect — catcher Ethan Salas, down from No. 31 to No. 90 after essentially losing the year to a back injury — is the product of yet another year of A.J. Preller’s tendencies to use his farm system to sustain playoff pushes.

The other top-100 prospect at this time last year, shortstop Leo De Vries, now at No. 12, was the centerpiece of the deal last July to bring closer Mason Miller to San Diego with three-plus years of control. The other former Padres on Baseball America’s latest update are left-hander Robby Snelling (41), outfielder Owen Caissie (43) and right-hander Jarlin Susana (68), used to acquire left-hander Tanner Scott (2024), Yu Darvish (2020) and Juan Soto (2022), respectively

Moving the likes of those guys — and so many more — was supposed to make it hard for the Padres to be buyers at trade deadlines, but Preller continues to find a way, mostly because, again, prospect lists are a snapshot in time and the start of another year means another year for new names to emerge as top prospects.

While Salas is the only top-100 prospect in the system, the organization’s top-30 in Baseball America’s forthcoming Prospect Handbook is a good place to start looking at who could be the next risers.

A snapshot of that list includes five prospects from the 2025 draft class — left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, catcher Ty Harvey, outfielder Ryan Wideman, right-hander Michael Salina and catcher Truitt Madonna — who’ll get their first significant playing time as pros this year:

1 | C Ethan Salas

2 | LHP Kruz Schoolcraft

3 | LHP Kash Mayfield

4 | RHP Miguel Mendez

5 | SS Jorge Quintana

6 | RHP Humberto Cruz

7 | C Ty Harvey

8 | OF Ryan Wideman

9 | RHP Bradgley Rodriguez

10 | 1B/3B Kale Fountain

11 | LHP Jagger Haynes

12 | RHP Tucker Musgrove

13 | OF Braedon Karpathios

14 | C Lamar King Jr.

15 | 1B Romeo Sanabria

16 | RHP Michael Salina

17 | C Truitt Madonna

18 | RHP Lan-Hong Su

19 | OF Kavares Tears

20 | RHP Kannon Kemp

21 | SS Jhoan De La Cruz

22 | 3B Deivid Coronil

23 | RHP Garrett Hawkins

24 | LHP Luis Gutierrez

25 | RHP Bryan Balzer

26 | OF Tirso Ornelas

27 | RHP Francis Peña

28 | LHP Carlos Alvarez

29 | 3B Rosman Verdugo

30 | RHP Victor Lizarraga

As for Salas, he’s still 19 years old and still looking to get his career on track after signing for $5.6 million as the top prospect from the 2023 international signing window. He played just 10 games last year at Double-A San Antonio (.188/.325/.219) before back trouble sidelined him the rest of the season.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/21/catcher-ethan-salas-the-lone-padres-prospect-in-baseball-americas-top-100/?utm\_sf\_cserv\_ref=14148802&utm\_sf\_post\_ref=656680020

12 comments

  1. I really think this is the year that Salas makes AJ look like a genius for signing him. He’s a smart kid, hopefully is finally healthy, and has now had a year where all he could do is watch and learn. Let’s see how he applies all of that.

  2. Maybe some of those guys beef up their trade value at the deadline (though I’d argue that a big part of Preller’s deadline success is a willingness to overpay) but we need a starter *now*.

  3. For what it is worth I think Kruz Schoolcraft and Kash Mayfield have potential to work their way to the top 100 by next year… the only question is will they still be Padres property or not? lol

  5. Miguel Mendez is about to be the most under the radar SP that makes the mlb and succeeds. It will show most rating lists including Baseball America are not that good.

  7. Really excited about Schoolcraft. He’s 18 and already hitting 97-98 on the fastball. By the time he’s 21 and has fully filled out his frame he’ll be touching triple digits. And that’s insane as a lefty starter.

  11. So we have a MLB roster that has no shot at winning a WS and a farm system that is too weak to either be trade pieces for our MLB roster or bring reinforcements in the next year or two.

    MLB purgatory again.

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