Padres No. 14 prospect King leans on NFL father's advice

There's fatherly advice, and then there's fatherly advice that comes from the status of being a first-round pick in the NFL and five seasons of experience as a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks.

So when Lamar King Jr. sought help while dealing with shoulder problems and eventual surgery in his first two full seasons, the Padres' No. 14 prospect knew where to turn: his dad and namesake.

"From a young age, he's just always put in my brain [to] outwork everyone," the younger King said. "Everything happens for a reason, and trust the process. I honestly just lived by that going through the rehab process because you go through some dark days down there. You just want to be on the field so much. So yeah, you have to trust what you're putting in and it'll show on the field."

How's this for staying on the diamond? King didn't hit the injured list once in 2025 and more than doubled his career playing time with 105 games between Single-A Lake Elsinore and High-A Fort Wayne. The 21-year-old catcher isn't done yet either. He's the top-ranked San Diego prospect in this year's Arizona Fall League.

Part of the AFL assignment, which arrived as a replacement for top San Diego talent Ethan Salas, who was a late scratch as he works to recover from back issues, comes with more work behind the plate. King was limited to first base and designated hitter duties in 2024 as he built back up from shoulder surgery but made 59 starts behind the dish this summer.

The fact that his return to primary catching coincided with a strong start to the season as a hitter with Lake Elsinore (.286/.370/.408, 118 wRC+ in 81 games) was no mistake, per the backstop who added another football metaphor for good measure.

"That's why I love being back there," King said. "It's like the quarterback of baseball, honestly. You're calling the game. Everything's on you, and you're in every play, so you have to be locked in."

King's numbers dropped off after the move to the Midwest League in terms of contact rate and slugging output, leading to a .233/.289/.300 line in 97 plate appearances. A return to form in the Fall League would help King's stock, sure, but it'd also prove he's where he's wanted to be for two years now: a place where he's not just a healthy catcher but a productive one against top competition.

"You face dudes anywhere," he said, "but you're able to face really good arms in that league, and I think we're gonna face dogs here too, so I think it's gonna help a lot."

Padres hitters in the Fall League

Braedon Karpathios, OF (No. 30): Signed as a nondrafted free agent out of the Maryland junior college ranks in 2022, Karpathios has slowly built up a more prominent profile in the Padres system, one defined by decent pop from the left side and a strong outfield arm. He hit .249/.357/.413 with 15 homers (nearly double his previous career high of eight) in 124 games between High-A and Double-A, and he heads to Arizona's showcase circuit just before he becomes Rule 5-eligible this offseason.

Ryan Jackson, SS/2B: Taken in the 17th round as a senior out of USC last year, Jackson began his first full season as an on-base machine with Single-A Lake Elsinore with a 19.2 percent walk rate and .442 OBP in 62 games. The middle infielder's performance was more muted at High-A and Double-A as he climbed the ranks, allowing him an opportunity to end the year on a brighter note during his time with Peoria.

Padres pitchers in the Fall League

Kannon Kemp, RHP (No. 29): The 2023 eighth-rounder, who signed for above slot at $625,000, didn't make his official Minor League debut until this May and finished with a 5.56 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. His velo looked promising in a one-inning AFL outing on Oct. 9 when his four-seamer averaged 96.6 mph, and he also flashed a tight upper-80s slider.

Maikel Miralles, RHP: The Venezuela native threw a career high 71 innings this summer, working primarily as a starter at the two A-ball levels (though he did make a late cameo out of the Triple-A El Paso bullpen). He generates a ton of ground balls with a 49.3 percent rate during the regular season while using a five-pitch arsenal (four-seamer, sinker, cutter, slider, changeup) that relies heavily on the mid-80s cambio.

Carson Montgomery, RHP: A former high-school standout who never quite took off at Florida State, the 2023 11th-rounder only got in three games for Lake Elsinore last year before needing Tommy John surgery in the middle of his first full season. He didn't appear in a game for an affiliate in 2025 but came out firing with three strong innings in his AFL debut on Oct. 6, during which he averaged 94.2 mph with his sinker and showed an 82-85 mph slider. The breaker will need to miss more bats after only generating one whiff on 10 swings in that first outing.

Johan Moreno, RHP: Pitching in his age-22 season, Moreno enjoyed a breakout campaign as a bat-misser with 99 strikeouts in 79 innings as a reliever at Single-A, High-A and Double-A, though he posted a 5.01 ERA in the same span. The right-hander has been slider-heavy in the Fall League, with an 84-88 mph breaker that can be deceptive out of his high three-quarters delivery, and he'll also show a 94-96 mph four-seamer.

Tucker Musgrove, RHP: Musgrove could be a big-time pop-up name in this year's AFL. A former two-way player, the 2023 seventh-rounder didn't make his Minor League debut until this April due to Tommy John surgery but has shown tons of velocity since, touching 99.7 mph with a sinker in his Fall League debut on Oct. 6. He also displayed a 97-99 mph four-seamer with good ride and an 88 mph sweeper, while averaging more than seven feet of extension. Maintaining that level of stuff over a healthy autumn would send him sharply up the Padres' Top 30 list.