SAN DIEGO -- In the days following a Trade Deadline, has the Padres' farm system ever looked so … stable?
Under general manager A.J. Preller, there’s almost always been some level of major upheaval. He’s traded top prospects by the handfuls at recent Deadlines. It usually leaves MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings in tatters.
Not this year. The Padres dealt three of their top nine prospects to acquire Robbie Ray and Casey Mize at the Deadline. And upon Thursday’s farm system re-rank, those three were replaced in the top 10 by the Padres’ three highest Draft picks from last month -- right-hander Coleman Borthwick at No. 3, shortstop Elliot Lascelles at No. 5 and right-hander Ryan Lynch at No. 8.
The rest of the rankings look somewhat similar. But there are a few key movers. Catcher Ethan Salas remains in the top spot. (Though he might not be there for much longer. Salas, who was recently promoted to Triple-A El Paso, appears on a path to the big leagues early next season.)
Left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft, last year’s first-round pick, remains No. 2 on the Padres’ list. Then, there’s a bit of a shakeup. There usually is. Among the fastest risers are catcher Ty Harvey and right-hander Bryan Balzer. The Padres were thrilled to keep both in their system at the Deadline.
Generally speaking, that was a theme. San Diego relinquished three quality prospects -- lefty Kash Mayfield, righty Miguel Mendez and shortstop Joniel Hernandez. But compared with recent Trade Deadlines, the caliber of prospects that the Padres kept was especially notable.
“We know what we have in the system,” Preller said after the Deadline. “It’s always good to hear from the industry when there are players in your Minor League system that people want. We feel good about what we have in the farm system, hopefully guys that’ll come up and play at Petco. We kept a lot of talent in the farm system at this Deadline.”
COMPLETE PADRES PROSPECT COVERAGE
Salas is obviously the headliner. And Preller has proven that no prospect is ever untouchable. But it was clearly going to take something incredible -- something like Mason Miller -- to get Preller to consider moving Salas.
“It’s hard to get really good, talented players,” Preller said. “Specifically with Ethan, yeah, he’s a guy that we’ve always thought really high of. It’s great to see what he’s doing this year, getting called up to Triple-A and off to a great start there. He continues his progression toward Petco.
“From that standpoint, we feel like we’ve got some high-end players in the organization and in the farm system. Ethan obviously gets a lot of attention. It’s just good to see him doing his thing on the baseball field.”
Here’s a look at the Padres’ top prospects:
- Ethan Salas, C (MLB No. 23)
- Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP
- Coleman Borthwick, RHP
- Ty Harvey, C
- Elliot Lascelles, SS
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Bryan Balzer, RHP (Preseason: 29 | Midseason: 6) -- Balzer made the jump to High-A Fort Wayne after a strong showing with Single-A Lake Elsinore. He’ll need to cut down the walks, but his sinker/sweeper combo is enticing.
Fall: Garrett Hawkins, RHP (Preseason: 14 | Midseason: 30) -- Hawkins struggled immensely at Triple-A El Paso (a notoriously difficult place to pitch). He’s been much better since a demotion to Double-A San Antonio, however.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
No. 3: Coleman Borthwick, RHP (First-round selection in Draft)
No. 5: Elliot Lascelles, SS (Second round)
No. 8: Ryan Lynch, RHP (Third round)
No. 20: Robbie Lavey, C (Fourth round)
No. 21: Alex Conover, OF (Fourth round, comp pick)
No. 22: Nu’u Contrades, 2B (Sixth round)
No. 25: Jake Cunningham, OF (Minor League free agent)
Best tools (same grade in parentheses)
Hit: 55 -- Elliott Lascelles
Power: 55 -- Alex McCoy (Ty Harvey, Kale Fountain, Jake Cunningham)
Run: 70 -- Ryan Wideman
Arm: 70 -- Kavares Tears
Defense: 70 -- Ethan Salas
Fastball: 70 -- Tucker Musgrove
Curveball: 55 -- Winyer Chourio
Slider: 60 -- Coleman Borthwick (Bryan Balzer)
Changeup: 60 -- Kruz Schoolcraft
Control: 55 -- Borthwick