The Padres farm system is presently ranked among the many worst within the majors, however that isn’t the fault of their scouting or participant improvement departments. Fairly, it’s as a result of A.J. Preller retains buying and selling away high quality prospects in an effort to spice up the large league roster. Simply final summer time, San Diego’s president of baseball operations dealt Leo De Vries — the finest prospect moved on the deadline within the opinion of Eric Longenhagen — in addition to Braden Nett, Boston Bateman, Ryan Bergert, and a number of other others. One yr earlier, Jakob Marsee and Robby Snelling have been among the many kids moved.
That isn’t to say the cabinet has been left naked. Whereas admittedly on the lighter facet, the system does embody various promising gamers. Mike Daly performs an necessary function of their improvement. Presently the membership’s assistant director of participant improvement, Daly has two-plus a long time of expertise in skilled baseball, serving not solely in participant dev positions, but additionally as a scout and, for one season, a minor league supervisor.
Daly mentioned the state of the Padres pipeline in a latest telephone dialog.
———
David Laurila: A.J. trades a whole lot of prospects. What’s the course of when potential offers are mentioned? I assume the participant improvement and scouting departments have no less than some say?
Mike Daly: “I can’t converse for A.J., however there’s a whole lot of continuity. There are a selection of individuals which were with A.J., with the group, for various years: Josh Stein, Pete DeYoung, Chris Kemp, to call just some of the leaders. Quite a lot of scouts come into our system and are capable of see our gamers, and spend time with our gamers and our coaches. Actually, our R&D division has a heavy say on our gamers. They know their worth. They know what their projections appear to be. After which there are a whole lot of conversations amongst the PD group. So, every time selections are made about buying and selling gamers, there are lots of voices factored in as we attempt to make the perfect determination for the group.”
You Aren’t a FanGraphs Member
It appears to be like such as you aren’t but a FanGraphs Member (or aren’t logged in). We aren’t mad, simply disillusioned.
We get it. You need to learn this text. However earlier than we allow you to get again to it, we might wish to level out just a few of the nice explanation why you need to turn out to be a Member.
1. Advert Free viewing! We cannot bug you with this advert, or some other.
2. Limitless articles! Non-Members solely get to learn 10 free articles a month. Members by no means get lower off.
3. Darkish mode and Traditional mode!
4. Customized participant web page dashboards! Select the participant playing cards you need, within the order you need them.
5. One-click knowledge exports! Export our projections and leaderboards in your private initiatives.
6. Take away the pictures on the house web page! (Actually, this does not sound so nice to us, however some folks wished it, and we like to present our Members what they need.)
7. Much more Steamer projections! We have now handedness, percentile, and context impartial projections accessible for Members solely.
8. Get FanGraphs Stroll-Off, a custom-made yr finish assessment! Discover out precisely the way you used FanGraphs this yr, and the way that compares to different Members. Do not be a sufferer of FOMO.
9. A weekly mailbag column, completely for Members.
10. Assist assist FanGraphs and our complete employees! Our Members present us with crucial sources to enhance the location and ship new options!
We hope you will think about a Membership right this moment, for your self or as a present! And we notice this has been an awfully lengthy gross sales pitch, so we have additionally eliminated all the opposite advertisements on this article. We did not need to overdo it.
Laurila: Novice scouts will sometimes pound the desk for a participant they need the group to draft. Is there any pounding the desk in commerce discussions, both with somebody saying, “We actually have to get that man,” or “We actually shouldn’t give this man up”?
Daly: “On the PD facet, you actually solely have perspective on the gamers which can be contained in the group; you don’t actually have it for the gamers that A.J. and Josh are speaking about probably buying. What you are attempting to do is be trustworthy along with your evaluation of the gamers. And people guys even have actually good really feel for our gamers internally. They have been part of the method when it comes to scouting, whether or not it was the draft or internationally, so I give A.J. and Josh — our complete management group — a ton of credit score. They know our gamers nicely and are superb listeners, whether or not it’s the PD perspective, the R&D perspective, or wherever else within the group.”
Laurila: Jorge Quintana is an 18-year-old shortstop prospect who wasn’t traded away from the group, however somewhat was acquired from the Brewers ultimately summer time’s deadline. What are you able to inform me about him?
Daly: “Good physique. Good body. He’s out in Arizona proper now. We’re working with him to remain somewhat bit extra sq. within the field, making an attempt to maintain the ball in the course of the sphere — there have been just a few too many pull-side groundballs — and that’s one thing he’s working diligently on with our hitting group.
“We expect he really has an opportunity to be good. The bat could be very fascinating, and positively the glove as nicely. He ought to exit to Low-A Lake Elsinore and play shortstop for us. He was a highly-valued participant within the worldwide market a pair years in the past [who signed] for somewhat over $1 million, so we see him as a two-way participant, and a middle-of-the-diamond participant.”
Laurila: varied rankings, the system is somewhat pitcher-heavy towards the highest, with 2025 draftee Kruz Schoolcraft and 2024 draftee Kash Mayfield among the many notables. How do the 2 examine?
Daly: “They have been each the twenty fifth choose within the draft as left-handed highschool pitchers. Kash had a very nice yr for us in Low-A. He made 19 begins and continued to pound the zone with a fastball, a changeup, and a slider. He has a three-pitch starter combine and must be in place to interrupt camp with [High-A] Fort Wayne this yr, the place he will likely be challenged and proceed to refine his arsenal.
“Schoolcraft ought to observe the same path as Mayfield. He’s a really fascinating, bodily lefty — a 6-foot-8 lefty — that our scouting group actually favored. He ought to go to Low-A this yr with a give attention to making his begins, pounding the zone, and refining his arsenal. We’re enthusiastic about each guys. We’re trying ahead to seeing them go on the market this yr, at two totally different ranges, and proceed to enhance.”
Laurila: Lan-Hong Su, who was signed out of Taiwan final yr, isn’t almost as large at 6-foot-1, nor as nicely often known as Schoolcraft. What are you able to inform me about him?
Daly: “He’s a man that our worldwide group did a fantastic job of figuring out, scouting, and signing. He was on the 18U World Championships in Okinawa, in September. That they had him pitching extra out of the nearer function. Our guys noticed him 3 times in 5 days and actually favored the combo: 90-93 [mph] with a slider and a curveball. He threw a ton of strikes and punched out 14 guys in 7 1/3 innings. We just like the younger mixture of physique projection, competitiveness, strikes, and skill to spin breaking balls. He must be in camp for spring coaching. Proper now, he’s working by way of a few of the paperwork.”
Laurila: How a lot do the phrases like “excessive ceiling” and “excessive ground” get used when discussing gamers?
Daly: “That’s a superb query. I don’t know that they get handed round an excessive amount of, however there are actually a whole lot of conversations about gamers. We spend a whole lot of time speaking about how we will help them be the perfect variations of themselves. That goes for the scouting facet, as nicely. Our group with the Padres — worldwide, newbie, and professional — spends a whole lot of time evaluating, and it most likely helps put issues in context somewhat bit. You may use these phrases — excessive ceiling, excessive ground — to attempt to seize the kind of participant you’re speaking about.”
Laurila: Kale Fountain appears extra excessive ceiling than excessive ground — he’s a fifth-round pick of a Nebraska highschool, plus uncooked energy.
Daly: “He’s undoubtedly a really fascinating prospect, and one which our scouts actually favored. He was going to go to LSU, and whereas he was a fifth-round choose, he was paid considerably greater than fifth-round cash. We expect there’s a energy/bat combo. There may be dimension and power. Kale has the bodily components, together with the drive and psychological aptitude to have the ability to attain his ceiling.
“There have been some accidents. He had Tommy John surgical procedure — his arm is in a fantastic form now — and somewhat knee concern. He’s gotten 250-plus at-bats to this point, and must be going again to Low-A this yr. So, whereas he’s nonetheless far-off, there’s the mix of pace, dimension, and power, and positively the facility part.”
Laurila: What’s Ethan Salas’ standing? Is he absolutely wholesome?
Daly: “He’ll be in main league camp, absolutely wholesome, and able to go.”
Laurila: Is Salas principally large league-ready from a defensive standpoint?
Daly: “He’s persevering with to develop on that path. Actually, catch-and-throw and blocking are areas that he excels at. It will his second large league camp, and loads goes into it past simply the bodily attributes, which he undoubtedly has. There’s a psychological facet to catching. The actually good catchers on the main league stage have the power to assist their pitchers work by way of video games, to grasp and acknowledge recreation conditions. When Ethan was damage this previous yr, we tried to make the most of that when it comes to serving to him construct out these areas.
“We’re fortunate contained in the Padres group. We have now various guys who’ve caught or coached on the main league stage: Scott Servais, A.J. Ellis, Kevin Plawecki, Mike Borzello, simply to a reputation just a few. These guys have been concerned loads final yr with serving to Ethan watch video games, in lecture rooms, advance reviews, stuff like that. So, there was a whole lot of give attention to rising Ethan on the psychological facet of catching. We’re excited for him to go to camp wholesome with what he’s realized over the previous yr.”
Laurila: What about his bat? Is there something in Salas’ participant plan particular to creating extra energy?
Daly: “I’d say energy isn’t the main target. He’s 211 kilos and a good-size child, so he’ll be capable of hit for energy. We’re working with him on controlling his strikes, repeating his strikes, and simply getting somewhat extra constant along with his contact level out in entrance. We’re all working collectively, and are excited for him to have the ability to take all of that arduous work into spring coaching, after which into the season. He’s regarded actually good.”
Laurila: What would you say is the present power of the system?
Daly: “I really feel like now we have a whole lot of good depth general, particularly on the decrease ranges. We’re coming off of a championship down within the DSL, with various gamers on that DSL crew who’re performing nicely and pushing their approach to the states. They’re going to proceed to advance, and we actually have some promising guys on the greater ranges as nicely.”
Laurila: Quite a lot of younger expertise has been traded away in recent times, however such as you stated, there are nonetheless a whole lot of guys who present promise. Is the Padres system underrated proper now?
Daly: “The place are we rated proper now, twenty ninth or thirtieth? I’ll simply say that we’ve proven a capability to scout nicely — newbie, worldwide, professional — and we really feel actually good about our programs and processes on the event facet. We really feel that we’re capable of set the suitable atmosphere and get the right suggestions for our gamers to take steps of their careers. We have now various thrilling gamers within the system, and we really feel that they’re going to proceed to develop. We’re going to make use of each avenue potential to assist make that occur.”