San Diego Padres Top Prospects Rankings: #20-16

[Billy Mock]

20. Jagger Haynes, LHP, Double-A San Antonio

Despite entering San Diego's system back in 2020, Haynes is still a relatively new addition to the pitching pipeline. Haynes was a prep standout for West Columbus High School in North Carolina, where he was selected in the fifth round by the Padres as the 139th overall pick in the draft. However, Haynes didn't make his professional debut until 2023, having undergone Tommy John surgery and experienced a number of setbacks. Fortunately for the lefty, 2024 was his first full season in the minors, logging 110 and 2/3 innings across 22 starts at High-A.  

A bit undersized for a starter, Haynes only stands in at 6'3" and 170 pounds. However, he has shown he can stick as a starter after a fully healthy 2024. It's a three-pitch mix for Haynes: a fastball, slider, and changeup. His fastball lost a tick in velocity after his bout with injuries, sitting in the low-90s and topping out at 94 mph. It produces a lot of arm-side movement but is more dependent on its ability to limit hard contact than generating whiffs to find success. The slider is his premier offering, sitting in the low-80s with a gyro shape and a lot of drop that can get whiffs out of the zone or be dropped into the zone for a strike. The changeup is another secondary pitch that can induce a lot of whiffs, but he needs to command it better to neutralize right-handed hitters. Despite missing his first two seasons of pro ball, Haynes is still on pace as a 22-year-old in Double-A, so he still has plenty of time to develop into a back-end big league starter.

19. Tyson Neighbors, RHP, High-A Fort Wayne

Tyson Neighbors is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who pitches exclusively out of the bullpen. He was selected by the Padres in the fourth round of last year's draft as the 118th overall pick out of Kansas State University. It's rare that a reliever is selected within the first five rounds of the draft, but that wouldn't stop the Padres from landing him at slightly below the slot value for $600,000. Neighbors was regarded as the top reliever in the 2024 draft class, and he has done a good job of proving that thus far, as he has allowed just two earned runs in 17 innings out of the bullpen in High-A in 2025. 

Standing in at 6'2" and 220 pounds, Neighbors has a strong frame that allows him to really generate a lot of power down the mound. The fastball has typically sat in the mid-90s, but has more recently been living in the upper-90s, earning a lot of whiffs, especially up in the zone. The slider and curveball are both plus offerings as well. The slider sits in the mid-80s and is an excellent put-away pitch, while the curveball is another breaking pitch he can lean on. Given he's pitching in one to two inning stints, he's typically relying on just the fastball and the slider, both of which have yielded excellent results. It's rare that a minor league reliever has three plus offerings, so there's a lot to like about Neighbors moving forward as a potential high-leverage reliever. The command is average to above-average for a reliever of his caliber as well, considering the amount of hitters he strikes out already.

18. Omar Cruz, LHP, Triple-A El Paso

Despite being 26 years old, Omar Cruz is a newer addition to the farm in San Diego. Cruz was actually signed by the Padres as an international free agent out of Mexico at the age of 18. After two seasons in the lower levels of the minors, Cruz was shipped off to Pittsburgh as part of a package in a three-team trade that yielded the Padres Joe Musgrove from the Pirates. After three seasons in Pittsburgh's organization, Cruz became eligible in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, which led to a reunion between Cruz and the Padres. After spending seven seasons in the minors, Cruz made his MLB debut early in 2025 in a two-game stint out of the bullpen. 

Cruz worked exclusively as a starter through 2021 before transitioning to the bullpen full-time in 2022, where he appears to remain for the remainder of his big league career. He's primarily a two-pitch pitcher, featuring a low-90s fastball and an excellent changeup as his primary put-away pitch. The changeup works in the high 70s to low 80s and is one of the better off-speed pitches in Minor League Baseball. He sells it very well off the fastball and earns plenty of whiffs with it. However, the arsenal is heavily dependent on its success, as there isn't anything special about the fastball, and he lacks a feel for a breaking pitch. He can certainly serve as a valuable mid-leverage platoon reliever at the next level. 

17. Romeo Sanabria, 1B, Double-A San Antonio

Romeo Sanabria, the 23-year-old first baseman, was an 18th-round selection to the Padres in the 2022 draft. As a JUCO talent coming from Indian River State College in Florida, Sanabria signed for just $50,000, but has paved a way for himself in San Diego's system. He's currently in Double-A, where he closed out a 2024 campaign in which he advanced three levels of the minors from Low-A to Double-A. Sanabria was the top-qualified hitter in the organization in 2024, according to his 132 wRC+ in 546 plate appearances.

For a left-handed hitting first baseman, you would like to see a lot more power in Sanabria's profile. Still, he certainly hits enough to continue earning opportunities as an 18th-round pick. He possesses above-average plate discipline skills, as well as above-average contact metrics across pitch types, setting a high floor for his bat. The bat will have to carry him, though, as it has done thus far, due to his limited defensive and base running ability, which definitely puts a cap on how good of a prospect he can be. He does enough to hold his own as a defender at first base, but the lack of athleticism won't allow him to shift over to a more valuable position, making the need for more juice in the bat a lot more important.

16. Ryan Bergert, RHP, Triple-A El Paso

Ryan Bergert is a 25-year-old pitcher in his fourth full season of professional baseball with the Padres. A product of the University of West Virginia, Bergert was selected by the Padres in the sixth round of the 2021 draft despite missing his entire Junior year due to undergoing Tommy John surgery. He recently made his MLB debut with the Padres in a four-game stint out of the bullpen, but has had a pretty steady rise through the system as a starter. Dating back to 2022, his first full season with San Diego, Bergert has made at least 20 starts in three straight seasons. 

As for his outlook as a big league pitcher, Bergert will likely settle into either a back-end rotation spot or a long relief role. He has started throughout his professional career, but lacks the high-end stuff of a high-leverage reliever or front-line starter. However, he does have the tools to provide value to a big league pitching staff. He has been injury-free for the most part since his Tommy John surgery in college, and also has plenty of experience pitching through lineups multiple times in a start. The arsenal for Bergert consists of a mid-90s fastball that plays up due to his arm slot but is fairly dependent on his ability to command it well. He has two breaking offerings: a sweeping slider and a tighter slider that plays more like a cutter. He has also flashed a changeup, but it needs significant improvement to round out his arsenal as a big league starter who can stick. 

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