Top 25 San Diego Padres Player Assets of 2026: 1-5

We have arrived. If you have been keeping a list of your own, you should know who the five remaining players are on our countdown of top 25 San Diego Padres player assets. These are the players you count on to carry the franchise across a 162-game season.

This list ranks the 25 Padres players and prospects with this in mind: Who are the most valuable in the organization's pursuit of building a champion? To make this list, we considered age, upside, and contract.

Each player's age and control years are based on his Baseball Reference age for the 2026 season and when Baseball Reference says he can become a free agent.

Need a refresher on who we have already ranked? Check out Nos. 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 and 21-25.

5. Michael King, RHP

2026 season age: 31

Controlled through: 2028

King made the surprising decision to return to the Padres on a contract that provides him protection and choices after this season. While he signed a three-year, $75 million deal, the right-handed starter will make $17 million in 2026, with $5 million in salary and a $12 million signing bonus. He then has a player opt-out for 2027 or a salary of $28 million, then a player option for 2028 at a $30 million salary. The contract carries more risk for the Padres if King struggles and doesn't produce up to the standards of what those 2027 and '28 salaries portend.

In his two seasons with the Padres since being one of the pieces coming back from the New York Yankees in the Juan Soto trade, King has been stellar. In 46 games, all but one as a starter, King has a 3.65 FIP and a 135 ERA+ with an 8.6% walk rate and 26.8% strikeout rate. But his 2025 was marred by two injuries. First, a nerve issue in his right shoulder sidelined him for 2½ months, then some knee inflammation cut short his first start back after two innings, forcing him to miss another month.

That could explain why King, who had a qualifying offer from the Padres, had a softer market than expected. But as of now, King will slot in as the Friars' No. 2 starter, a position he has earned through performance. If he uses his nice mix of a four-seamer, sinker, changeup and sweeper (all used between 19% and 30% of the time) and has success, the Padres will likely be in good shape and set himself up for a bigger payday in 2027. Otherwise, he will still cash in by not opting out.

4. Nick Pivetta, RHP

2026 season age: 33

Controlled through: 2028

Pivetta was found money for the Padres in 2025. Literally. Before signing with the Friars, Pivetta had been a very average-at-best pitcher, mainly in a starting role. But after inking a four-year, $55 million after spring training began last year, the right-hander quickly leapt toward the top of the starting rotation. Pivetta had a $1 million salary with a $3 million signing bonus in 2025. All he did was make 31 starts and toss a career-high 181⅔ innings with a career-best 3.49 FIP and 149 ERA+. That led to a sixth-place finish in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

He enters 2026 as the No. 1 starter, but also still the subject of trade speculation. That is because Pivetta is still relatively cost-effective at $19 million for 2026 with an opt-out after this season as well as after 2027. What made Pivetta successful in his first season in San Diego? Perhaps it has something to do with Petco Park being more pitcher-friendly than his previous stops in Boston and Philadelphia, but also likely with him ditching his slider and incorporating a sinker and using his cutter a bit more.

It is unlikely that his bigger role in the rotation will faze Pivetta. He has experienced enough throughout his 10-year career to be able to handle anything. This will be a big year for the veteran right-hander, as he will have the carrot dangling of a bigger contract. He has the safety net of two more years for a total of $32 million should anything go wrong for him.

3. Jackson Merrill, CF

2026 season age: 23

Controlled through: 2035

After a fantastic rookie season, Merrill took a step back in 2025, yet was still a productive player. That inconsistency could be due to two things: First is the league's adjustment to Merrill, while the other is that he had three stints on the injured list that limited him to 115 games (strained right hamstring, concussion, sprained left ankle). The center fielder put up a .264/.317/.457 slash line with 16 homers and 67 RBIs and just one steal in three chances for a 112 OPS+. This came after a 2024 in which his slash line was .292/.326/.500 with 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 16 steals for a 127 OPS+, earning him a runner-up finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Merrill signed a nine-year, $135 million contract extension just a few days into the 2025 season, so his Padres future is secure for some time. There isn't much to be concerned about with Merrill, who surprised everyone by jumping into a position, center field, that he had never played before when he made his MLB debut on the Friars' Opening Day roster in 2024. However, it's true that in 2025, his strikeout rate jumped to 22.4%. Concern would grow if his numbers took another step back in the coming season.

He will turn 23 in April and the Padres put a lot of faith in Merrill with the extension, which kicks in this year at $2.1 million, then $7.1 million in 2027 and goes up incrementally before surging to $21.1 million in 2030, which would have been his first free-agent season. He was vaulted into the top portion of the lineup in 2025, which could also account for some of his lower numbers, although he also would have had more protection. Merrill is a key part of the Friars' future until he shows otherwise.

2. Mason Miller, RHP

2026 season age: 27

Controlled through: 2029

The most shocking acquisition by any team at the trade deadline was the Friars getting Miller from the A's in a blockbuster deal. Sure, it cost the Padres a highly-touted prospect in shortstop Leo De Vries, but De Vries is still at least a year away from making his MLB debut, while Miller made a lethal bullpen that much more deadly during a run to the postseason. Miller was thought to be almost untradeable at the time and the Padres didn't have a pressing need at the back end of the bullpen. Now, he looks like the key piece in the relief corps.

Miller is a fascinating talent and will step into the closer's role vacated by Robert Suarez leaving in free agency. Miller had converted 48 of 54 save opportunities with the A's in 2024 and '25 at the time of the deal and was in a set-up role with the Padres, notching 10 holds and two saves in 22 appearances. The right-hander, who is arbitration-eligible this season for the first time as a Super 2, has some of the most filthy stuff in all of baseball.

That shows itself as he ranks in the top percentile league-wide with a 44.4% strikeout rate, 101.2 mph fastball velocity, 22.5% whiff rate, and 37.3% whiff and swinging strike rate.

When Miller enters the game to close it out in 2026, there will be as much confidence as the Friar Faithful has had in a closer since the days of Trevor Hoffman and "Hell's Bells" echoed through Petco Park. That is, if the Padres don't trade him before Opening Day.

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF

2026 season age: 27

Controlled through: 2034

And then there was one. It should be little surprise that Tatis landed in this spot as he has always been an electric player, first as a shortstop and now as a two-time Platinum Glove-winning right fielder. To some, Tatis is still trying to erase the stench from his 2022 suspension for performance-enhancing drugs that tarnished his 42-homer 2021 that led to a third-place finish for NL MVP.

But Tatis came back strong in 2023 in his new position and following shoulder surgery, posting a .257/.322/.449 slash line with 25 homers, 78 RBIs and 29 steals, earning down-ballot MVP votes. He missed a good chunk of 2024 with what was at first right quadriceps injury but turned out to be a stress reaction in his right femur. His slash line was still Tatis-like at .276/.340/.492 with 21 homers, 49 RBIs and just 11 steals in 102 games. In 2025, Tatis played in a career-high 155 games, putting up a .268/.368/.446 slash line with 25 homers, 71 RBIs and 32 steals. That added up to a 5.9 bWAR season, his best since the 6.6 mark in that PED-tainted 2021 campaign.

Tatis started earning good money in 2025 as the 14-year, $340 million extension he signed in 2021 paid him $20.7 million, the same figure he will make in 2026. This will be Tatis' seventh season (not counting 2022 in which he didn't play due to injury and the suspension). He is the player the front office has built this team around, although others make more money than Tatis does.

All of that time and Tatis is just entering his prime years, as he just turned 27 on Jan. 2. If he puts up numbers incrementally better than he did in 2025, he will continue to show why he is a top-15 player in all of MLB and why the Padres invested in his talent.