Top 25 San Diego Padres Player Assets of 2026: #20-16

Were you surprised by anything in our first installment of the Top 25 San Diego Padres player assets for 2026? As the countdown continues, we start hitting some of the fringy contributors and some who are unsung.

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 do so, 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 B-R says he can become a free agent.

Here is the link to players 21-25. Stay tuned for the rest!

20. Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP

2026 season age: 19

Controlled through: TBD

The Padres' first-round pick in 2025 and the draft's 25th overall selection, Schoolcraft is a left-handed starter who is a few years away from possibly making his MLB debut. At 6-foot-8 and 229 pounds, Schoolcraft is an imposing figure with an arsenal to match. He has a 97 mph fastball, a good low-80s slider and a changeup. All three pitches need some polish, as you might expect for someone who should be a senior in high school this year (he reclassified in December 2023).

Schoolcraft made his pro debut at Low Class A Lake Elsinore, pitching just one game to get his feet wet. That is likely where he will begin 2026, with the chance to move up with the Padres' propensity for quickly promoting prospects who perform well. Schoolcraft is the Padres' No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, so the hopes are obviously very high. The Padres have two other highly touted prospects at similar levels in right-hander Humberto Cruz and left-hander Kash Mayfield, both starters who finished 2025 at Lake Elsinore.

The teenager was also considered a good hitting prospect coming out of high school, where he played first base, but the Padres and Schoolcraft agreed to focus on pitching. Still, it's a good skill to have in the back pocket.

19. David Morgan, RHP

2026 season age: 26

Controlled through: 2031

Everything has been stacked against Morgan, who went undrafted coming out of college in 2022 yet was intriguing enough to be signed by the Padres. The right-handed reliever never had an outstanding season, posting minor-league ERAs of 4.03 and 5.04 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Still, Morgan started 2025 at Double-A San Antonio and had a 3.12 ERA in seven games, earning a promotion to Triple-A El Paso. In seven games there, he had a 12.71 ERA. Yet the Padres needed an arm in late May and he got the call to make his MLB debut. From there, Morgan grabbed the opportunity and made sure the Padres wouldn't send him back to the minors.

Using a versatile mix of pitches, three of Morgan's first four appearances were scoreless. He went on to put up a 3.71 FIP and 161 ERA+ in 41 games, including two as an opener. Morgan struck out 25.9% of hitters while walking 11.9% and limiting opponents to a .208 batting average. He only pitched in one postseason game, but it was a big one. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two, in the decisive Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series.

Morgan can be penciled into the Opening Day bullpen right now, which is just the latest chapter in his incredible journey.

18. Gavin Sheets, 1B-LF

2026 season age: 30

Controlled through: 2027

Sheets is a wild card who paid decent dividends during 2025. Having been non-tendered by the lowly Chicago White Sox in November 2024, Sheets landed with the Padres on a one-year, $1.6 million deal. The left-handed hitter did well in a much better situation in San Diego, launching a career-high 19 homers while slashing .252/.317/.429. He rotated between first base, left field and designated hitter. Sheets lost some playing time in August after the Padres acquired Ramon Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn, but settled in at DH for most of September.

That position is likely to be where Sheets starts 2026, with some first base sprinkled in depending on how the right side of the infield shakes out. Due to make a projected $4.3 million in arbitration, Sheet will need to match if not improve upon his production if he wants to come back for 2027, his final year of arbitration. Part of that will be cutting down on his strikeouts. He had a career-worst 22.3% strikeout rate, but did balance that out a bit with a career-best 8.9% walk rate.

17. Freddy Fermin, C

2026 season age: 31

Controlled through: 2029

The Padres were looking for any way to get some offense out of the catcher position, which is why they sent two starting pitchers, Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek, to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Fermin at the trade deadline. The Padres paid a big price for Fermin, who was stuck behind Salvador Perez as the Royals' backup. Fermin had compiled .268/.314/.383 slash line for a 5.7 bWAR with the Royals since the start of the 2023 season. In two months with the Padres, Fermin's numbers were down a bit at .244/.278/.339 for 0.9 bWAR. He did hit two of his five homers in that time, though.

Perhaps starting the season with the Padres and not having to learn a pitching staff on the fly will bolster Fermin's offense. Fermin doesn't walk much, only in 5.5% of his plate appearances, and strikes out 19% of the time. Improving his patience in a more dynamic lineup would be a big step for Fermin, who is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. The veteran backstop is fine defensively—he's able to control the running game but is slightly below average at framing. He will have to adjust to being the everyday catcher, which shouldn't be a problem.

16. Wandy Peralta, LHP

2026 season age: 34

Controlled through: 2026

If there was a player with little national recognition that most teams would want to clone to their roster, it would be Peralta. He just goes out each season and does his job with little to no fanfare. Entering his third season with the Padres and his age-34 campaign, Peralta is that valuable left-handed reliever who can be put into any situation and give you what you need. After a bit of a rough 2024 in which he had a 5.46 FIP and 105 ERA+, Peralta had a much better 2025 with a 3.62 FIP and 137 ERA+.

Peralta strikes out 19.2% of batters and walks 10.2% in his career and is coming off a career-high 71 games. The southpaw is a groundball specialist, getting 55.6% of batters in 2025 to keep it on the ground. In 2025, he used his 95.4 mph sinker 43.6% of the time, changeup 34.5%, slider 16.6% and four-seamer just 5.3%. The Padres' bullpen is perhaps the biggest strength of this team, and the veteran reliever is one of the reasons why. He is a free agent following 2026, so enjoy him while you can.