TomCent

After the first week of the San Diego Padres' 2026 season, we can say that two things are true: The club's scuffles at the plate this spring were real, and they were clear signs that the offense is lacking. San Diego put up 19 runs in a six-game homestand (3.17 per game). Seven of the runs were scored in the finale, a 7-1 victory gift-wrapped by the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. The overall team slash line was .202/.280/.301. By themselves, six-game sample sizes are insignificant. Cold streaks and hot streaks cancel each other out. But this sample did not happen in isolation. It was a reminder that these Padres have had trouble scoring runs. Stats and circumstances can support or refute that statement, but the pessimistic indicators from the first week are more persuasive. Here are the six strongest, one per game: 1. This year's lineup is almost the same as last year's The club finished 18th in MLB in runs last year, and all the regulars from the end of the season, save for Luis Arraez, are back this year. Losing Arraez was not devastating -- he produced a 104 wRC+ and hit eight home runs in 2025 -- but there was no clear upgrade made in the offseason. It might be utility man Sung Mun Song, once he's healed from his oblique injury. He slugged .530 and hit a career-high 26 home runs last year in the KBO. It would be tough to bet on him repeating that as an MLB rookie, though. 2. Will the power come on? San Diego hit three home runs on the homestand. Ramon Laureano slugged two and Jackson Merrill hit the other one. The long ball was lacking last year, too -- the Padres finished 28th in homers and Manny Machado led the club with just 27. Maybe Merrill gets close to that figure with a full season of health. Maybe Laureano keeps it going. Maybe Song makes a difference. Then again, that's too many maybes this early in the year. 3. The quality of the opponent did not matter much The hitters faced Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Landen Roupp, Logan Webb and Adrian Houser in the first six games. Skubal (naturally) and Roupp (surprisingly) had the best outings -- no earned runs over six innings each -- but overall, opposing starters allowed 12 runs (seven earned) over 33 2/3 innings, and none of them gave up more than three. The Padres failed to jump on a starter early and seize control of a game. 4. The lineup leans too far to the right The team's handedness imbalance showed up in a key split: the Padres produced an 85 wRC+ against right-handers in their first six games, 23rd in the majors. Merrill, Jake Cronenworth and Gavin Sheets are the club's primary left-handed bats. Song will be a fourth once he's activated. Besides them, the only lefty swinger is switch-hitting backup outfielder Bryce Johnson. There isn't room for another one right now with the club committed to Luis Campusano, Miguel Andujar and Nick Castellanos as backups. 5. The contact was inconsistent This is a mixed indicator, but mostly a negative one. Statcast had the Padres seventh in hard-hit rate after six games at 43.0 percent, but also 13th in average exit velocity at 89.2 mph and 29th in barrel rate at 4.2 percent. The whiff rate was 17th at 27.9 percent. Lots of numbers there, but they point to one thing: the Padres didn't do enough to put pressure on defenses with batted balls. 6. There has already been a shakeup First-year manager Craig Stammen altered the batting order Wednesday to get guys going. The order looked closer to what it was against left-handers Skubal and Valdez. Tatis was in the leadoff spot against a right-hander for the first time, and Cronenworth was dropped from first to sixth. Stammen also flipped Machado and Merrill in the third and fourth spots. There's no conclusive data that changing the order will change the hitters, but a productive new alignment can be good for the team vibes. View full article

The San Diego Padres are counting on Xander Bogaerts to hold down the shortstop position in 2026, but recent history says he won't be out there every day. Injuries have sidelined him for long stretches in each of the past two years, and he'll be playing his age-33 season this year. Those are troubling signs for a player who's entering Year 4 of an 11-year, $280 million contract. Utility man Mason McCoy and second baseman Jake Cronenworth are next on the depth chart, but each player has his drawbacks. McCoy is a glove-first infielder with a .494 OPS in 84 career plate appearances, while Cronenworth was regularly replaced for defense late in games when he filled in for Bogaerts last year. Sung-mun Song will also factor into the equation eventually, but he'll open the season on the injured list while tending to a lingering oblique strain. Here's how the position looks heading into Opening Day: Padres Shortstops At A Glance Starter: Xander Bogaerts Backup: Jake Cronenworth, Sung Mun Song Depth: Mason McCoy Prospects: Francisco Acuna, Ryan Jackson Padres' fWAR Ranking Last Year: 16th out of 30 Padres' fWAR Projection This Year: 16th out of 30 The Good Bogaerts remains a plus defender according to the metrics. Statcast put him in the 93rd percentile in outs above average (OAA) and the 87th percentile in fielding run value last year. Both marks were, by far, career highs. Statcast's plus-7 run value was also a career best. His offense was not very exciting, but he remained a solid contact hitter, with a 17.0 percent K rate (76th percentile). His 89.0 mph average exit velocity and 11.1-degree launch angle were both his highest since 2021, and his 39.2 percent hard-hit rate was his highest since 2022. Those peripherals contributed to a .267 xBA, his highest since '21. He handled certain off-speed and breaking pitches well, posting a plus-8 run value against sliders and a plus-6 run value against changeups. Interestingly, Bogaerts has put speed back to his game in his 30s. Last year, he set a career high with 20 stolen bases and was caught just twice. He has posted double-digit steals in each of his first three seasons with the Padres. The Bad Bogaerts' offensive prime with the Boston Red Sox is a distant memory. Last year, he put up a pedestrian 104 wRC+ and .720 OPS in 552 plate appearances. He was the least effective against fastballs, even though his whiff rates against them were better than his career norms. He registered a minus-9 run value against four-seamers and a minus-10 run value against sinkers. Not so coincidentally, his bat speed was in the 50th percentile. There was also a further decline in durability. Last year, he missed almost a month in August and September with a foot fracture. In 2024, he was out from mid-May to late July with a left shoulder fracture he suffered while diving for a ball. He has appeared in 136 and 111 games, respectively, the past two seasons. There isn't much at the position in the upper levels of the farm system. Francisco Acuna, 26, posted a 1.119 OPS with two homers in 12 games at Triple-A El Paso last season, but just a .706 OPS in 109 games at Double-A San Antonio. Ryan Jackson, 24, played at three levels last year in his first full pro season, getting as high as Double-A. He produced a .494 OPS in 19 games for San Antonio. The Padres took him in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. The return of Song will be key to the entire infield picture, but he'll also have to displace someone (likely Ty France) on the active roster when he returns, limiting depth elsewhere on the roster. The Bottom Line Bogaerts will be the starter if healthy -- a big if after the injuries. If Song remains out or limited by his oblique, San Diego could stand to add a backup who would be an upgrade over McCoy. View full article

There's no mystery surrounding second base in San Diego -- Jake Cronenworth is the Padres' everyday option there. He returned to full-time duty at the position in 2025 after getting a lot of work at first base in 2023 and 2024. He shouldn't be needed at the cold corner in 2026 because Gavin Sheets, Miguel Andujar, Nick Castellanos and others are all available. Cronenworth's name was attached to trade speculation in the offseason, but it would be difficult for the Padres to deal him. He's in the third year of a seven-year, $80 million contract extension and is entering his age-32 season. His 2.9 fWAR in 2025 represented a marked improvement from his previous two seasons, but it still was just starter-class production. Offseason signee Sung Mun Song will be the backup to begin the season, assuming he's healthy. He is primarily a third baseman, but he did play a fair amount of second in the KBO -- 194 games (149 starts) over nine seasons. Holdovers Mason McCoy and Will Wagner entered the final stages of spring training as the Triple-A reinforcements. Padres Second Basemen At A Glance Starter: Jake Cronenworth Backup: Sung Mun Song Depth: Mason McCoy, Will Wagner Prospect: Marcos Castanon Padres' fWAR Ranking Last Year: 13th out of 30 Padres' fWAR Projection This Year: 19th out of 30 The Good Cronenworth will contribute at the plate against all pitching. The lefty swinger's platoon splits last year were nearly identical: a 118 wRC+ and .334 wOBA against right-handers vs. a 116 wRC+ and .331 wOBA against left-handers. His strikeout rate against lefties was two points lower than his K rate vs. righties (19.4 percent to 21.4 percent). His plate discipline led to a career-high 13.4 percent walk rate. Song, 29, is coming off two huge offensive seasons in the KBO and has displayed some power in his first MLB spring training. Second base will be one of his positions as he fills a utility role. McCoy, 30, is a glove-first player who can bounce between second and shortstop. Wagner, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at last year's trade deadline, has youth on his side at 27. Castanon, 26, has shown pop in his minor-league career. He slugged three home runs in 16 games for Triple-A El Paso last year following a late-season promotion from Double-A San Antonio. He was a 12th-round selection by the Padres in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal Santa Barbara. The Bad Cronenworth's reputation for durability has taken a hit after his injuries in 2023 and 2025. Last year, he missed a month with a rib fracture. When he came back, the pop in his bat was lacking. His 32 extra-base hits, .377 slugging percentage and .130 ISO were all full-season career lows. His fielding was not inspiring, either. He was a below-average second baseman according to the advanced metrics: minus-8 defensive runs saved (DRS), by far a career-worst figure, and minus-1 outs above average (OAA). His fielding run value (FRV) clocked in at minus-2. Song's offensive potential is a big unknown. His KBO numbers in '24 and '25 were outliers, and now he'll be a part-time player trying to adjust to much tougher pitching. Likewise, he's got injury concerns of his own, as he's currently fighting a nagging oblique injury that could hold him off the Opening Day roster. McCoy has a career .494 OPS in 84 big-league plate appearances. Wagner spent most of his time at Triple-A after coming over from Toronto. He got just 17 PAs with the Padres. Castanon isn't on Padres Mission's list of the top 20 prospects in the organization, despite his power potential. In other words: Without Song, the depth in the middle infield is lacking. The Bottom Line The Padres need Cronenworth to stay healthy and make the majority of the starts at second. Song is unproven and the players behind him do not look like viable everyday options. View full article

Padres Mission's ranking of the club's top prospects for 2026 has reached the final stage, and just the top two prospects are left to highlight. Be sure to check out our previous rankings here: No. 3: Kruz Schoolcraft No. 4: Bradgley Rodriguez No. 5: Miguel Mendez No. 6: Jagger Haynes No. 7: Humberto Cruz No. 8: Ty Harvey No. 9: Ryan Wideman No. 10: Kale Fountain Nos. 11-15 Nos. 16-20 No. 2 Kash Mayfield (Lake Elsinore Storm) The San Diego Padres organization has been extra cautious with Kash Mayfield ever since taking the left-hander 25th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. They delayed his pro debut until last April, and then the team capped his workload for Low-A Lake Elsinore tightly. Mayfield never worked more than five innings or threw more than 80 pitches in a game. His innings limit shrunk further in midseason after he missed three weeks in May and June with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. When he did take the mound, he showed a lot of promise. Over 19 games (all starts) and 60 2/3 innings, Mayfield produced a 2.97 ERA/3.06 FIP, a 34.1 percent strikeout rate, a 3.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. He was excellent at keeping the ball in the yard, allowing just two home runs in a hitter-friendly environment. His 10.9 percent walk rate was a blemish, if only slightly given his youth and lack of consistent reps. He succeeded despite working with a diminished arsenal. The San Diego Union-Tribune (subscription required) reported last September that Mayfield's fastball velocity was down about 3 mph from his days at Elk City (Okla.) High School; he topped out at 94 mph in the Cal League, compared to 97 mph in the prep ranks. The 21-year-old's offseason plans included adding weight and strength. That could bump the velocity back up. Other aspects of pitching helped him compensate. The heater had lively arm-side run, and Mayfield created deception with both the extension from his 6-4 frame and a relatively low release point. A mid-80s changeup and upper-70s slider gave him excellent separation. In fact, the changeup is thought to be Mayfield's best pitch. It has big-time sink and fade, making it a weapon against right-handed batters, and his arm speed creates great deception. His mechanics are considered advanced; his motion looks smooth and repeatable. Mayfield was one of 21 pitchers in the preliminary player pool for the Padres' Spring Breakout game on March 21 against the Chicago Cubs' top prospects. A strong outing against high-level competition would give him a nice boost ahead of his second minor-league season, which should begin at High-A Fort Wayne. View full article

Padres Mission's ranking of the club's top prospects for 2026 has reached the final stage with a countdown of the top five. Be sure to check out our previous rankings here: No. 4: Bradgley Rodriguez No. 5: Miguel Mendez No. 6: Jagger Haynes No. 7: Humberto Cruz No. 8: Ty Harvey No. 9: Ryan Wideman No. 10: Kale Fountain Nos. 11-15 Nos. 16-20 No. 3 Kruz Schoolcraft (Lake Elsinore Storm) Kruz Schoolcraft's professional career has barely begun -- he made one minor-league appearance made at the end of the 2025 season. He'll turn 19 in April and his development will take time. The good news? There's evidence to suggest that it won't be a lot of time. The Padres selected the 6-8, 229-pound Schoolcraft in the first round (25th overall) of last year's MLB Draft out of Sunset High School in Beaverton, Ore. He was the No. 1-ranked prep left-hander in the draft. He also was a legitimate first-base prospect with big-time power. San Diego lured him away from the University of Tennessee -- he committed to the Vols in December 2024 -- with a $3.6 million signing bonus. Then, they convinced the potential two-way star to become a full-time pitcher. The organization waited until Sept. 6 to get him into a game. His appearance with Lake Elsinore in the Low-A California League was brief and eventful: 1 2/3 innings, one hit, two runs (both earned), three walks, four strikeouts, four stolen bases allowed. Schoolcraft showed that he has a lot of work to do. But he still could rise quickly, for several reasons. First, he already throws three pitches -- a mid- to high-90s fastball with good extension, a changeup with deception, and a slider with depth. Prior to the draft, MLB.com gave both the fastball and slider a 60 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale and the change a 55, but the slider is considered his third pitch at the moment. Second, he is considered to have advanced mechanics, which will help make his delivery repeatable sooner. It also will help him improve his 50-grade control. Of course, his longer levers make it easy for baserunners to pick up on his cadence, so he'll have to fine-tune that in order to prevent everyone faster than Giancarlo Stanton from swiping a base against him. But his mechanics as a whole are quite impressive for a teenager. Third, the organization considers him a smart player and a hard worker. Schoolcraft showed those traits when he spoke with reporters, including MLB.com's Sam Dykstra, at spring training. He said that he wants to reshape his slider better and make it a pitch he can throw effectively both early and late in the count. He talked about getting stronger, and he shared a specific goal for 2026: he hopes to make 22+ starts. Schoolcraft has already made an impression in camp with his sharp outing in an intra-squad game. He might make another before spring training is through. The Padres listed him in the initial 40-man player pool for their Spring Breakout game on Saturday, March 21, against the Cubs' top prospects in Arizona. There's bound to be buzz about the kid moving rapidly through the system if he gets into that game and overpowers hitters. But those people will need to be patient; Schoolcraft is just getting started. View full article

Padres Mission's ranking of the organization's top prospects for 2026 has reached the final stage with a countdown of the top five. Be sure to check out our previous rankings here: No. 5: Miguel Mendez No. 6: Jagger Haynes No. 7: Humberto Cruz No. 8: Ty Harvey No. 9: Ryan Wideman No. 10: Kale Fountain Nos. 11-15 Nos. 16-20 No. 4 Bradgley Rodriguez (San Diego Padres, El Paso Chihuahuas, San Antonio Missions) After a successful big-league callup last September and a strong spring training this year, Rodriguez appears ready to handle a full-time role in the Padres' loaded bullpen. That's a big accomplishment for a 22-year-old who has spent half his pro career injured. Bradgley Rodriguez joined the Padres organization in January 2021 out of Venezuela, signing for $370,000. Later that year, the right-hander showed off his live arm in the Dominican Summer League. But then came the struggles. An elbow injury led to Tommy John surgery in 2022, and the subsequent rehab cost him the 2022 and 2023 seasons. When he finally got back on the mound in 2024, he made up for the lost time. He pitched at three levels that year, capped by a promotion to Double-A San Antonio in August. He went back to San Antonio to begin the 2025 season, and then he caught the Padres' eye. In late May, he was promoted to the majors straight from Double-A. He debuted on May 31 vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates, working 1 2/3 scoreless innings, but was optioned to Triple-A El Paso three days later. Then, the injury bug bit him again. He missed about two weeks in mid-June with biceps tightness and spent seven weeks on the IL from early July to late August. Once healthy, he earned another callup to San Diego, where the Padres were dealing with their own pitching injuries. His electric stuff and moxie earned him a spot on the club's roster for the Wild Card Series against the Cubs. Rodriguez did not appear in the series, but just being on a postseason roster was a clear sign that the club thought it might have something with him. Rodriguez faced just 31 batters over 7 2/3 innings in the majors in 2025, but we can still glean much from how he attacked them. He threw a four-seamer, sinker, changeup, and cutter. All three of his fastballs played up in the charged atmosphere of the Show --- the sinker and four-seamer velocity increased by a full mile per hour to 98.3 and 98.8, respectively, while the cutter velo increased by 0.9 mph to 89.2. The sinker and change showed sizable horizontal movement, with 15.3 and 16.0 inches of arm-side run, respectively. Some of that movement can be attributed to a drop in arm angle from 56 percent to 46.8 percent. According to Mad Friars, the organization made the switch to three-quarters after the biceps scare to ease the strain on his arm. Rodriguez's pitch mix underwent a transformation last year as well. It changed from sinker-heavy in Triple-A to four-seam-heavy in the majors. The four-seamer use was just 10.6 percent at El Paso, but 40.2 percent with the Padres. The sinker use fell from 45.8 percent to 26.0 percent in the bigs. Changeup use was pared from 31.3 percent to 23.6 percent. The changeup played very well off the four-seamer, generating a 46.7 whiff rate as Rodriguez's putaway pitch. In fact, both pitches were unhittable, a .000 batting average for both. The sinker helped to produce a 56.3 percent ground-ball rate, to pair with a 29.0 strikeout rate. Platoon advantage played a large role in pitch selection. Thirty-one of his 33 sinkers and all 13 of his cutters were thrown to right-handed batters, while 23 of his 30 changeups were thrown to left-handed batters. The four-seamer use was more balanced --- 32 to left-handers, 19 to right-handers. (All stats per Baseball Savant and FanGraphs.) Rodriguez put himself in position to win a job out of spring training with six consecutive scoreless outings to begin exhibition play. He allowed two hits, struck out seven, and, more importantly, walked one over six innings. His chances will improve greatly if Jason Adam (quad) needs to open the season on the injured list and the bullpen has a second opening. If Adam proves ready to go, then it will be Rodriguez, Ty Adcock, Logan Gillaspie, Alek Jacob, and Ron Marinaccio vying for one spot. Gillaspie has earned praise from manager Craig Stammen for his willingness to fill any role, while Marinaccio is out of minor-league options. Rodriguez, on the other hand, can be optioned. If he does have to go back to El Paso, he'll be an early call-up option when the staff begins to go through the inevitable churn. View full article

Identifying the top prospects in a thin farm system such as the San Diego Padres' is as difficult as choosing from the prospects in a deep system. In each case, lots of hair-splitting happens as players are assigned spots. San Diego team president and general manager A.J. Preller cleared out the pipeline last summer in his deadline trades for Mason Miller, Ramon Laureano, Ryan O'Hearn and Freddy Fermin. Top prospect Leo De Vries led the group of players who were shipped out. It's time to list the best of what's left. Here's a look at the first set of prospects in Padres Mission's 2026 preseason Top 20 ranking -- the players ranked 16th through 20th. These rankings were voted on by the writers. 20. Francis Pena, RHP (El Paso Chihuahuas) Pena, 25, was ranked 17th on this list at the end of 2025, but his Triple-A numbers pushed him to the bottom of this list. ERA FIP xFIP IP G GS SV BS K% BB% K-BB% HR/9 SwStr% Whiff% WHIP BABIP LOB% LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB 4.99 5.23 5.50 52.1 43 0 0 4 19.8 14.3 5.5 0.69 10.3 28.1 1.61 .307 65.9 20.5 55.6 23.8 38.9 11.1 The Dominican-born reliever appeared to be on a fast track after his 2024 season that saw him speed through three levels. But he stalled at El Paso and spent the entire 2025 season there. The regression showed up in his walk rate (26th percentile of Triple-A pitchers) and strikeout rate (33rd percentile). But there was some deep red, too, namely in exit velocity allowed (83rd percentile) and hard-hit rate (76th percentile). He kept the ball in the yard, allowing just four home runs. That helped the FIP, but it was still ugly at 5.23. Pena relies on a hard sinker and slider that are delivered from a 44.5-degree arm angle. The sinker averaged 95.4 mph, 11 inches of arm-side run, and five inches of vertical break last year. The slider clocked in at 87.3 mph and had little depth. Those two pitches made up 86.6 percent of his arsenal. He mixed in a four-seamer (94.7 mph) and cutter (89.3 mph) the rest of the time. (Stats per Prospect Savant.) He showed enough to earn a non-roster invite to spring training for a second consecutive year, but a return to El Paso in 2026 seemed inevitable because of the Padres' bullpen depth. 19. Eric Yost, RHP (Fort Wayne TinCaps, San Antonio Missions) Yost, 23, cracks the top 20 three years after being drafted by the Padres in the 17th round out of Northeastern University. He earned the spot with a breakout at High-A that earned him a late-season promotion to Double-A. ERA FIP xFIP IP G GS SV BS K% BB% K-BB% HR/9 SwStr% Whiff% WHIP BABIP LOB% LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB 3.75 3.92 4.09 124.2 25 25 0 0 20.8 11.0 9.8 0.43 8.5 -- 1.40 .305 68.3 23.7 50.0 26.3 24.7 6.5 He made eight starts for San Antonio, and his stats there showed that the move challenged him. Contact and pull rates were higher than what he allowed in the Midwest League, and the swing rate decreased. He struggled badly with command as he faced better hitters, posting 26 strikeouts to 27 walks in 37 1/3 innings. That underwater ratio contributed to a 5.00 FIP (5.79 xFIP). Inconsistency was another problem; his first two Double-A starts were excellent, but five of his last six were poor. Overall, two splits stood out: Left-handed batters' OPS against him was 95 points higher than what right-handed batters produced, and opponents' OPS with runners on base was 110 points higher than their OPS with the bases empty (all splits via Baseball Reference). One thing in his favor: left-handed hitters' OPS was inflated by a .353 BABIP, a sign bad luck was involved. Yost's fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, but his combination of curve and slider/sweeper are graded highly by Prospect Savant. If he can't get his velocity higher, his pitchability will need to be elite. 18. Deivid Coronil, 3B/SS (Padres Gold) Coronil, 18, is one of eight players in our top 20 who made their professional debuts in 2025. The Venezuela native was a highly sought-after January international free agent. San Diego landed him with a $900,000 signing bonus. MLB.com ranked him 35th in its international prospects top 50. A few months after signing, he saw regular action with Padres Gold in the Dominican Summer League. PA H 2B 3B HR OPS wRC+ wOBA K% BB% SwStr% Whiff% PULL% CENT% OPPO% LD% GB% FB% SB CS SB% 174 26 2 1 0 .542 56 .306 27.0 12.1 20.5 -- 57.6 27.2 15.2 18.4 43.7 37.9 8 0 100.0 A big part of his appeal is his reputation as an elite fielder. MLB.com has already assigned him a 65 field grade on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. His four errors in 14 games at shortstop and eight errors in 27 games at third base last year look like the work of a young player at the start of his pro career. His arm, run and hit grades are listed at 50 each, and his power grade is 35. The slug could emerge once he grows into his body; he's listed as 6-3 and 162 pounds. And his running grade might be a bit low after his 8-for-8 on steal attempts. The Padres are famous for rushing young prospects through their system, but they might need to be patient with Coronil after a middling debut. 17. Truitt Madonna, C (Lake Elsinore Storm) Madonna is another of the 2025 debutants in the top 20. He was chosen by the Padres in the 11th round of the July draft out of Ballard High School in Seattle. The club gave him a $654,000 signing bonus, more than four times above slot, to break his commitment to UCLA. A strong showing in the spring-summer MLB Draft League boosted his stock. PA H 2B 3B HR OPS wRC+ wOBA K% BB% SwStr% Whiff% PULL% CENT% OPPO% LD% GB% FB% SB CS SB% 60 10 3 1 0 .544 55 .270 38.3 10.0 18.6 -- 23.3 23.3 53.3 16.1 61.3 22.6 0 0 0.0 Madonna made his pro debut two weeks before the end of the California League season with Lake Elsinore. He started seven games at catcher and two games at first base. Contact was a big issue, noted by his 38.3 strikeout rate and a 61.3 percent ground-ball rate in 60 plate appearances. There were hiccups on defense, as well. Madonna went 1-for-14 in throwing out base stealers, a seven-percent success rate. He was also charged with two passed balls. Power is Madonna's signature tool. Prospect Savant pegs it at 50 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. The hit tool is 40, as is the run tool. His arm tool is 50 and his field tool is 40. Madonna already has size -- he's listed at 6-3 and 215 pounds -- and he'll turn 19 on March 12. There's a lot of room for growth in both his body and his game. 16. Kavares Tears, OF/1B (Lake Elsinore Storm) Tears was 11th in our post-deadline Top 20 last summer, but a rocky debut season at Low-A dinged him this year. More was expected from a toolsy player who came from a collegiate powerhouse in the University of Tennessee. PA H 2B 3B HR OPS wRC+ wOBA K% BB% SwStr% Whiff% PULL% CENT% OPPO% LD% GB% FB% SB CS SB% 475 93 22 2 13 .705 96 .339 29.1% 12.2% 16.6% -- 41.7% 23.7% 34.5% 24.6% 46.0% 29.4% 6 5 54.5% San Diego took him in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft as the compensation for Josh Hader, but the organization waited until 2025 to start his career. His debut was pushed back further, to April 15, because of a hamstring injury. He then was limited to DH duty until late July. For the year, he started 29 games in the outfield and three games at first base. Four of his five scouting grades from Prospect Savant speak to his athleticism -- 60 throw, 55 run, 55 field, and 55 power. The fifth grade is a 40 hit tool. The left-handed hitting Tears slashed .227/.320/.385 (.159 ISO, 96 wRC+) in the hitter-friendly California League. He hit .188 in 72 games from June 1 through the end of the season. At least his 12.2 percent walk rate was encouraging, On top of that, he posted extreme home-road splits -- .782 OPS, 22 extra-base hits home; .625 OPS, 15 extra-base hits road -- and large reverse splits: .805 OPS vs. left-handers against a .676 OPS vs. right-handers. There's a lot to monitor as Tears enters Year 2 of his development. What stands out from Nos. 16-20 on our list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! View full article

Thinner than a rail all offseason, the San Diego Padres' rotation now has a glut of options. The most recent addition is former Colorado Rockies ace German Marquez, who reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2027. He brings the number of pitchers in camp competing for the last two spots to at least eight. San Diego isn't getting anything near the All-Star version of Márquez. The 30-year-old was hit hard last year after missing close to two full seasons because of elbow problems. In 126 1/3 innings over 26 starts, he posted full-season career worsts across the board: a 6.70 ERA/5.47 FIP, 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings, a .545 slugging percentage against and a .923 OPS against. He allowed 168 hits and 23 home runs. Our series on rotation candidates continues with Marquez. Should he be in the Friars' rotation, work out of the bullpen, or go down to Triple-A El Paso to begin 2026? Germán Márquez's Stuff In terms of results, Márquez's best pitch last year was his knuckle curve. It was well below-average in both movement and drop, but it had above-average spin (64th percentile). It served as Marquez's out pitch: opponents batted .208 with a 33.9 percent K rate against it. Despite that, it produced a negative-6 run value. Marquez's fastball velocity was league-average -- 94.8 mph on his four-seamer, 94.2 mph on his sinker -- but both pitches were about one mile per hour slower than his fastballs in 2022 and continued to have below-average spin (24th percentile). The four-seamer did have above-average horizontal movement, with 10.9 inches of arm-side run (in to right-handed batters, away from left-handed batters). And yet, hitters feasted on it, slugging .642. The pitch had a negative-24 run value. Opponents punished the rest of the repertoire, too. Marquez's sinker, slider, and changeup produced respective SLG's of .545, .565, and .556. Each of those pitches flashed below-average movement. There were plenty more ugly peripherals to go around. Marquez's ground-ball rate plummeted to a career-low 36.6 percent and his air rate soared to a career-high 63.3 percent. His 91.7 mph average exit velocity was more than two miles per hour higher than his career norms. His 11.1 barrel rate was the second-worst of his career. He allowed a 1.057 OPS after falling behind 1-0 in the count. There is a Coors Effect in Marquez's career splits, but it shows up in hits allowed rather than home runs allowed. He has averaged 9.99 hits per nine at Coors, compared to 8.53 per nine outside Denver. That speaks to the fact that lots of hits fall in at Coors Field because of the park's spacious outfield. His home run rates are 3.44 percent at home and 3.29 percent on the road. For what it's worth, Petco Park has been a good place for him. His career numbers there are skewed by two poor outings last year -- 12 earned runs in seven innings. Prior to that, he had a 3.64 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 10 games (nine starts). German Marquez's Arsenal Márquez was essentially a three-pitch pitcher last season. He threw the four-seamer 35 percent of the time, a knuckle curve 32 percent of the time, and a sinker 20 percent of the time. He also made use of slider (11 percent) and changeup (2 percent), though they were seldom featured. Of note: He threw his slider 21 percent of the time in 2022, his last full season prior to 2025. His knuckle-curve made up that 10-point difference last year. As usual, there was a narrow gap between the fastballs and his secondary pitches: 9.3 mph between his fastest (four-seamer) and slowest (knuckle curve, 85.5 mph). That was in line with his career averages. His slider (88.8) and changeup (88.5) were thrown at almost the same speed. The use of his fourth and fifth pitches was based almost strictly on batter handedness. He threw 196 of his 226 sliders to right-handed batters and 49 of his 50 changeups to left-handed batters. What Should German Marquez's Role Be in 2026? Márquez's 2025 season says that he shouldn't be guaranteed anything, but his history and contract say that he will begin the year in the rotation. How long he stays in it will depend on performance. The Rockies kept running him out there last year to eat innings. The Padres will have a fraction of that patience in 2026. If Márquez is eventually moved to a long-man role, it would be his first relief work since 2016, when he was a rookie. Again, because he's signing a major-league deal, it's almost certain that the Padres would keep him around as the 13th man on the staff. El Paso feels very far away, despite the recent results. View full article