Padres prospects poised for big things in '25

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This spring, the Padres promoted Jackson Merrill and asked him to start at a premium position before his 21st birthday.

It couldn’t have gone any better.

Looking ahead, San Diego has two electric young prospects at perhaps its two biggest positions of need for 2025: catcher Ethan Salas (the Padres’ No. 1 prospect, No. 19 overall) and shortstop Leodalis De Vries (Padres' No. 2, No. 28 overall). The Padres are an organization known for pushing its young players quickly to the big leagues.

Could Salas and De Vries be on a Merrill-esque path?

Speaking on Monday at his end-of-season media availability, general manager A.J. Preller downplayed that possibility. Merrill’s quick acclimation to the Majors wouldn’t make the Padres any more or less likely to promote future highly ranked prospects, he said.

“I’ve seen that out there with … De Vries and Salas,” Preller said. “No, I mean, I think each guy’s an individual. That’s the way we treat it. We look at each situation. The players, they tell you when they’re ready. Jackson’s situation -- the talented guys with great makeup -- yeah, we’re not scared to challenge players like that. But it’s really an individual-type deal.

“Our staff felt pretty confident that [Merrill] had earned the right to come to Spring Training and compete, and then he won the job in Spring Training. There have been other times where prospects just haven’t been there, and we’re not going to put them in a spot where we’re going to rush them or their development.”

Notably, Preller didn’t rule out the possibility. But Merrill was also a year older than Salas and De Vries, who still have quite a bit of development ahead of them. It’s possible either or both could debut in 2025. But an Opening Day roster spot is extremely unlikely.

Instead, the Padres will spend the offseason looking for solutions at catcher and shortstop. (Clearly, however, they’re only looking for short-term solutions, with two talented prospects on the horizon.)

Here’s more on that system:

3 players who forced their way onto the radar this year

De Vries
De Vries wasn't exactly off the radar before the season, he’d just never played professionally -- until he boarded a plane in March for the first time in his life and faced big league pitching on the Peoria Sports Complex back fields the next day. De Vries held his own, finishing his season at Single-A Lake Elsinore with an .802 OPS. He also dealt with an early-season shoulder injury. Once he moved past that, he posted a gaudy .284/.407/.589 slash line in July and August.

RHP Francis Pena (Padres' No. 13 prospect)
Unranked at the start of 2024, Pena emerged as a force in the bullpen, climbing from High-A Fort Wayne to Triple-A El Paso by season’s end and posting a 2.43 ERA in 63 innings. With a high-octane fastball and complementary cutter, Pena is a candidate for a spot in the 2025 Padres bullpen.

RHP Sean Reynolds (Padres' No. 18 prospect)
Speaking of that 2025 bullpen, Reynolds could work his way into a bigger role. In his brief big league appearance this year, Reynolds allowed one run over 11 innings while striking out 21. Yeah, that’ll play. Reynolds is technically still a prospect -- but he won’t be for long.

2 breakout players to watch in 2025

RHP Humberto Cruz (Padres' No. 5 prospect)
Once the Padres signed De Vries as the prize of their 2024 international class, they made some minor deals that would net them enough international money to land Cruz. The 17-year-old Mexico native has since drawn rave reviews for his smooth mechanics and strike-throwing ability. He only pitched two innings for the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, but he’s a clear candidate for a '25 breakout.

IF Cobb Hightower (Padres' No. 14 prospect)
The consensus was that the Padres reached to take the relatively unheralded Hightower in the third round (No. 88 overall). Then again, the consensus was also that San Diego reached to take Merrill with the 27th overall pick in 2021. This is an organization that tends to get it right with middle infielders, and Hightower is highly regarded internally.

1 big prospect question for next season

Can the Padres replenish their farm … again?
The Padres swung trades for Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez, Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing -- depleting their farm system along the way. But remember: They’ve been here before. San Diego’s farm system was written off when the club swung a flurry of trades in the fall/winter of 2020-21, then again after the ’22 Deadline. Both times, the Padres rebuilt that system. Their deep 2024 Draft class -- headlined by lefties Kash Mayfield (the 25th overall pick) and Boston Bateman (No. 52 overall) -- appears to be a start.

“You’ve just got to keep reloading,” Preller said. “That Draft class every single year is probably as important as any date on the calendar, same thing with the Jan. 15 international signing period. We’ve been able to make trades. And you look up and internally, we feel very confident we’ve got a really strong farm.”