Padres minors: These 2025 draftees could help A.J. Preller in trade season
Ethan Salas' blistering return from a back injury has given the Padres a second top-100 prospect, according to MLB.com, to go along with a promising but raw left-hander in Kruz Schoolcraft.
In fact, Salas has jumped from entirely off that grid all the way up to No. 52.
That development alone won't raise the farm system's profile in the eyes of the rankings industry from one of the worst in the game - MLB.com had it dead last to start the year and Baseball America pegged it at No. 29 - but that's not the only positive development for an organization that's been emptied time and time again only for A.J. Preller to uncover more prospects to include in trades.
Sure, top international prospect Leo De Vries was the carrot dangled in when the Padres acquired Mason Miller from the Athletics, but they also gave up six 2024 draftees when they landed both Ramón Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn from the Orioles last year.
Picks from the 2023 and 2022 draft classes also helped reel in Luis Arraez, Jason Adam and Tanner Scott in recent years and strong starts to the 2026 season suggests the Padres could draw interest from several members of last year's class.
Here's a look at some of last year's draftees off to strong starts to their career at low Single-A Lake Elsinore (signing Nick Pivetta cost the Padres a second-round pick last year):
LHP Kruz Schoolcraft (1st): Ranked No. 91 in MLB.com's top-100, the 6-foot-8 Schoolcraft and his triple-digit heat are clearly more projection than production so far as he's walked (22) nearly as many as he's struck out (23) through 21 innings (8.14 ERA), but the 19-year-old has been better in May (3.95 ERA, 13⅔ IP) than he was in April (15.95 ERA, 7⅓ IP).
OF Ryan Wideman (3rd): The 22-year-old's 35 steals are tied for the most in professional baseball. He's also got plus raw power that he's beginning to harness as he's got four homers and .309/.376/.492 batting line to start the year.
C Ty Harvey (5th): He's going to miss six to eight weeks with the broken bone in his glove hand sustained last weekend and he had already lost a month to a hamstring strain. When the 19-year-old was on the field, he was hitting .338/.449/.431 with six doubles over 21 games.
3B Kerrington Cross (7th): The 24-year-old walked off Thursday's win with his fifth homer of the season. He's hitting .294/.471/.549 with 22 RBIs and more walks (30) than strikeouts (27).
SS Justin DeCriscio (10th): The 23-year-old earned the first promotion from the draft class as he hit .311/.363/.544 with three homers to bounce out of Lake Elsinore after 28 games. Life at high-Single-A Fort Wayne, however, has been an adjustment as DeCriscio is hitting .220/.391/.380 with two homers in 14 games.
C Truitt Madonna (11th): The 19-year-old is hitting .261/.366/.401 with one homer and 11 steals in 43 games. The strikeouts, however, are a concern moving forward with 51 in 43 games.
RHP Clay Edmondson (14th): A minor league-best 10 saves at high Single-A Fort Wayne might be circumstantial, but the 22-year-old side-armer has struck out 27 batters against six walks over 19 innings (0.47 ERA, 0.74 WHIP).
1B Luke Cantwell (20th): The 23-year-old has just one homer but he's hitting .325/.481/.450 with nearly as walks (16) as strikeouts.
Thursday's scoreboard
TRIPLE-A EL PASO (30-24)
Albuquerque 12, Chihuahuas 7: 3B Clay Dungan (.756 OPS) went 1-for-3 with his fifth homer and two RBIs. C Victor Duarte (.983 OPS) went 2-for-3 with his second homer. DH Jase Bowen (.979 OPS) went 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, an RBI and a run scored. CF Carlos Rodriguez (.721 OPS) went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. RHP Evan Fitterer (1-1, 2.81 ERA) allowed five runs - four earned - on five hits and four walks in three innings in the loss.
DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (18-30)
Corpus Christi 8, Missions 5: C Ethan Salas (.888 OPS) went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. SS Francisco Acuña (.609 OPS) drove in two runs on his third homer. RHP Victor Lizarraga (2-5, 5.95 ERA) allowed six runs - four earned - on five hits and four walks in 3⅔ innings in the loss.
HIGH SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (22-26)
South Bend 6, TinCaps 3: RHP Carson Montgomery (2-1, 1.98 ERA) walked five and allowed three runs in 4⅓ innings in the loss. RHP Tucker Musgrove (4.63 ERA) allowed a run in one inning while striking out three. CF Jake Cunningham (.985 OPS) hit his 10th homer, 2B Rosman Verdugo (.761 OPS) hit his eighth homer and 1B Carlos Rodriguez (.656 OPS) hit his fourth homer.
LOW SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (28-20)
Storm 5, Inland Empire 4: 3B Kerrington Cross (1.020 OPS) went 2-for-5 with a walk-off homer for his fifth blast of the year. 1B Yoiber Ocopio (.794 OPS) went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. RHP Bryan Balzer (4.50 ERA) struck out six and allowed three runs - two earned - on five hits and two walks in 6⅓ innings.
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